prêter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of prêter — lend — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. prêter is the verb for lending something to a friend: it comes up whenever you talk about helping with money or sharing at school. This page gives you the complete present table for prêter, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je prête un livre.” — “I lend a book.”

Present conjugation of prêter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for prêter. prêter is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — prêter

Person Form
je prête
tu prêtes
il/elle prête
nous prêtons
vous prêtez
ils/elles prêtent

The gerund of prêter is en prêtant and the past participle is prêté. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of prêter is formed

The present of prêter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are prête, prêtes, prête, prêtons, prêtez and prêtent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example prête — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for prêter: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of prêter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je prête un livre.” — “I lend a book.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il prête de l'argent.” — “He lends some money.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous prêtons ma voiture.” — “We lend my car.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je prête un stylo.” — “I lend a pen.”

Present vs passé composé: prêter finished, prêter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with prêter. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je prête un livre.” — “I lend a book.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai prêté un livre cette semaine.” — “I have lent a book this week.”

  • Present: “Il prête de l'argent.” — “He lends some money.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a prêté de l'argent cette semaine.” — “He has lent some money this week.”

  • Present: “Nous prêtons ma voiture.” — “We lend my car.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons prêté ma voiture cette semaine.” — “We have lent my car this week.”

Example sentences: prêter in the present

Six sentences using only the present of prêter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je prête un livre.” — “I lend a book.”
  • “Tu prêtes de l'argent.” — “You lend some money.”
  • “Il prête ma voiture.” — “He lends my car.”
  • “Nous prêtons un stylo.” — “We lend a pen.”
  • “Vous prêtez un livre.” — “You lend a book.”
  • “Ils prêtent de l'argent.” — “They lend some money.”

Common mistakes in the present of prêter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je prêtons un livre.”

✓ Right: “Je prête un livre.”

prêtons is the nous form. With je the present form is prête.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je prêter de l'argent.”

✓ Right: “Je prête de l'argent.”

The infinitive prêter never takes a subject. After je you need prête.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai prêté ma voiture.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je prête ma voiture.”

A habit needs the present prête, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je prête un stylo tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je prêtais un stylo tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect prêtais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu prête un livre.”

✓ Right: “Tu prêtes un livre.”

With tu the present form is prêtes, not prête. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of prêter

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

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

    • A) prêtes
    • B) prêtent
    • C) prêtez
    • D) prête

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

    • A) prête
    • B) prêtes
    • C) prêtent
    • D) prêtez

  3. What is the il/elle form of prêter in the Present indicative?

    • A) prête
    • B) prêtes
    • C) prêtent
    • D) prêtez

  4. What is the nous form of prêter in the Present indicative?

    • A) prêtez
    • B) prête
    • C) prêtons
    • D) prêtent

  5. What is the vous form of prêter in the Present indicative?

    • A) prêtons
    • B) prêtez
    • C) prête
    • D) prêtes

  6. What is the ils/elles form of prêter in the Present indicative?

    • A) prêtent
    • B) prêtons
    • C) prêtez
    • D) prêtes

  7. What is the je form of prêter in the Present perfect?

    • A) a prêté
    • B) avez prêté
    • C) ont prêté
    • D) ai prêté

  8. What is the gerund of prêter?

    • A) buvant
    • B) dormant
    • C) prêtant

  9. What is the past participle of prêter?

    • A) dormi
    • B) bu
    • C) prêté

  10. What does prêter mean in English?

  • A) drink
  • B) lend
  • C) sleep
  • D) open

Answer key

  1. D) prête — The je form of prêter in the present indicative is prête.
  2. B) prêtes — The tu form of prêter in the present indicative is prêtes.
  3. A) prête — The il/elle form of prêter in the present indicative is prête.
  4. C) prêtons — The nous form of prêter in the present indicative is prêtons.
  5. B) prêtez — The vous form of prêter in the present indicative is prêtez.
  6. A) prêtent — The ils/elles form of prêter in the present indicative is prêtent.
  7. D) ai prêté — The je form of prêter in the present perfect is ai prêté.
  8. C) prêtant — The gerund of prêter is en prêtant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. C) prêté — The past participle of prêter is prêté; perfect tenses use avoir + prêté.
  10. B) lend — prêter means “lend” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of prêter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For prêter that covers lending something to a friend, helping with money and sharing at school.

Is the present of prêter regular?

prêter is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of prêter?

The past participle is prêté. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + prêté.

How do I say “I lend” in the present?

Say “Je prête un livre.” — “I lend a book.” The je form is prête.

Pronunciation

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

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