Permettre: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Permettre means “to allow”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for permettre, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with permettre, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je permets à Marie de partir tous les jours.” — “I allow Marie to leave every day.”
  2. “Tu permets à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre tous les jours.” — “You allow my brother to use my book every day.”
  3. “J'ai permis de sortir ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have allowed going out this evening this week.”
  4. “Il permettait à Marie de partir autrefois.” — “He used to allow Marie to leave in the past.”
  5. “Nous permettrons à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre demain.” — “We will allow my brother to use my book tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as permis de sortir ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have allowed going out this evening this week.”
  7. “Je permettrais à Marie de partir un jour.” — “I would allow Marie to leave one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il permette à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre.” — “It is important that he allow my brother to use my book.”
  9. “Nous avions permis de sortir ce soir avant la fête.” — “We had allowed going out this evening before the party.”
  10. “Il permettra à Marie de partir demain.” — “He will allow Marie to leave tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils permettent à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre tous les jours.” — “They allow my brother to use my book every day.”
  12. “Permets de sortir ce soir !” — “Allow going out this evening!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about Marie to leave. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how permettre changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of permettre below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je permets à Marie de partir tous les jours.” — “I allow Marie to leave every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je permettrai à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre demain.” — “I will allow my brother to use my book tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai permis de sortir ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have allowed going out this evening this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je permettrais à Marie de partir un jour.” — “I would allow Marie to leave one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Permettre in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of permettre that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, permettre describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is permets: “Je permets à Marie de partir tous les jours.” — “I allow Marie to leave every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, permettre describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is permettait: “Il permettait à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre autrefois.” — “He used to allow my brother to use my book in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, permettre reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle permis. The je form is ai permis: “J'ai permis de sortir ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have allowed going out this evening this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, permettre talks about what will happen. The nous form is permettrons: “Nous permettrons à Marie de partir demain.” — “We will allow Marie to leave tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, permettre talks about what would happen. The tu form is permettrais: “Tu permettrais à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre un jour.” — “You would allow my brother to use my book one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, permettre appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is permette, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je permette de sortir ce soir.” — “It is important that I allow going out this evening.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je permettre à Marie de partir.”

✓ Right: “Je permets à Marie de partir.”

The infinitive permettre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form permets.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu permets à Marie de partir.”

✓ Right: “Tu permets à Marie de partir.”

permets is the je form. With tu you need permets. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je permets à Marie de partir hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai permis à Marie de partir hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai permis, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu permets à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu permettes à mon frère d'utiliser mon livre.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: permettes, not the indicative permets.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je permis à Marie de partir.”

✓ Right: “Je ai permis à Marie de partir.”

The passé composé of permettre needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle permis: the full je form is ai permis.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) permets
    • B) permet
    • C) permettons
    • D) permettez

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

    • A) permets
    • B) permet
    • C) permettons
    • D) permettez

  3. What is the il/elle form of permettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai permis
    • B) as permis
    • C) avons permis
    • D) a permis

  4. What is the nous form of permettre in the Imperfect?

    • A) permettait
    • B) permettiez
    • C) permettions
    • D) permettais

  5. What is the tu form of permettre in the Future?

    • A) permettrons
    • B) permettras
    • C) permettrai
    • D) permettra

  6. What is the je form of permettre in the Conditional?

    • A) permettrais
    • B) permettrait
    • C) permettrions
    • D) permettriez

  7. What is the il/elle form of permettre in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) permettions
    • B) permettiez
    • C) permette
    • D) permettes

  8. What is the je form of permettre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avais permis
    • B) avait permis
    • C) avions permis
    • D) aviez permis

  9. What is the gerund of permettre?

    • A) en répondant
    • B) en permettant
    • C) en regardant
    • D) en cherchant

  10. What does permettre mean in English?

  • A) to look for
  • B) to answer
  • C) to allow
  • D) to look at

Answer key

  1. A) permets — the je form of permettre in the Present indicative is permets. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) permets — the tu form of permettre in the Present indicative is permets. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) a permis — the il/elle form of permettre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a permis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) permettions — the nous form of permettre in the Imperfect is permettions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) permettras — the tu form of permettre in the Future is permettras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. A) permettrais — the je form of permettre in the Conditional is permettrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. C) permette — the il/elle form of permettre in the Present subjunctive is permette. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) avais permis — the je form of permettre in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais permis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) en permettant — the gerund of permettre is en permettant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to allow — permettre means “to allow” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does permettre mean in English?

permettre means “to allow”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is permettre regular or irregular?

permettre is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is permettant and the past participle is permis.

How do I practise permettre every day?

Say one sentence with permettre in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je permets à Marie de partir tous les jours.”, “J'ai permis à Marie de partir cette semaine.” and “Je permettrai à Marie de partir demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

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

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