laver Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

laver — wash — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. laver is the verb for talking about housework: it comes up whenever you talk about washing up after dinner or getting ready in the morning. On this page you will find laver 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 laver

In the present tense

  • “Je lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.”
  • “Tu laves les mains.” — “You wash my hands.”
  • “Il lave le linge.” — “He washes the laundry.”
  • “Nous lavons la vaisselle.” — “We wash the dishes.”
  • “Vous lavez la voiture.” — “You wash the car.”
  • “Ils lavent les mains.” — “They wash my hands.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai lavé la voiture cette semaine.” — “I have washed the car this week.”
  • “Tu as lavé les mains cette semaine.” — “You have washed my hands this week.”
  • “Il a lavé le linge cette semaine.” — “He has washed the laundry this week.”
  • “Nous avons lavé la vaisselle cette semaine.” — “We have washed the dishes this week.”
  • “Vous avez lavé la voiture cette semaine.” — “You have washed the car this week.”
  • “Ils ont lavé les mains cette semaine.” — “They have washed my hands 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 lavais la voiture avant.” — “I used to wash the car before.”
  • “Je laverai les mains demain.” — “I will wash my hands tomorrow.”
  • “Je laverais le linge un jour.” — “I would wash the laundry one day.”
  • “Bien que il lave la vaisselle” — “Although he washes the dishes.”

laver in context

Je lave la voiture. Tu laves les mains. Il lave le linge. Nous lavons la vaisselle.

I wash the car. You wash my hands. He washes the laundry. We wash the dishes.

J'ai lavé la voiture. Il a lavé les mains. Nous avons lavé le linge.

I have washed the car this week. He has washed my hands this week. We have washed the laundry this week.

Common mistakes with laver

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je laver la voiture.

Right: Je lave la voiture.

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

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je lavons les mains.

Right: Je lave les mains.

lavons is the nous form. With je, use lave.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je lave le linge.

Right: Hier, j'ai lavé le linge.

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

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je lave la vaisselle.

Right: Bien que je lave la vaisselle.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive lave.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je lavais la voiture hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai lavé la voiture hier.

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

Quiz: test yourself on laver

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

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

    • A) lavez
    • B) lavons
    • C) laves
    • D) lavent

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

    • A) laves
    • B) lavez
    • C) lavons
    • D) lave

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

    • A) avons lavé
    • B) ai lavé
    • C) a lavé
    • D) ont lavé

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

    • A) lavais
    • B) laviez
    • C) lavaient
    • D) lavions

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

    • A) laverez
    • B) laveras
    • C) lavera
    • D) laverons

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

    • A) laveraient
    • B) laverait
    • C) laveriez
    • D) laverais

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

    • A) lave
    • B) lavent
    • C) laves
    • D) laviez

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

    • A) lavasse
    • B) lavassiez
    • C) lavât
    • D) lavasses

  9. What is the gerund of laver?

    • A) buvant
    • B) lavant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of laver?

  • A) dormi
  • B) lavé
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. C) laves — The tu form of laver in the present indicative is laves.
  2. C) lavons — The nous form of laver in the present indicative is lavons.
  3. C) a lavé — The il/elle form of laver in the present perfect is a lavé.
  4. A) lavais — The je form of laver in the imperfect is lavais.
  5. D) laverons — The nous form of laver in the future is laverons.
  6. D) laverais — The tu form of laver in the conditional is laverais.
  7. A) lave — The je form of laver in the present subjunctive is lave.
  8. C) lavât — The il/elle form of laver in the imperfect subjunctive is lavât.
  9. B) lavant — The gerund of laver is en lavant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) lavé — The past participle of laver is lavé; perfect tenses use avoir + lavé.

Frequently asked questions

What does laver mean in English?

laver means “wash”. You use it for talking about housework, for washing up after dinner, and for getting ready in the morning.

Is laver regular or irregular?

laver is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en lavant and the past participle is lavé.

How do I say “I wash” in French?

Say “Je lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.” The je form of the present is lave.

Where can I see the full conjugation of laver?

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

How to practise laver this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with laver 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 — la voiture, les mains and le linge — and change only the person, so you hear how lave, laves and lave sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai lavé 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 lavant and lavé 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 laver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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