habiter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

habiter — live in — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. habiter is the verb for introducing yourself: it comes up whenever you talk about describing where you live or talking about a move. On this page you will find habiter in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with habiter

In the present tense

  • “Je habite à Paris.” — “I live in in Paris.”
  • “Tu habites dans une maison.” — “You live in in a house.”
  • “Il habite près de la gare.” — “He lives in near the station.”
  • “Nous habitons en France.” — “We live in in France.”
  • “Vous habitez à Paris.” — “You live in in Paris.”
  • “Ils habitent dans une maison.” — “They live in in a house.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai habité à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have lived in Paris this week.”
  • “Tu as habité dans une maison cette semaine.” — “You have lived in a house this week.”
  • “Il a habité près de la gare cette semaine.” — “He has lived near the station this week.”
  • “Nous avons habité en France cette semaine.” — “We have lived in France this week.”
  • “Vous avez habité à Paris cette semaine.” — “You have lived in Paris this week.”
  • “Ils ont habité dans une maison cette semaine.” — “They have lived in a house this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je habitais à Paris avant.” — “I used to live in in Paris before.”
  • “Je habiterai dans une maison demain.” — “I will live in in a house tomorrow.”
  • “Je habiterais près de la gare un jour.” — “I would live in near the station one day.”
  • “Bien que il habite en France” — “Although he lives in in France.”

habiter in context

Je habite à Paris. Tu habites dans une maison. Il habite près de la gare. Nous habitons en France.

I live in in Paris. You live in in a house. He lives in near the station. We live in in France.

J'ai habité à Paris. Il a habité dans une maison. Nous avons habité près de la gare.

I have lived in Paris this week. He has lived in a house this week. We have lived near the station this week.

Common mistakes with habiter

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je habiter à Paris.

Right: Je habite à Paris.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form habite.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je habitons dans une maison.

Right: Je habite dans une maison.

habitons is the nous form. With je, use habite.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je habite près de la gare.

Right: Hier, j'ai habité près de la gare.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai habité, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je habite en France.

Right: Bien que je habite en France.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive habite.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je habitais à Paris hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai habité à Paris hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on habiter

Ten questions on habiter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of habiter in the Present indicative?

    • A) habite
    • B) habitent
    • C) habitez
    • D) habites

  2. What is the nous form of habiter in the Present indicative?

    • A) habitez
    • B) habitons
    • C) habitent
    • D) habites

  3. What is the il/elle form of habiter in the Present perfect?

    • A) as habité
    • B) avez habité
    • C) avons habité
    • D) a habité

  4. What is the je form of habiter in the Imperfect?

    • A) habitais
    • B) habitait
    • C) habitiez
    • D) habitions

  5. What is the nous form of habiter in the Future?

    • A) habiteras
    • B) habiterez
    • C) habiterai
    • D) habiterons

  6. What is the tu form of habiter in the Conditional?

    • A) habiterions
    • B) habiterais
    • C) habiteraient
    • D) habiteriez

  7. What is the je form of habiter in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) habite
    • B) habitiez
    • C) habitions
    • D) habitent

  8. What is the il/elle form of habiter in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) habitassent
    • B) habitât
    • C) habitasses
    • D) habitassiez

  9. What is the gerund of habiter?

    • A) habitant
    • B) dormant
    • C) buvant

  10. What is the past participle of habiter?

  • A) bu
  • B) dormi
  • C) habité

Answer key

  1. D) habites — The tu form of habiter in the present indicative is habites.
  2. B) habitons — The nous form of habiter in the present indicative is habitons.
  3. D) a habité — The il/elle form of habiter in the present perfect is a habité.
  4. A) habitais — The je form of habiter in the imperfect is habitais.
  5. D) habiterons — The nous form of habiter in the future is habiterons.
  6. B) habiterais — The tu form of habiter in the conditional is habiterais.
  7. A) habite — The je form of habiter in the present subjunctive is habite.
  8. B) habitât — The il/elle form of habiter in the imperfect subjunctive is habitât.
  9. A) habitant — The gerund of habiter is en habitant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) habité — The past participle of habiter is habité; perfect tenses use avoir + habité.

Frequently asked questions

What does habiter mean in English?

habiter means “live in”. You use it for introducing yourself, for describing where you live, and for talking about a move.

Is habiter regular or irregular?

habiter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en habitant and the past participle is habité.

How do I say “I live in” in French?

Say “Je habite à Paris.” — “I live in in Paris.” The je form of the present is habite.

Where can I see the full conjugation of habiter?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Habiter Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise habiter this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with habiter out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — à Paris, dans une maison and près de la gare — and change only the person, so you hear how habite, habites and habite sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai habité and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en habitant and habité in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for habiter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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