laver Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of laver — wash — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. 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. This page gives you the complete present table for laver, 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 lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.”

Present conjugation of laver

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for laver. laver 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 — laver

Person Form
je lave
tu laves
il/elle lave
nous lavons
vous lavez
ils/elles lavent

The gerund of laver is en lavant and the past participle is lavé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of laver is formed

The present of laver is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are lave, laves, lave, lavons, lavez and lavent. 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 lave — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for laver: 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 laver

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il lave les mains.” — “He washes my hands.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous lavons le linge.” — “We wash the laundry.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je lave la vaisselle.” — “I wash the dishes.”

Present vs passé composé: laver finished, laver in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with laver. 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 lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai lavé la voiture cette semaine.” — “I have washed the car this week.”

  • Present: “Il lave les mains.” — “He washes my hands.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a lavé les mains cette semaine.” — “He has washed my hands this week.”

  • Present: “Nous lavons le linge.” — “We wash the laundry.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons lavé le linge cette semaine.” — “We have washed the laundry this week.”

Example sentences: laver in the present

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

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of laver

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je lavons la voiture.”

✓ Right: “Je lave la voiture.”

lavons is the nous form. With je the present form is lave.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je laver les mains.”

✓ Right: “Je lave les mains.”

The infinitive laver never takes a subject. After je you need lave.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai lavé le linge.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je lave le linge.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je lave la vaisselle tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je lavais la vaisselle tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu lave la voiture.”

✓ Right: “Tu laves la voiture.”

With tu the present form is laves, not lave. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of laver

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of laver?

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

  9. What is the past participle of laver?

    • A) dormi
    • B) lavé
    • C) bu

  10. What does laver mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) open
  • C) drink
  • D) wash

Answer key

  1. A) lave — The je form of laver in the present indicative is lave.
  2. A) laves — The tu form of laver in the present indicative is laves.
  3. D) lave — The il/elle form of laver in the present indicative is lave.
  4. C) lavons — The nous form of laver in the present indicative is lavons.
  5. C) lavez — The vous form of laver in the present indicative is lavez.
  6. C) lavent — The ils/elles form of laver in the present indicative is lavent.
  7. B) ai lavé — The je form of laver in the present perfect is ai lavé.
  8. A) lavant — The gerund of laver is en lavant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) lavé — The past participle of laver is lavé; perfect tenses use avoir + lavé.
  10. D) wash — laver means “wash” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of laver?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For laver that covers talking about housework, washing up after dinner and getting ready in the morning.

Is the present of laver regular?

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

What is the past participle of laver?

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

How do I say “I wash” in the present?

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

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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