Montrer Conjugation in French
montrer means “to show” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 120 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a non-reflexive, regular -er verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — 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 montre le livre tous les jours.” — “I show the book every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: montrer
- English: to show
- Verb type: Non-reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en montrant
- Past participle: montré
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for montrer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for montrer. 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 | montre |
| tu | montres |
| il/elle | montre |
| nous | montrons |
| vous | montrez |
| ils/elles | montrent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | montrai |
| tu | montras |
| il/elle | montra |
| nous | montrâmes |
| vous | montrâtes |
| ils/elles | montrèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | montrais |
| tu | montrais |
| il/elle | montrait |
| nous | montrions |
| vous | montriez |
| ils/elles | montraient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | montrerai |
| tu | montreras |
| il/elle | montrera |
| nous | montrerons |
| vous | montrerez |
| ils/elles | montreront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | montrerais |
| tu | montrerais |
| il/elle | montrerait |
| nous | montrerions |
| vous | montreriez |
| ils/elles | montreraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai montré |
| tu | as montré |
| il/elle | a montré |
| nous | avons montré |
| vous | avez montré |
| ils/elles | ont montré |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais montré |
| tu | avais montré |
| il/elle | avait montré |
| nous | avions montré |
| vous | aviez montré |
| ils/elles | avaient montré |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai montré |
| tu | auras montré |
| il/elle | aura montré |
| nous | aurons montré |
| vous | aurez montré |
| ils/elles | auront montré |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais montré |
| tu | aurais montré |
| il/elle | aurait montré |
| nous | aurions montré |
| vous | auriez montré |
| ils/elles | auraient montré |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | montre |
| tu | montres |
| il/elle | montre |
| nous | montrions |
| vous | montriez |
| ils/elles | montrent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | montrasse |
| tu | montrasses |
| il/elle | montrât |
| nous | montrassions |
| vous | montrassiez |
| ils/elles | montrassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | montre |
| nous | montrons |
| vous | montrez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | montre |
| nous | montrons |
| vous | montrez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en montrant |
| Past participle | montré |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je montre le livre tous les jours.” — “I show the book every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu montras le livre la semaine dernière.” — “You showed the book last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il montrait le livre ce matin.” — “He used to show the book this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous montrerons le livre.” — “We will show the book.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous montreriez le livre.” — “You would show the book.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils ont montré le livre hier.” — “They have shown the book yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “J'avais montré le livre hier.” — “I had shown the book yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu auras montré le livre la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have shown the book next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il aurait montré le livre ce matin.” — “He would have shown the book this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous montrions le livre tous les jours.” — “It is important that We show the book every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous montrassiez le livre hier.” — “It was necessary that You show the book yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Montrez le livre !” — “Show the book!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With montrer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne montre pas le livre !” — “Do not show the book!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en montrant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En montrant, je commence la journée.” — “While showwing, I start the day.” The past participle montré is used with avoir in the perfect tenses, as in j'ai montré — “I have shown the book yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with montrer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je montre le livre à la maison.” — “I show the book at home.”
- “Tu montras le livre ce matin.” — “You showed the book this morning.”
- “Il montrait le livre avec Paul.” — “He used to show the book with Paul.”
- “Je montrerai le livre demain.” — “I will show the book tomorrow.”
- “Tu montrerais le livre tous les jours.” — “You would show the book every day.”
- “Il a montré le livre la semaine dernière.” — “He has shown the book last week.”
- “J'avais montré le livre ce matin.” — “I had shown the book this morning.”
- “Tu auras montré le livre demain.” — “You will have shown the book tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il montre le livre tous les jours.” — “It is important that He show the book every day.”
- “Montre le livre !” — “Show the book!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je montrer le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je montre le livre tous les jours.”
The infinitive montrer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form montre.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je montres le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je montre le livre tous les jours.”
montres is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is montre — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je montre le livre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai montré le livre hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai montré here, not the present montre.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je montrons le livre.”
✓ Right: “Je montre le livre tous les jours.”
montrons is the nous form. The je form is montre — the two persons never share a form in the present of montrer.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis montré le livre hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai montré le livre hier.”
montrer takes avoir in the compound tenses, not être: ai montré, never the être form.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous montrons le livre.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous montrions le livre.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use montrions here, not the indicative montrons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on montrer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of montrer in the Present indicative?
- A) montre
- B) montrez
- C) montrasse
- D) montrai
What is the il/elle form of montrer in the Passé simple?
- A) montrerait
- B) montrèrent
- C) montra
- D) montre
What is the nous form of montrer in the Imperfect?
- A) montrâmes
- B) montrions
- C) montrons
- D) aurions montré
What is the tu form of montrer in the Future?
- A) montreras
- B) montrera
- C) avais montré
- D) montrais
What is the je form of montrer in the Conditional?
- A) montrerais
- B) montre
- C) montreraient
- D) montrais
What is the il/elle form of montrer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) montriez
- B) montre
- C) aura montré
- D) montrât
What is the nous form of montrer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avions montré
- B) montrons
- C) montrions
- D) avons montré
What is the gerund of montrer?
- A) consultant
- B) baissant
- C) allumant
- D) en montrant
What is the past participle of montrer?
- A) montré
- B) convaincu
- C) brillé
- D) annoncé
What does montrer mean in English?
- A) turn on
- B) attend
- C) show
- D) change
Answer key
- A) montre — the je form of montrer in the present indicative is montre. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) montra — the il/elle form of montrer in the passé simple is montra. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) montrions — the nous form of montrer in the imperfect is montrions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) montreras — the tu form of montrer in the future is montreras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) montrerais — the je form of montrer in the conditional is montrerais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) montre — the il/elle form of montrer in the present subjunctive is montre. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) avons montré — the nous form of montrer in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons montré. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) en montrant — the gerund of montrer is en montrant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) montré — the past participle of montrer is montré; perfect tenses use avoir + montré. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) show — montrer means “to show” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn montrer in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je montre, tu montres, il montre, nous montrons, vous montrez, ils montrent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: ai montré shows the pattern, and the participle montré is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare montrer with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does montrer mean in English?
montrer means “to show”. It is a non-reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is montrer regular or irregular?
montrer is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. montrer is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict.
What are the gerund and past participle of montrer?
The gerund is en montrant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is montré — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in j'ai montré.
How do I say “I show” in French?
Say “Je montre le livre tous les jours.” — “I show the book every day.” The je form of the present is montre, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce montrer?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for montrer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- montrer in the present tense
- montrer examples and quiz
- Enlever conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Admirer conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise montrer with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise montrer with the interactive tool.
- Subjunctive Helper — practise montrer with the interactive tool.