Lire Conjugation in French
lire means “to read” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 39 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about reading a book in the evening, and 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 lire — 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 lis un livre le soir tous les jours.” — “I read a book in the evening every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: lire
- English: to read
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: lisant
- Past participle: lu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern lire in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for lire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read lire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about lire
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle lu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is lisant and the participle is lu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for lire. 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 | lis |
| tu | lis |
| il/elle | lit |
| nous | lisons |
| vous | lisez |
| ils/elles | lisent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With lire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je lis le journal tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I read the newspaper every morning every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lus |
| tu | lus |
| il/elle | lut |
| nous | lûmes |
| vous | lûtes |
| ils/elles | lurent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With lire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu lus le journal tous les matins hier.” — “You read the newspaper every morning yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lisais |
| tu | lisais |
| il/elle | lisait |
| nous | lisions |
| vous | lisiez |
| ils/elles | lisaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il lisait le journal tous les matins autrefois.” — “He used to read the newspaper every morning in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lirai |
| tu | liras |
| il/elle | lira |
| nous | lirons |
| vous | lirez |
| ils/elles | liront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je lirai le journal tous les matins demain.” — “I will read the newspaper every morning tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lirais |
| tu | lirais |
| il/elle | lirait |
| nous | lirions |
| vous | liriez |
| ils/elles | liraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu lirais le journal tous les matins un jour.” — “You would read the newspaper every morning one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai lu |
| tu | as lu |
| il/elle | a lu |
| nous | avons lu |
| vous | avez lu |
| ils/elles | ont lu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a lu le journal tous les matins cette semaine.” — “He has read the newspaper every morning this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais lu |
| tu | avais lu |
| il/elle | avait lu |
| nous | avions lu |
| vous | aviez lu |
| ils/elles | avaient lu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais lu le journal tous les matins avant la fête.” — “I had read the newspaper every morning before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai lu |
| tu | auras lu |
| il/elle | aura lu |
| nous | aurons lu |
| vous | aurez lu |
| ils/elles | auront lu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras lu le journal tous les matins pour demain.” — “You will have read the newspaper every morning by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais lu |
| tu | aurais lu |
| il/elle | aurait lu |
| nous | aurions lu |
| vous | auriez lu |
| ils/elles | auraient lu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait lu le journal tous les matins hier.” — “He would have read the newspaper every morning yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lise |
| tu | lises |
| il/elle | lise |
| nous | lisions |
| vous | lisiez |
| ils/elles | lisent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With lire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je lise le journal tous les matins.” — “It is important that I read the newspaper every morning.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lusse |
| tu | lusses |
| il/elle | lût |
| nous | lussions |
| vous | lussiez |
| ils/elles | lussent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu lusses le journal tous les matins.” — “It is important that you read the newspaper every morning.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | lis |
| nous | lisons |
| vous | lisez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With lire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Lis le journal tous les matins !” — “Read the newspaper every morning!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | lis |
| nous | lisons |
| vous | lisez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With lire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne lis pas le journal tous les matins.” — “Do not read the newspaper every morning.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en lisant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En lisant un livre le soir, je passe un bon moment.” — “While reading a book in the evening, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | lu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai lu un livre le soir cette semaine.” — “I have read a book in the evening this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with lire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je lis un livre le soir tous les jours.” — “I read a book in the evening every day.”
- “Tu lus le journal tous les matins hier.” — “You read the newspaper every morning yesterday.”
- “Il lisait une lettre de Marie autrefois.” — “He used to read a letter from Marie in the past.”
- “Je lirai un livre le soir demain.” — “I will read a book in the evening tomorrow.”
- “Tu lirais le journal tous les matins un jour.” — “You would read the newspaper every morning one day.”
- “Il a lu une lettre de Marie cette semaine.” — “He has read a letter from Marie this week.”
- “J'avais lu un livre le soir avant la fête.” — “I had read a book in the evening before the party.”
- “Tu auras lu le journal tous les matins pour demain.” — “You will have read the newspaper every morning by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il lise une lettre de Marie.” — “It is important that he read a letter from Marie.”
- “Lis un livre le soir !” — “Read a book in the evening!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je lire un livre le soir.”
✓ Right: “Je lis un livre le soir.”
The infinitive lire never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form lis.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je lisent un livre le soir.”
✓ Right: “Je lis un livre le soir.”
lisent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with lis.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je lus un livre le soir tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je lis un livre le soir tous les jours.”
The passé simple lus describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present lis.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je lis un livre le soir.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je lise un livre le soir.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use lise here, not the indicative lis.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis lu un livre le soir.”
✓ Right: “Je ai lu un livre le soir.”
The passé composé of lire is formed with avoir plus the past participle lu: the je form is ai lu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “lis” written without its accent
✓ Right: “lis”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on lire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of lire in the Present indicative?
- A) lis
- B) lit
- C) lisons
- D) lisez
What is the il/elle form of lire in the Passé simple?
- A) lus
- B) lûmes
- C) lûtes
- D) lut
What is the nous form of lire in the Imperfect?
- A) lisais
- B) lisait
- C) lisiez
- D) lisions
What is the tu form of lire in the Future?
- A) lirons
- B) liras
- C) lirai
- D) lira
What is the je form of lire in the Conditional?
- A) lirais
- B) lirait
- C) lirions
- D) liriez
What is the il/elle form of lire in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as lu
- B) avons lu
- C) a lu
- D) ai lu
What is the il/elle form of lire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) lises
- B) lisions
- C) lisiez
- D) lise
What is the je form of lire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) lusse
- B) lusses
- C) lût
- D) lussions
What is the gerund of lire?
- A) en comprenant
- B) en commençant
- C) en lisant
- D) en tombant
What does lire mean in English?
- A) to begin
- B) to read
- C) to fall
- D) to understand
Answer key
- A) lis — the je form of lire in the Present indicative is lis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) lut — the il/elle form of lire in the Passé simple is lut. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) lisions — the nous form of lire in the Imperfect is lisions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) liras — the tu form of lire in the Future is liras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) lirais — the je form of lire in the Conditional is lirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) a lu — the il/elle form of lire in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a lu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) lise — the il/elle form of lire in the Present subjunctive is lise. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) lusse — the je form of lire in the Imperfect subjunctive is lusse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) en lisant — the gerund of lire is en lisant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to read — lire means “to read” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does lire mean in English?
lire means “to read”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is lire regular or irregular?
lire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is lisant and the past participle is lu.
What are the gerund and past participle of lire?
The gerund is lisant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is lu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai lu.
Which auxiliary does lire take in the passé composé?
lire takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai lu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle lu.
How do I say “I read” in French?
Say “Je lis un livre le soir tous les jours.” — “I read a book in the evening every day.” The je form of the present is lis, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of lire — every tense of lire in one place.
- Lire in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Lire examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Tomber conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Comprendre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Commencer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise lire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise lire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise lire with the interactive tool.