ouvrir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

ouvrir — open — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. ouvrir is the verb for arriving home and opening the door: it comes up whenever you talk about starting a lesson by opening a book or opening a shop in the morning. On this page you will find ouvrir 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 ouvrir

In the present tense

  • “J'ouvre la porte.” — “I open the door.”
  • “Tu ouvres la fenêtre.” — “You open the window.”
  • “Il ouvre le livre.” — “He opens the book.”
  • “Nous ouvrons la boutique.” — “We open the shop.”
  • “Vous ouvrez la porte.” — “You open the door.”
  • “Ils ouvrent la fenêtre.” — “They open the window.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “I have opened the door this week.”
  • “Tu as ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “You have opened the window this week.”
  • “Il a ouvert le livre cette semaine.” — “He has opened the book this week.”
  • “Nous avons ouvert la boutique cette semaine.” — “We have opened the shop this week.”
  • “Vous avez ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “You have opened the door this week.”
  • “Ils ont ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “They have opened the window 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.

  • “J'ouvrais la porte avant.” — “I used to open the door before.”
  • “J'ouvrirai la fenêtre demain.” — “I will open the window tomorrow.”
  • “J'ouvrirais le livre un jour.” — “I would open the book one day.”
  • “Bien que il ouvre la boutique” — “Although he opens the shop.”

ouvrir in context

J'ouvre la porte. Tu ouvres la fenêtre. Il ouvre le livre. Nous ouvrons la boutique.

I open the door. You open the window. He opens the book. We open the shop.

J'ai ouvert la porte. Il a ouvert la fenêtre. Nous avons ouvert le livre.

I have opened the door this week. He has opened the window this week. We have opened the book this week.

Common mistakes with ouvrir

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je ouvrir la porte.

Right: Je ouvre la porte.

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

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je ouvrons la fenêtre.

Right: Je ouvre la fenêtre.

ouvrons is the nous form. With je, use ouvre.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je ouvre le livre.

Right: Hier, j'ai ouvert le livre.

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

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je ouvre la boutique.

Right: Bien que je ouvre la boutique.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive ouvre.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je ouvrais la porte hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai ouvert la porte hier.

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

Quiz: test yourself on ouvrir

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

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

    • A) ouvrons
    • B) ouvrez
    • C) ouvres
    • D) ouvrent

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

    • A) ouvrons
    • B) ouvrent
    • C) ouvre
    • D) ouvrez

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

    • A) avons ouvert
    • B) avez ouvert
    • C) ai ouvert
    • D) a ouvert

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

    • A) ouvrais
    • B) ouvrions
    • C) ouvraient
    • D) ouvrait

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

    • A) ouvrirez
    • B) ouvriront
    • C) ouvrirons
    • D) ouvrira

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

    • A) ouvriraient
    • B) ouvrirait
    • C) ouvririons
    • D) ouvrirais

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

    • A) ouvriez
    • B) ouvre
    • C) ouvrent
    • D) ouvrions

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

    • A) ouvrissent
    • B) ouvrisses
    • C) ouvrisse
    • D) ouvrît

  9. What is the gerund of ouvrir?

    • A) dormant
    • B) buvant
    • C) ouvrant

  10. What is the past participle of ouvrir?

  • A) dormi
  • B) ouvert
  • C) bu

Answer key

  1. C) ouvres — The tu form of ouvrir in the present indicative is ouvres.
  2. A) ouvrons — The nous form of ouvrir in the present indicative is ouvrons.
  3. D) a ouvert — The il/elle form of ouvrir in the present perfect is a ouvert.
  4. A) ouvrais — The je form of ouvrir in the imperfect is ouvrais.
  5. C) ouvrirons — The nous form of ouvrir in the future is ouvrirons.
  6. D) ouvrirais — The tu form of ouvrir in the conditional is ouvrirais.
  7. B) ouvre — The je form of ouvrir in the present subjunctive is ouvre.
  8. D) ouvrît — The il/elle form of ouvrir in the imperfect subjunctive is ouvrît.
  9. C) ouvrant — The gerund of ouvrir is en ouvrant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) ouvert — The past participle of ouvrir is ouvert; perfect tenses use avoir + ouvert.

Frequently asked questions

What does ouvrir mean in English?

ouvrir means “open”. You use it for arriving home and opening the door, for starting a lesson by opening a book, and for opening a shop in the morning.

Is ouvrir regular or irregular?

ouvrir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en ouvrant and the past participle is ouvert.

How do I say “I open” in French?

Say “J'ouvre la porte.” — “I open the door.” The je form of the present is ouvre.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ouvrir?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Ouvrir Passé Composé Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise ouvrir this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with ouvrir 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 — la porte, la fenêtre and le livre — and change only the person, so you hear how ouvre, ouvres and ouvre sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai ouvert 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 ouvrant and ouvert 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 ouvrir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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