Mettre: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Mettre means “to put”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for mettre, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with mettre, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je mets un manteau en hiver tous les jours.” — “I put a coat in winter every day.”
  2. “Tu mets le livre sur la table tous les jours.” — “You put the book on the table every day.”
  3. “J'ai mis mes chaussures avant de sortir cette semaine.” — “I have put my shoes before going out this week.”
  4. “Il mettait un manteau en hiver autrefois.” — “He used to put a coat in winter in the past.”
  5. “Nous mettrons le livre sur la table demain.” — “We will put the book on the table tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as mis mes chaussures avant de sortir cette semaine.” — “You have put my shoes before going out this week.”
  7. “Je mettrais un manteau en hiver un jour.” — “I would put a coat in winter one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il mette le livre sur la table.” — “It is important that he put the book on the table.”
  9. “Nous avions mis mes chaussures avant de sortir avant la fête.” — “We had put my shoes before going out before the party.”
  10. “Il mettra un manteau en hiver demain.” — “He will put a coat in winter tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils mettent le livre sur la table tous les jours.” — “They put the book on the table every day.”
  12. “Mets mes chaussures avant de sortir !” — “Put my shoes before going out!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about a coat in winter. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how mettre changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of mettre below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je mets un manteau en hiver tous les jours.” — “I put a coat in winter every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je mettrai le livre sur la table demain.” — “I will put the book on the table tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai mis mes chaussures avant de sortir cette semaine.” — “I have put my shoes before going out this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je mettrais un manteau en hiver un jour.” — “I would put a coat in winter one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Mettre in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of mettre that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, mettre describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is mets: “Je mets un manteau en hiver tous les jours.” — “I put a coat in winter every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, mettre describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is mettait: “Il mettait le livre sur la table autrefois.” — “He used to put the book on the table in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, mettre reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle mis. The je form is ai mis: “J'ai mis mes chaussures avant de sortir cette semaine.” — “I have put my shoes before going out this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, mettre talks about what will happen. The nous form is mettrons: “Nous mettrons un manteau en hiver demain.” — “We will put a coat in winter tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, mettre talks about what would happen. The tu form is mettrais: “Tu mettrais le livre sur la table un jour.” — “You would put the book on the table one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, mettre appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is mette, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je mette mes chaussures avant de sortir.” — “It is important that I put my shoes before going out.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je mettre un manteau en hiver.”

✓ Right: “Je mets un manteau en hiver.”

The infinitive mettre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form mets.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu mets un manteau en hiver.”

✓ Right: “Tu mets un manteau en hiver.”

mets is the je form. With tu you need mets. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je mets un manteau en hiver hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai mis un manteau en hiver hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai mis, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu mets le livre sur la table.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu mettes le livre sur la table.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: mettes, not the indicative mets.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je mis un manteau en hiver.”

✓ Right: “Je ai mis un manteau en hiver.”

The passé composé of mettre needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle mis: the full je form is ai mis.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) met
    • B) mettons
    • C) mettez
    • D) mets

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

    • A) met
    • B) mettons
    • C) mettez
    • D) mets

  3. What is the il/elle form of mettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) as mis
    • B) avons mis
    • C) a mis
    • D) ai mis

  4. What is the nous form of mettre in the Imperfect?

    • A) mettiez
    • B) mettions
    • C) mettais
    • D) mettait

  5. What is the tu form of mettre in the Future?

    • A) mettras
    • B) mettrai
    • C) mettra
    • D) mettrons

  6. What is the je form of mettre in the Conditional?

    • A) mettrait
    • B) mettrions
    • C) mettriez
    • D) mettrais

  7. What is the il/elle form of mettre in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mettiez
    • B) mette
    • C) mettes
    • D) mettions

  8. What is the je form of mettre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avait mis
    • B) avions mis
    • C) aviez mis
    • D) avais mis

  9. What is the gerund of mettre?

    • A) en mettant
    • B) en devant
    • C) en donnant
    • D) en trouvant

  10. What does mettre mean in English?

  • A) to put
  • B) to must, to owe
  • C) to give
  • D) to find

Answer key

  1. D) mets — the je form of mettre in the Present indicative is mets. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. D) mets — the tu form of mettre in the Present indicative is mets. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. C) a mis — the il/elle form of mettre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a mis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) mettions — the nous form of mettre in the Imperfect is mettions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. A) mettras — the tu form of mettre in the Future is mettras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. D) mettrais — the je form of mettre in the Conditional is mettrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) mette — the il/elle form of mettre in the Present subjunctive is mette. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) avais mis — the je form of mettre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais mis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) en mettant — the gerund of mettre is en mettant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to put — mettre means “to put” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does mettre mean in English?

mettre means “to put”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is mettre regular or irregular?

mettre is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is mettant and the past participle is mis.

How do I practise mettre every day?

Say one sentence with mettre in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je mets un manteau en hiver tous les jours.”, “J'ai mis un manteau en hiver cette semaine.” and “Je mettrai un manteau en hiver demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for mettre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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