Guérir Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of guérir — “to recover” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for guérir, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for guérir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of guérir
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for guérir. guérir is a regular -ir verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — guérir
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guéris |
| tu | guéris |
| il/elle | guérit |
| nous | guérissons |
| vous | guérissez |
| ils/elles | guérissent |
The gerund of guérir is en guérissant and the past participle is guéri. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of guérir is formed
For a regular -ir verb, the present tense is built on the stem guér- (the infinitive guérir without its -ir ending) plus the present tense endings: je → guéris, tu → guéris, il/elle → guérit, nous → guérissons, vous → guérissez, ils/elles → guérissent. So guérir gives guéris, guéris, guérit, guérissons, guérissez, guérissent.
When to use the present tense of guérir
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with guérir: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération tous les jours.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with guérir: “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération en général.” — “You recover slowly after the operation.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with guérir: “Il guérit lentement après l’opération maintenant.” — “He recovers slowly after the operation.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with guérir: “Nous guérissons lentement après l’opération demain.” — “We recover slowly after the operation.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with guérir: “Ils guérissent lentement après l’opération souvent.” — “They recover slowly after the operation.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: guérir now, guérir later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération tous les jours.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.”
Future: “Je guérirai lentement après l’opération demain.” — “I will recover slowly after the operation tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération maintenant.” — “You recover slowly after the operation.”
Future: “Tu guériras lentement après l’opération demain.” — “You will recover slowly after the operation tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous guérissons lentement après l’opération en classe.” — “We recover slowly after the operation.”
Future: “Nous guérirons lentement après l’opération demain.” — “We will recover slowly after the operation tomorrow.”
Example sentences: guérir in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of guérir, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je guéris lentement après l’opération tous les jours.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération chaque matin.” — “You recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Il guérit lentement après l’opération souvent.” — “He recovers slowly after the operation.”
- “Nous guérissons lentement après l’opération maintenant.” — “We recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Vous guérissez lentement après l’opération en général.” — “You recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Ils guérissent lentement après l’opération le week-end.” — “They recover slowly after the operation.”
Common mistakes with guérir in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je guérir lentement après l’opération.”
Right: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form guéris.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération.”
Right: “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération.”
After tu you need guéris, not the je form guéris. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je guérirai lentement après l’opération.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (guérirai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai guéri lentement après l’opération tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: guérir in the present tense
What is the je form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guérit
- B) guéris
- C) guérissent
- D) guérissons
What is the tu form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guérissons
- B) guérissent
- C) guérit
- D) guéris
What is the il/elle form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guéris
- B) guérissez
- C) guérissons
- D) guérit
What is the nous form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guérissez
- B) guérissent
- C) guéris
- D) guérissons
What is the vous form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guéris
- B) guérissons
- C) guérit
- D) guérissez
What is the ils/elles form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guérissons
- B) guérissent
- C) guéris
- D) guérissez
What is the gerund of guérir?
- A) en guérissant
- B) guéris
- C) guérirai
- D) guéri
What does guérir mean in English?
- A) to go
- B) to be
- C) to have
- D) to recover
Answer key
- B) guéris — the je form of guérir in the present indicative is guéris.
- D) guéris — the tu form of guérir in the present indicative is guéris.
- D) guérit — the il/elle form of guérir in the present indicative is guérit.
- D) guérissons — the nous form of guérir in the present indicative is guérissons.
- D) guérissez — the vous form of guérir in the present indicative is guérissez.
- B) guérissent — the ils/elles form of guérir in the present indicative is guérissent.
- A) en guérissant — the gerund of guérir is en guérissant.
- D) to recover — guérir means “to recover” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of guérir formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is guéris and the ils form is guérissent.
When do I use the present tense of guérir?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (guéris), while the future is for what will happen (guérirai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of guérir?
On the full conjugation page for guérir, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of guérir in order, without looking: guéris, guéris, guérit, guérissons, guérissez, guérissent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using guéris, ai guéri and guérirai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- guérir in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- guérir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Mourir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Se marier conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise guérir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise guérir with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.