Peindre Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
peindre — to paint — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -re verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. On this page you will find peindre 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. The full conjugation tables are on the peindre conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the peindre passé composé tense page.
Example sentences with peindre
In the present tense
- “Je peins la maison tous les jours.” — “I paint the house every day.”
- “Tu peins la maison à la maison.” — “You paint the house at home.”
- “Il peint la maison ce matin.” — “He paints the house this morning.”
- “Nous peignons la maison avec Paul.” — “We paint the house with Paul.”
- “Vous peignez la maison.” — “You paint the house.”
- “Ils peignent la maison tous les jours.” — “They paint the house every day.”
In the passé composé
- “J'ai peint la maison hier.” — “I have painted the house yesterday.”
- “Tu as peint la maison la semaine dernière.” — “You have painted the house last week.”
- “Il a peint la maison ce matin.” — “He has painted the house this morning.”
- “Nous avons peint la maison avant la fête.” — “We have painted the house before the party.”
- “Vous avez peint la maison.” — “You have painted the house.”
- “Ils ont peint la maison hier.” — “They have painted the house yesterday.”
In other tenses
The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.
- “Je peignais la maison à la maison.” — “I used to paint the house at home.”
- “Tu peindras la maison bientôt.” — “You will paint the house soon.”
- “Il peindrait la maison avec Paul.” — “He would paint the house with Paul.”
- “Il est important que nous peignions la maison tous les jours.” — “It is important that We paint the house every day.”
- “Peins la maison !” — “Paint the house!”
Peindre in context
Je peins la maison tous les jours. Tu peins la maison à la maison. Il peint la maison ce matin. Nous peignons la maison avec Paul. C’est une partie normale de la routine, et c’est pour cela que le présent de peindre est la première forme qu’il convient d’apprendre. Chaque phrase utilise une personne différente, alors lisez-les à voix haute et remarquez comment la forme change — peins, peins, peint, peignons — tandis que le sens reste le même : to paint. J'ai peint la maison hier. Tu as peint la maison la semaine dernière. Il a peint la maison ce matin. Nous avons peint la maison avant la fête. C’était une journée normale, mais c’est justement dans des journées comme celle-ci que le passé composé de peindre apparaît sans cesse : une action terminée, un moment précis, et l’histoire continue. Comparez ces phrases avec celles du présent ci-dessus : le verbe change de temps, mais le sens de base — to paint — ne change pas. C’est la différence entre une habitude et un événement terminé.
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je peindre la maison.”
✓ Right: “Je peins la maison tous les jours.”
The infinitive peindre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form peins.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je peins la maison.”
✓ Right: “Je peins la maison tous les jours.”
peins is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is peins — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je peins la maison hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai peint la maison hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect ai peint here, not the present peins.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je peignons la maison.”
✓ Right: “Je peins la maison tous les jours.”
peindre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on peindre across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.
What is the tu form of peindre in the Present indicative?
- A) peins
- B) peignisses
- C) avais peint
- D) peignis
What is the je form of peindre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) as peint
- B) peindrai
- C) ai peint
- D) avons peint
What is the il/elle form of peindre in the Imperfect?
- A) avait peint
- B) peigne
- C) aura peint
- D) peignait
What is the nous form of peindre in the Future?
- A) peignions
- B) avons peint
- C) peignons
- D) peindrons
What is the tu form of peindre in the Conditional?
- A) peindrais
- B) as peint
- C) peindrions
- D) peignais
What is the je form of peindre in the Passé simple?
- A) peignisse
- B) peindrai
- C) peignis
- D) peindrais
What is the nous form of peindre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) aurions peint
- B) peignions
- C) aurons peint
- D) peigne
What is the gerund of peindre?
- A) consultant
- B) acceptant
- C) en peignant
- D) chargeant
What is the past participle of peindre?
- A) arrangé
- B) peint
- C) adopté
- D) réparé
What does peindre mean in English?
- A) move
- B) get ready
- C) announce
- D) paint
Answer key
- A) peins — the tu form of peindre in the present indicative is peins. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) ai peint — the je form of peindre in the present perfect (passé composé) is ai peint. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) peignait — the il/elle form of peindre in the imperfect is peignait. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) peindrons — the nous form of peindre in the future is peindrons. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) peindrais — the tu form of peindre in the conditional is peindrais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) peignis — the je form of peindre in the passé simple is peignis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) peignions — the nous form of peindre in the present subjunctive is peignions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) en peignant — the gerund of peindre is en peignant; 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.
- B) peint — the past participle of peindre is peint; perfect tenses use avoir + peint. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) paint — peindre means “to paint” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does peindre mean in English?
peindre means “to paint”. You use it whenever you talk about to paint in French, in the present, the past and the future.
Is peindre regular or irregular?
peindre is irregular. peindre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern.
What are the gerund and past participle of peindre?
The gerund is en peignant and the past participle is peint. The perfect tenses use avoir + peint.
Where can I see the full conjugation of peindre?
On the peindre conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The peindre passé composé tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for peindre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- peindre conjugation — full tables
- peindre in the passé composé tense
- Accepter conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Avouer 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.
- Conjugation Practice — practise peindre with the interactive tool.
- Stem Change Finder — practise peindre with the interactive tool.
- Imperfect Conjugator — practise peindre with the interactive tool.