nettoyer Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of nettoyer — clean — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. nettoyer is the verb for talking about housework: it comes up whenever you talk about describing the weekend routine or cleaning before guests arrive. This page gives you the complete present table for nettoyer, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je nettoie la cuisine.” — “I clean the kitchen.”

Present conjugation of nettoyer

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for nettoyer. nettoyer is regular with a spelling change (yer) (irregular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — nettoyer

Person Form
je nettoie
tu nettoies
il/elle nettoie
nous nettoyons
vous nettoyez
ils/elles nettoient

The gerund of nettoyer is en nettoyant and the past participle is nettoyé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of nettoyer is formed

The present of nettoyer is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are nettoie, nettoies, nettoie, nettoyons, nettoyez and nettoient. Watch the spelling change (yer): the stem changes in some persons, exactly as the table shows. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example nettoie — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for nettoyer: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of nettoyer

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je nettoie la cuisine.” — “I clean the kitchen.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il nettoie la maison.” — “He cleans the house.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous nettoyons les fenêtres.” — “We clean the windows.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je nettoie tous les samedis.” — “I clean every Saturday.”

Present vs passé composé: nettoyer finished, nettoyer in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with nettoyer. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je nettoie la cuisine.” — “I clean the kitchen.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai nettoyé la cuisine cette semaine.” — “I have cleaned the kitchen this week.”

  • Present: “Il nettoie la maison.” — “He cleans the house.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a nettoyé la maison cette semaine.” — “He has cleaned the house this week.”

  • Present: “Nous nettoyons les fenêtres.” — “We clean the windows.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons nettoyé les fenêtres cette semaine.” — “We have cleaned the windows this week.”

Example sentences: nettoyer in the present

Six sentences using only the present of nettoyer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je nettoie la cuisine.” — “I clean the kitchen.”
  • “Tu nettoies la maison.” — “You clean the house.”
  • “Il nettoie les fenêtres.” — “He cleans the windows.”
  • “Nous nettoyons tous les samedis.” — “We clean every Saturday.”
  • “Vous nettoyez la cuisine.” — “You clean the kitchen.”
  • “Ils nettoient la maison.” — “They clean the house.”

Common mistakes in the present of nettoyer

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je nettoyons la cuisine.”

✓ Right: “Je nettoie la cuisine.”

nettoyons is the nous form. With je the present form is nettoie.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je nettoyer la maison.”

✓ Right: “Je nettoie la maison.”

The infinitive nettoyer never takes a subject. After je you need nettoie.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai nettoyé les fenêtres.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je nettoie les fenêtres.”

A habit needs the present nettoie, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je nettoie tous les samedis tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je nettoyais tous les samedis tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect nettoyais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu nettoie la cuisine.”

✓ Right: “Tu nettoies la cuisine.”

With tu the present form is nettoies, not nettoie. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of nettoyer

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

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

    • A) nettoie
    • B) nettoient
    • C) nettoyez
    • D) nettoies

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

    • A) nettoies
    • B) nettoient
    • C) nettoyons
    • D) nettoie

  3. What is the il/elle form of nettoyer in the Present indicative?

    • A) nettoient
    • B) nettoies
    • C) nettoie
    • D) nettoyons

  4. What is the nous form of nettoyer in the Present indicative?

    • A) nettoie
    • B) nettoies
    • C) nettoyons
    • D) nettoient

  5. What is the vous form of nettoyer in the Present indicative?

    • A) nettoyons
    • B) nettoies
    • C) nettoyez
    • D) nettoie

  6. What is the ils/elles form of nettoyer in the Present indicative?

    • A) nettoient
    • B) nettoies
    • C) nettoyons
    • D) nettoie

  7. What is the je form of nettoyer in the Present perfect?

    • A) as nettoyé
    • B) avez nettoyé
    • C) ai nettoyé
    • D) ont nettoyé

  8. What is the gerund of nettoyer?

    • A) nettoyant
    • B) buvant
    • C) dormant

  9. What is the past participle of nettoyer?

    • A) nettoyé
    • B) bu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does nettoyer mean in English?

  • A) drink
  • B) open
  • C) sleep
  • D) clean

Answer key

  1. A) nettoie — The je form of nettoyer in the present indicative is nettoie.
  2. A) nettoies — The tu form of nettoyer in the present indicative is nettoies.
  3. C) nettoie — The il/elle form of nettoyer in the present indicative is nettoie.
  4. C) nettoyons — The nous form of nettoyer in the present indicative is nettoyons.
  5. C) nettoyez — The vous form of nettoyer in the present indicative is nettoyez.
  6. A) nettoient — The ils/elles form of nettoyer in the present indicative is nettoient.
  7. C) ai nettoyé — The je form of nettoyer in the present perfect is ai nettoyé.
  8. A) nettoyant — The gerund of nettoyer is en nettoyant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) nettoyé — The past participle of nettoyer is nettoyé; perfect tenses use avoir + nettoyé.
  10. D) clean — nettoyer means “clean” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of nettoyer?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For nettoyer that covers talking about housework, describing the weekend routine and cleaning before guests arrive.

Is the present of nettoyer regular?

nettoyer is regular with a spelling change (yer). In the present it is irregular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of nettoyer?

The past participle is nettoyé. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + nettoyé.

How do I say “I clean” in the present?

Say “Je nettoie la cuisine.” — “I clean the kitchen.” The je form is nettoie.

Pronunciation

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

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