Porter: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Porter means “to carry, to wear”, 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 porter, 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 porter, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je porte un manteau en hiver tous les jours.” — “I carry a coat in winter every day.”
- “Tu portes des lunettes tous les jours tous les jours.” — “You carry glasses every day every day.”
- “J'ai porté une robe rouge ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have carried a red dress this evening this week.”
- “Il portait un manteau en hiver autrefois.” — “He used to carry a coat in winter in the past.”
- “Nous porterons des lunettes tous les jours demain.” — “We will carry glasses every day tomorrow.”
- “Tu as porté une robe rouge ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have carried a red dress this evening this week.”
- “Je porterais un manteau en hiver un jour.” — “I would carry a coat in winter one day.”
- “Il est important que il porte des lunettes tous les jours.” — “It is important that he carry glasses every day.”
- “Nous avions porté une robe rouge ce soir avant la fête.” — “We had carried a red dress this evening before the party.”
- “Il portera un manteau en hiver demain.” — “He will carry a coat in winter tomorrow.”
- “Ils portent des lunettes tous les jours tous les jours.” — “They carry glasses every day every day.”
- “Porte une robe rouge ce soir !” — “Carry a red dress this evening!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about a coat in winter. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how porter changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of porter below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je porte un manteau en hiver tous les jours.” — “I carry a coat in winter every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je porterai des lunettes tous les jours demain.” — “I will carry glasses every day tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai porté une robe rouge ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have carried a red dress this evening this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je porterais un manteau en hiver un jour.” — “I would carry a coat in winter 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.
Porter in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of porter that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, porter describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is porte: “Je porte un manteau en hiver tous les jours.” — “I carry a coat in winter every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, porter describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is portait: “Il portait des lunettes tous les jours autrefois.” — “He used to carry glasses every day in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, porter reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle porté. The je form is ai porté: “J'ai porté une robe rouge ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have carried a red dress this evening this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, porter talks about what will happen. The nous form is porterons: “Nous porterons un manteau en hiver demain.” — “We will carry a coat in winter tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, porter talks about what would happen. The tu form is porterais: “Tu porterais des lunettes tous les jours un jour.” — “You would carry glasses every day one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, porter appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is porte, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je porte une robe rouge ce soir.” — “It is important that I carry a red dress this evening.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je porter un manteau en hiver.”
✓ Right: “Je porte un manteau en hiver.”
The infinitive porter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form porte.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu porte un manteau en hiver.”
✓ Right: “Tu portes un manteau en hiver.”
porte is the je form. With tu you need portes. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je porte un manteau en hiver hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai porté un manteau en hiver hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai porté, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu portes des lunettes tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu portes des lunettes tous les jours.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: portes, not the indicative portes.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je porté un manteau en hiver.”
✓ Right: “Je ai porté un manteau en hiver.”
The passé composé of porter needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle porté: the full je form is ai porté.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on porter. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of porter in the Present indicative?
- A) portons
- B) portez
- C) porte
- D) portes
What is the tu form of porter in the Present indicative?
- A) porte
- B) portons
- C) portez
- D) portes
What is the il/elle form of porter in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons porté
- B) a porté
- C) ai porté
- D) as porté
What is the nous form of porter in the Imperfect?
- A) portait
- B) portiez
- C) portions
- D) portais
What is the tu form of porter in the Future?
- A) porteras
- B) porterai
- C) portera
- D) porterons
What is the je form of porter in the Conditional?
- A) porterait
- B) porterions
- C) porteriez
- D) porterais
What is the il/elle form of porter in the Present subjunctive?
- A) portions
- B) portiez
- C) porte
- D) portes
What is the je form of porter in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avions porté
- B) aviez porté
- C) avais porté
- D) avait porté
What is the gerund of porter?
- A) en pensant
- B) en portant
- C) en laissant
- D) en suivant
What does porter mean in English?
- A) to follow
- B) to think
- C) to carry, to wear
- D) to leave, to let
Answer key
- C) porte — the je form of porter in the Present indicative is porte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) portes — the tu form of porter in the Present indicative is portes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) a porté — the il/elle form of porter in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a porté. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) portions — the nous form of porter in the Imperfect is portions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) porteras — the tu form of porter in the Future is porteras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) porterais — the je form of porter in the Conditional is porterais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) porte — the il/elle form of porter in the Present subjunctive is porte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) avais porté — the je form of porter in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais porté. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) en portant — the gerund of porter is en portant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to carry, to wear — porter means “to carry, to wear” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does porter mean in English?
porter means “to carry, to wear”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is porter regular or irregular?
porter is regular in every tense. The gerund is portant and the past participle is porté.
How do I practise porter every day?
Say one sentence with porter 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 porte un manteau en hiver tous les jours.”, “J'ai porté un manteau en hiver cette semaine.” and “Je porterai un manteau en hiver 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 porter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of porter — every tense of porter in one place.
- Porter in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Porter examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Laisser conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Suivre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Penser conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise porter with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise porter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise porter with the interactive tool.