Ouvrir Conjugation in French
ouvrir means “open” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. 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. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of ouvrir — 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: “J'ouvre la porte.” — “I open the door.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: ouvrir
- English: open
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en ouvrant
- Past participle: ouvert
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for ouvrir. 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 | ouvre |
| tu | ouvres |
| il/elle | ouvre |
| nous | ouvrons |
| vous | ouvrez |
| ils/elles | ouvrent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ouvris |
| tu | ouvris |
| il/elle | ouvrit |
| nous | ouvrîmes |
| vous | ouvrîtes |
| ils/elles | ouvrirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ouvrais |
| tu | ouvrais |
| il/elle | ouvrait |
| nous | ouvrions |
| vous | ouvriez |
| ils/elles | ouvraient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ouvrirai |
| tu | ouvriras |
| il/elle | ouvrira |
| nous | ouvrirons |
| vous | ouvrirez |
| ils/elles | ouvriront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ouvrirais |
| tu | ouvrirais |
| il/elle | ouvrirait |
| nous | ouvririons |
| vous | ouvririez |
| ils/elles | ouvriraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ouvre |
| tu | ouvres |
| il/elle | ouvre |
| nous | ouvrions |
| vous | ouvriez |
| ils/elles | ouvrent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ouvrisse |
| tu | ouvrisses |
| il/elle | ouvrît |
| nous | ouvrissions |
| vous | ouvrissiez |
| ils/elles | ouvrissent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai ouvert |
| tu | as ouvert |
| il/elle | a ouvert |
| nous | avons ouvert |
| vous | avez ouvert |
| ils/elles | ont ouvert |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais ouvert |
| tu | avais ouvert |
| il/elle | avait ouvert |
| nous | avions ouvert |
| vous | aviez ouvert |
| ils/elles | avaient ouvert |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai ouvert |
| tu | auras ouvert |
| il/elle | aura ouvert |
| nous | aurons ouvert |
| vous | aurez ouvert |
| ils/elles | auront ouvert |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais ouvert |
| tu | aurais ouvert |
| il/elle | aurait ouvert |
| nous | aurions ouvert |
| vous | auriez ouvert |
| ils/elles | auraient ouvert |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ouvre |
| nous | ouvrons |
| vous | ouvrez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | ouvre |
| nous | ouvrons |
| vous | ouvrez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en ouvrant |
| Past participle | ouvert |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With ouvrir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “J'ouvre la fenêtre.” — “I open the window.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With ouvrir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “J'ouvris la fenêtre hier.” — “I opened the window yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “J'ouvrais la fenêtre avant.” — “I used to open the window before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “J'ouvrirai la fenêtre demain.” — “I will open the window tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “J'ouvrirais la fenêtre un jour.” — “I would open the window one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With ouvrir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que j'ouvre la fenêtre” — “Although I open the window.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que j'ouvrisse la fenêtre” — “Although I open the window.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “I have opened the window this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais ouvert la fenêtre avant la fête.” — “I had opened the window before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai ouvert la fenêtre pour demain.” — “I will have opened the window by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais ouvert la fenêtre hier.” — “I would have opened the window yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With ouvrir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “ouvre la fenêtre !” — “Open the window!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With ouvrir this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne ouvre pas la fenêtre !” — “Don't open the window!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en ouvrant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle ouvert builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai ouvert le livre cette semaine.” — “I have opened the book this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with ouvrir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “J'ouvre la porte.” — “I open the door.”
- “Tu ouvris la fenêtre hier.” — “You opened the window yesterday.”
- “Il ouvrait le livre avant.” — “He used to open the book before.”
- “J'ouvrirai la boutique demain.” — “I will open the shop tomorrow.”
- “Tu ouvrirais la porte un jour.” — “You would open the door one day.”
- “Il a ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “He has opened the window this week.”
- “J'avais ouvert le livre avant la fête.” — “I had opened the book before the party.”
- “Tu auras ouvert la boutique pour demain.” — “You will have opened the shop by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il ouvre la porte” — “Although he opens the door.”
- “ouvre la fenêtre !” — “Open the window!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je ouvrir la porte.”
✓ Right: “Je ouvre la porte.”
The infinitive ouvrir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form ouvre.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je ouvrons la fenêtre.”
✓ Right: “Je ouvre la fenêtre.”
ouvrons is the nous form. With je the present form is ouvre — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je ouvre la porte.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai ouvert la porte.”
The present ouvre describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai ouvert.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je ouvris le livre.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai ouvert le livre.”
The passé simple ouvris belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai ouvert.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je ouvre la porte.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je ouvre la porte.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use ouvre here, not the indicative ouvre.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je ouvrais la boutique avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai ouvert la boutique avant.”
The imperfect ouvrais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai ouvert.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on ouvrir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of ouvrir in the Present indicative?
- A) ouvre
- B) ouvrent
- C) ouvrons
- D) ouvrez
What is the il/elle form of ouvrir in the Passé simple?
- A) ouvrîtes
- B) ouvris
- C) ouvrirent
- D) ouvrit
What is the nous form of ouvrir in the Imperfect?
- A) ouvraient
- B) ouvrions
- C) ouvrait
- D) ouvrais
What is the tu form of ouvrir in the Future?
- A) ouvrirai
- B) ouvriras
- C) ouvrirons
- D) ouvrirez
What is the je form of ouvrir in the Conditional?
- A) ouvriraient
- B) ouvrirait
- C) ouvririons
- D) ouvrirais
What is the il/elle form of ouvrir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) ouvres
- B) ouvre
- C) ouvrent
- D) ouvriez
What is the je form of ouvrir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) ouvrissiez
- B) ouvrissent
- C) ouvrisse
- D) ouvrît
What is the gerund of ouvrir?
- A) ouvrant
- B) buvant
- C) dormant
What is the past participle of ouvrir?
- A) dormi
- B) bu
- C) ouvert
What does ouvrir mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) open
- C) close
- D) sleep
Answer key
- A) ouvre — The je form of ouvrir in the present indicative is ouvre.
- D) ouvrit — The il/elle form of ouvrir in the passé simple is ouvrit.
- B) ouvrions — The nous form of ouvrir in the imperfect is ouvrions.
- B) ouvriras — The tu form of ouvrir in the future is ouvriras.
- D) ouvrirais — The je form of ouvrir in the conditional is ouvrirais.
- B) ouvre — The il/elle form of ouvrir in the present subjunctive is ouvre.
- C) ouvrisse — The je form of ouvrir in the imperfect subjunctive is ouvrisse.
- A) ouvrant — The gerund of ouvrir is en ouvrant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) ouvert — The past participle of ouvrir is ouvert; perfect tenses use avoir + ouvert.
- B) open — ouvrir means “open” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of ouvrir?
The gerund is en ouvrant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is ouvert — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between ouvrir and fermer?
ouvrir means “open” while fermer means “close” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for fermer and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Ouvrir Passé Composé Tense Conjugation in French
- Ouvrir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Fermer conjugation
- Regarder conjugation
- Entrer conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
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- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise ouvrir with the interactive tool.
- Irregular Verb Finder — practise ouvrir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise ouvrir with the interactive tool.