habiter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of habiter — live in — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. habiter is the verb for introducing yourself: it comes up whenever you talk about describing where you live or talking about a move. This page gives you the complete present table for habiter, 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 habite à Paris.” — “I live in in Paris.”

Present conjugation of habiter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for habiter. habiter is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — habiter

Person Form
je habite
tu habites
il/elle habite
nous habitons
vous habitez
ils/elles habitent

The gerund of habiter is en habitant and the past participle is habité. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of habiter is formed

The present of habiter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are habite, habites, habite, habitons, habitez and habitent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example habite — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for habiter: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of habiter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je habite à Paris.” — “I live in in Paris.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il habite dans une maison.” — “He lives in in a house.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous habitons près de la gare.” — “We live in near the station.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je habite en France.” — “I live in in France.”

Present vs passé composé: habiter finished, habiter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with habiter. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je habite à Paris.” — “I live in in Paris.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai habité à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have lived in Paris this week.”

  • Present: “Il habite dans une maison.” — “He lives in in a house.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a habité dans une maison cette semaine.” — “He has lived in a house this week.”

  • Present: “Nous habitons près de la gare.” — “We live in near the station.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons habité près de la gare cette semaine.” — “We have lived near the station this week.”

Example sentences: habiter in the present

Six sentences using only the present of habiter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of habiter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je habitons à Paris.”

✓ Right: “Je habite à Paris.”

habitons is the nous form. With je the present form is habite.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je habiter dans une maison.”

✓ Right: “Je habite dans une maison.”

The infinitive habiter never takes a subject. After je you need habite.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai habité près de la gare.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je habite près de la gare.”

A habit needs the present habite, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je habite en France tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je habitais en France tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect habitais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu habite à Paris.”

✓ Right: “Tu habites à Paris.”

With tu the present form is habites, not habite. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of habiter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  5. What is the vous form of habiter in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the ils/elles form of habiter in the Present indicative?

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

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

    • A) ai habité
    • B) as habité
    • C) ont habité
    • D) a habité

  8. What is the gerund of habiter?

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

  9. What is the past participle of habiter?

    • A) habité
    • B) bu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does habiter mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) drink
  • C) live in
  • D) sleep

Answer key

  1. A) habite — The je form of habiter in the present indicative is habite.
  2. C) habites — The tu form of habiter in the present indicative is habites.
  3. C) habite — The il/elle form of habiter in the present indicative is habite.
  4. B) habitons — The nous form of habiter in the present indicative is habitons.
  5. A) habitez — The vous form of habiter in the present indicative is habitez.
  6. D) habitent — The ils/elles form of habiter in the present indicative is habitent.
  7. A) ai habité — The je form of habiter in the present perfect is ai habité.
  8. B) habitant — The gerund of habiter is en habitant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) habité — The past participle of habiter is habité; perfect tenses use avoir + habité.
  10. C) live in — habiter means “live in” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of habiter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For habiter that covers introducing yourself, describing where you live and talking about a move.

Is the present of habiter regular?

habiter is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of habiter?

The past participle is habité. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + habité.

How do I say “I live in” in the present?

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

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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