nager Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

nager — swim — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. nager is the verb for talking about swimming and holidays: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a lesson at the pool or explaining a summer habit. On this page you will find nager in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with nager

In the present tense

  • “Je nage dans la piscine.” — “I swim in the pool.”
  • “Tu nages à la mer.” — “You swim in the sea.”
  • “Il nage tous les étés.” — “He swims every summer.”
  • “Nous nageons bien.” — “We swim well.”
  • “Vous nagez dans la piscine.” — “You swim in the pool.”
  • “Ils nagent à la mer.” — “They swim in the sea.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai nagé dans la piscine cette semaine.” — “I have swum in the pool this week.”
  • “Tu as nagé à la mer cette semaine.” — “You have swum in the sea this week.”
  • “Il a nagé tous les étés cette semaine.” — “He has swum every summer this week.”
  • “Nous avons nagé bien cette semaine.” — “We have swum well this week.”
  • “Vous avez nagé dans la piscine cette semaine.” — “You have swum in the pool this week.”
  • “Ils ont nagé à la mer cette semaine.” — “They have swum in the sea this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je nageais dans la piscine avant.” — “I used to swim in the pool before.”
  • “Je nagerai à la mer demain.” — “I will swim in the sea tomorrow.”
  • “Je nagerais tous les étés un jour.” — “I would swim every summer one day.”
  • “Bien que il nage bien” — “Although he swims well.”

nager in context

Je nage dans la piscine. Tu nages à la mer. Il nage tous les étés. Nous nageons bien.

I swim in the pool. You swim in the sea. He swims every summer. We swim well.

J'ai nagé dans la piscine. Il a nagé à la mer. Nous avons nagé tous les étés.

I have swum in the pool this week. He has swum in the sea this week. We have swum every summer this week.

Common mistakes with nager

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je nager dans la piscine.

Right: Je nage dans la piscine.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form nage.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je nageons à la mer.

Right: Je nage à la mer.

nageons is the nous form. With je, use nage.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je nage tous les étés.

Right: Hier, j'ai nagé tous les étés.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai nagé, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je nage bien.

Right: Bien que je nage bien.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive nage.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je nageais dans la piscine hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai nagé dans la piscine hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on nager

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

  1. What is the tu form of nager in the Present indicative?

    • A) nages
    • B) nage
    • C) nageons
    • D) nagent

  2. What is the nous form of nager in the Present indicative?

    • A) nages
    • B) nage
    • C) nagez
    • D) nageons

  3. What is the il/elle form of nager in the Present perfect?

    • A) avez nagé
    • B) as nagé
    • C) a nagé
    • D) ont nagé

  4. What is the je form of nager in the Imperfect?

    • A) nageions
    • B) nageait
    • C) nageaient
    • D) nageais

  5. What is the nous form of nager in the Future?

    • A) nageras
    • B) nagerez
    • C) nagerai
    • D) nagerons

  6. What is the tu form of nager in the Conditional?

    • A) nagerais
    • B) nagerions
    • C) nageriez
    • D) nageraient

  7. What is the je form of nager in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) nageions
    • B) nagent
    • C) nage
    • D) nageiez

  8. What is the il/elle form of nager in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) nageasse
    • B) nageât
    • C) nageassions
    • D) nageassiez

  9. What is the gerund of nager?

    • A) buvant
    • B) nageant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of nager?

  • A) dormi
  • B) bu
  • C) nagé

Answer key

  1. A) nages — The tu form of nager in the present indicative is nages.
  2. D) nageons — The nous form of nager in the present indicative is nageons.
  3. C) a nagé — The il/elle form of nager in the present perfect is a nagé.
  4. D) nageais — The je form of nager in the imperfect is nageais.
  5. D) nagerons — The nous form of nager in the future is nagerons.
  6. A) nagerais — The tu form of nager in the conditional is nagerais.
  7. C) nage — The je form of nager in the present subjunctive is nage.
  8. B) nageât — The il/elle form of nager in the imperfect subjunctive is nageât.
  9. B) nageant — The gerund of nager is en nageant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) nagé — The past participle of nager is nagé; perfect tenses use avoir + nagé.

Frequently asked questions

What does nager mean in English?

nager means “swim”. You use it for talking about swimming and holidays, for describing a lesson at the pool, and for explaining a summer habit.

Is nager regular or irregular?

nager is regular with a spelling change (ger), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en nageant and the past participle is nagé.

How do I say “I swim” in French?

Say “Je nage dans la piscine.” — “I swim in the pool.” The je form of the present is nage.

Where can I see the full conjugation of nager?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Nager Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise nager this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with nager out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — dans la piscine, à la mer and tous les étés — and change only the person, so you hear how nage, nages and nage sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai nagé and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en nageant and nagé in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

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

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