Laver Conjugation in French
laver means “wash” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about housework, for washing up after dinner, and for getting ready in the morning. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of laver — 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 lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: laver
- English: wash
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en lavant
- Past participle: lavé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for laver. 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 | lave |
| tu | laves |
| il/elle | lave |
| nous | lavons |
| vous | lavez |
| ils/elles | lavent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lavai |
| tu | lavas |
| il/elle | lava |
| nous | lavâmes |
| vous | lavâtes |
| ils/elles | lavèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lavais |
| tu | lavais |
| il/elle | lavait |
| nous | lavions |
| vous | laviez |
| ils/elles | lavaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | laverai |
| tu | laveras |
| il/elle | lavera |
| nous | laverons |
| vous | laverez |
| ils/elles | laveront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | laverais |
| tu | laverais |
| il/elle | laverait |
| nous | laverions |
| vous | laveriez |
| ils/elles | laveraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lave |
| tu | laves |
| il/elle | lave |
| nous | lavions |
| vous | laviez |
| ils/elles | lavent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lavasse |
| tu | lavasses |
| il/elle | lavât |
| nous | lavassions |
| vous | lavassiez |
| ils/elles | lavassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai lavé |
| tu | as lavé |
| il/elle | a lavé |
| nous | avons lavé |
| vous | avez lavé |
| ils/elles | ont lavé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais lavé |
| tu | avais lavé |
| il/elle | avait lavé |
| nous | avions lavé |
| vous | aviez lavé |
| ils/elles | avaient lavé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai lavé |
| tu | auras lavé |
| il/elle | aura lavé |
| nous | aurons lavé |
| vous | aurez lavé |
| ils/elles | auront lavé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais lavé |
| tu | aurais lavé |
| il/elle | aurait lavé |
| nous | aurions lavé |
| vous | auriez lavé |
| ils/elles | auraient lavé |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | lave |
| nous | lavons |
| vous | lavez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | lave |
| nous | lavons |
| vous | lavez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en lavant |
| Past participle | lavé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je lave les mains.” — “I wash my hands.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je lavai les mains hier.” — “I washed my hands yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je lavais les mains avant.” — “I used to wash my hands before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je laverai les mains demain.” — “I will wash my hands tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je laverais les mains un jour.” — “I would wash my hands one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je lave les mains” — “Although I wash my hands.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je lavasse les mains” — “Although I wash my hands.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai lavé les mains cette semaine.” — “I have washed my hands this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais lavé les mains avant la fête.” — “I had washed my hands before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai lavé les mains pour demain.” — “I will have washed my hands by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais lavé les mains hier.” — “I would have washed my hands yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “lave les mains !” — “Wash my hands!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne lave pas les mains !” — “Don't wash my hands!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en lavant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle lavé builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai lavé le linge cette semaine.” — “I have washed the laundry this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with laver, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je lave la voiture.” — “I wash the car.”
- “Tu lavas les mains hier.” — “You washed my hands yesterday.”
- “Il lavait le linge avant.” — “He used to wash the laundry before.”
- “Je laverai la vaisselle demain.” — “I will wash the dishes tomorrow.”
- “Tu laverais la voiture un jour.” — “You would wash the car one day.”
- “Il a lavé les mains cette semaine.” — “He has washed my hands this week.”
- “J'avais lavé le linge avant la fête.” — “I had washed the laundry before the party.”
- “Tu auras lavé la vaisselle pour demain.” — “You will have washed the dishes by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il lave la voiture” — “Although he washes the car.”
- “lave les mains !” — “Wash my hands!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je laver la voiture.”
✓ Right: “Je lave la voiture.”
The infinitive laver never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form lave.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je lavons les mains.”
✓ Right: “Je lave les mains.”
lavons is the nous form. With je the present form is lave — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je lave la voiture.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai lavé la voiture.”
The present lave describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai lavé.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je lavai le linge.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai lavé le linge.”
The passé simple lavai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai lavé.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je lave la voiture.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je lave la voiture.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use lave here, not the indicative lave.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je lavais la vaisselle avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai lavé la vaisselle avant.”
The imperfect lavais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai lavé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on laver. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of laver in the Present indicative?
- A) lavent
- B) lave
- C) lavons
- D) lavez
What is the il/elle form of laver in the Passé simple?
- A) lavâmes
- B) lava
- C) lavâtes
- D) lavas
What is the nous form of laver in the Imperfect?
- A) lavaient
- B) lavions
- C) lavait
- D) lavais
What is the tu form of laver in the Future?
- A) laveras
- B) laverez
- C) laverons
- D) laveront
What is the je form of laver in the Conditional?
- A) laveriez
- B) laverions
- C) laverais
- D) laverait
What is the il/elle form of laver in the Present subjunctive?
- A) lave
- B) lavions
- C) laves
- D) lavent
What is the je form of laver in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) lavassiez
- B) lavassent
- C) lavasse
- D) lavât
What is the gerund of laver?
- A) lavant
- B) dormant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of laver?
- A) lavé
- B) dormi
- C) bu
What does laver mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) sleep
- C) wash
- D) open
Answer key
- B) lave — The je form of laver in the present indicative is lave.
- B) lava — The il/elle form of laver in the passé simple is lava.
- B) lavions — The nous form of laver in the imperfect is lavions.
- A) laveras — The tu form of laver in the future is laveras.
- C) laverais — The je form of laver in the conditional is laverais.
- A) lave — The il/elle form of laver in the present subjunctive is lave.
- C) lavasse — The je form of laver in the imperfect subjunctive is lavasse.
- A) lavant — The gerund of laver is en lavant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- A) lavé — The past participle of laver is lavé; perfect tenses use avoir + lavé.
- C) wash — laver means “wash” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of laver?
The gerund is en lavant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is lavé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between laver and nettoyer?
laver means “wash” while nettoyer means “clean” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for nettoyer and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Laver Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Laver Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Nettoyer conjugation
- Se laver conjugation
- Cuisiner conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise laver with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise laver with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise laver with the interactive tool.