Guérir Conjugation in French
guérir means “to recover” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of guérir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and guérir is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: guérir
- English: to recover
- Verb type: Regular -ir verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en guérissant
- Past participle: guéri
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for guérir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guéris |
| tu | guéris |
| il/elle | guérit |
| nous | guérissons |
| vous | guérissez |
| ils/elles | guérissent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guéris |
| tu | guéris |
| il/elle | guérit |
| nous | guérîmes |
| vous | guérîtes |
| ils/elles | guérirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guérissais |
| tu | guérissais |
| il/elle | guérissait |
| nous | guérissions |
| vous | guérissiez |
| ils/elles | guérissaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guérirai |
| tu | guériras |
| il/elle | guérira |
| nous | guérirons |
| vous | guérirez |
| ils/elles | guériront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guérirais |
| tu | guérirais |
| il/elle | guérirait |
| nous | guéririons |
| vous | guéririez |
| ils/elles | guériraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai guéri |
| tu | as guéri |
| il/elle | a guéri |
| nous | avons guéri |
| vous | avez guéri |
| ils/elles | ont guéri |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais guéri |
| tu | avais guéri |
| il/elle | avait guéri |
| nous | avions guéri |
| vous | aviez guéri |
| ils/elles | avaient guéri |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai guéri |
| tu | auras guéri |
| il/elle | aura guéri |
| nous | aurons guéri |
| vous | aurez guéri |
| ils/elles | auront guéri |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais guéri |
| tu | aurais guéri |
| il/elle | aurait guéri |
| nous | aurions guéri |
| vous | auriez guéri |
| ils/elles | auraient guéri |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guérisse |
| tu | guérisses |
| il/elle | guérisse |
| nous | guérissions |
| vous | guérissiez |
| ils/elles | guérissent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | guérisse |
| tu | guérisses |
| il/elle | guérît |
| nous | guérissions |
| vous | guérissiez |
| ils/elles | guérissent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | guéris |
| nous | guérissons |
| vous | guérissez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | guéris |
| nous | guérissons |
| vous | guérissez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en guérissant |
| Past participle | guéri |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “You recovered slowly after the operation one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il guérissait lentement après l’opération quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to recover slowly after the operation.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous guérirons lentement après l’opération.” — “We will recover slowly after the operation tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous guéririez lentement après l’opération.” — “You would recover slowly after the operation if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With guérir it is formed with avoir + the past participle guéri. For example: “Ils ont guéri lentement après l’opération hier.” — “They have recovered slowly after the operation.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais guéri lentement après l’opération avant la fête.” — “I had recovered slowly after the operation before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras guéri lentement après l’opération.” — “You will have recovered slowly after the operation by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait guéri lentement après l’opération.” — “He would have recovered slowly after the operation if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je guérisse lentement après l’opération.” — “It is important that I recover slowly after the operation.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je guérisse lentement après l’opération.” — “It was important that I recover slowly after the operation.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Guéris lentement après l’opération !” — “Recover slowly after the operation!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Guéris lentement après l’opération !” — “Do not recover slowly after the operation!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en guérissant — “while recovering” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is guéri, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai guéri.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with guérir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Tu guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “You recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Il guérissait lentement après l’opération.” — “He used to recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Nous guérirons lentement après l’opération.” — “We will recover slowly after the operation tomorrow.”
- “Je guérirais lentement après l’opération.” — “I would recover slowly after the operation if I could.”
- “Tu as guéri lentement après l’opération.” — “You have recovered slowly after the operation.”
- “Il avait guéri lentement après l’opération.” — “He had recovered slowly after the operation before the party.”
- “Nous aurons guéri lentement après l’opération.” — “We will have recovered slowly after the operation by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je guérisse lentement après l’opération.” — “It is important that I recover slowly after the operation.”
- “Guéris lentement après l’opération !” — “Recover slowly after the operation!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je guérir lentement après l’opération.”
✓ Right: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.”
The infinitive guérir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form guéris.
2. Confusing guérir with mourir
✗ Wrong: “Je guéris de rire.” (meant as “mourir”)
✓ Right: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.”
guérir means “to recover”; mourir means “to die”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis guéri lentement après l’opération.”
✓ Right: “J'ai guéri lentement après l’opération.”
With guérir the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai guéri.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je guéris lentement après l’opération.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je guérisse lentement après l’opération.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use guérisse here, not the indicative guéris.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je guéris lentement après l’opération hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai guéri lentement après l’opération hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai guéri), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guérit
- B) guéris
- C) guérissent
- D) guérissons
What is the ils/elles form of guérir in the Present indicative?
- A) guérissons
- B) guéris
- C) guérissent
- D) guérissez
What is the il/elle form of guérir in the Passé simple?
- A) guérit
- B) guérîmes
- C) guérîtes
- D) guéris
What is the nous form of guérir in the Imperfect?
- A) guérissait
- B) guérissiez
- C) guérissais
- D) guérissions
What is the tu form of guérir in the Future?
- A) guérira
- B) guérirons
- C) guériras
- D) guérirez
What is the je form of guérir in the Conditional?
- A) guéririez
- B) guérirait
- C) guérirais
- D) guériraient
What is the il/elle form of guérir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a guéri
- B) ont guéri
- C) as guéri
- D) ai guéri
What is the vous form of guérir in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avait guéri
- B) avions guéri
- C) aviez guéri
- D) avais guéri
What is the gerund of guérir?
- A) guérirai
- B) guéris
- C) guéri
- D) en guérissant
What is the past participle of guérir?
- A) en guérissant
- B) guéris
- C) guéri
- D) guérissais
Answer key
- B) guéris — the je form of guérir in the present indicative is guéris.
- C) guérissent — the ils/elles form of guérir in the present indicative is guérissent.
- A) guérit — the il/elle form of guérir in the passé simple is guérit.
- D) guérissions — the nous form of guérir in the imperfect is guérissions.
- C) guériras — the tu form of guérir in the future is guériras.
- C) guérirais — the je form of guérir in the conditional is guérirais.
- A) a guéri — the il/elle form of guérir in the present perfect (passé composé) is a guéri.
- C) aviez guéri — the vous form of guérir in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez guéri.
- D) en guérissant — the gerund of guérir is en guérissant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) guéri — the past participle of guérir is guéri; perfect tenses use avoir + guéri.
Frequently asked questions
What does guérir mean in English?
guérir means “to recover”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.” (“I recover slowly after the operation.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is guérir regular or irregular?
guérir is regular: its endings follow the standard -ir pattern in every tense. The gerund is en guérissant and the past participle is guéri.
What are the gerund and past participle of guérir?
The gerund is en guérissant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is guéri — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai guéri.
What is the difference between guérir and mourir?
guérir means “to recover”, while mourir means “to die”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for mourir and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I recover” in French?
Say “Je guéris lentement après l’opération.” — “I recover slowly after the operation.” The je form of the present is guéris, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn guérir
Start with the present tense: guéris, guéris, guérit, guérissons, guérissez, guérissent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai guéri — and the imperfect — guérissais. Next, learn the future (guérirai) and the conditional (guérirais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (guérisse) and the imperative (guéris). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
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.