Recevoir Conjugation in French
recevoir means “receive” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about post and presents, for describing good news, and for welcoming guests. 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 recevoir — 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: “Je reçois une lettre.” — “I receive a letter.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: recevoir
- English: receive
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en recevant
- Past participle: reçu
- 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 recevoir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for recevoir. 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 | reçois |
| tu | reçois |
| il/elle | reçoit |
| nous | recevons |
| vous | recevez |
| ils/elles | reçoivent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | reçus |
| tu | reçus |
| il/elle | reçut |
| nous | reçûmes |
| vous | reçûtes |
| ils/elles | reçurent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | recevais |
| tu | recevais |
| il/elle | recevait |
| nous | recevions |
| vous | receviez |
| ils/elles | recevaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | recevrai |
| tu | recevras |
| il/elle | recevra |
| nous | recevrons |
| vous | recevrez |
| ils/elles | recevront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | recevrais |
| tu | recevrais |
| il/elle | recevrait |
| nous | recevrions |
| vous | recevriez |
| ils/elles | recevraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | reçoive |
| tu | reçoives |
| il/elle | reçoive |
| nous | recevions |
| vous | receviez |
| ils/elles | reçoivent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | reçusse |
| tu | reçusses |
| il/elle | reçût |
| nous | reçussions |
| vous | reçussiez |
| ils/elles | reçussent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai reçu |
| tu | as reçu |
| il/elle | a reçu |
| nous | avons reçu |
| vous | avez reçu |
| ils/elles | ont reçu |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais reçu |
| tu | avais reçu |
| il/elle | avait reçu |
| nous | avions reçu |
| vous | aviez reçu |
| ils/elles | avaient reçu |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai reçu |
| tu | auras reçu |
| il/elle | aura reçu |
| nous | aurons reçu |
| vous | aurez reçu |
| ils/elles | auront reçu |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais reçu |
| tu | aurais reçu |
| il/elle | aurait reçu |
| nous | aurions reçu |
| vous | auriez reçu |
| ils/elles | auraient reçu |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | reçois |
| nous | recevons |
| vous | recevez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | reçois |
| nous | recevons |
| vous | recevez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en recevant |
| Past participle | reçu |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With recevoir 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: “Je reçois un cadeau.” — “I receive a present.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With recevoir 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: “Je reçus un cadeau hier.” — “I received a present yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je recevais un cadeau avant.” — “I used to receive a present before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je recevrai un cadeau demain.” — “I will receive a present tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je recevrais un cadeau un jour.” — “I would receive a present one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With recevoir 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 je reçoive un cadeau” — “Although I receive a present.”
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 je reçusse un cadeau” — “Although I receive a present.”
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 reçu un cadeau cette semaine.” — “I have received a present this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais reçu un cadeau avant la fête.” — “I had received a present 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 reçu un cadeau pour demain.” — “I will have received a present by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais reçu un cadeau hier.” — “I would have received a present yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With recevoir 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: “reçois un cadeau !” — “Receive a present!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With recevoir 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 reçois pas un cadeau !” — “Don't receive a present!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en recevant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle reçu builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai reçu des amis cette semaine.” — “I have received friends this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with recevoir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je reçois une lettre.” — “I receive a letter.”
- “Tu reçus un cadeau hier.” — “You received a present yesterday.”
- “Il recevait des amis avant.” — “He used to receive friends before.”
- “Je recevrai un message demain.” — “I will receive a message tomorrow.”
- “Tu recevrais une lettre un jour.” — “You would receive a letter one day.”
- “Il a reçu un cadeau cette semaine.” — “He has received a present this week.”
- “J'avais reçu des amis avant la fête.” — “I had received friends before the party.”
- “Tu auras reçu un message pour demain.” — “You will have received a message by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il reçoive une lettre” — “Although he receives a letter.”
- “reçois un cadeau !” — “Receive a present!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je recevoir une lettre.”
✓ Right: “Je reçois une lettre.”
The infinitive recevoir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form reçois.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je recevons un cadeau.”
✓ Right: “Je reçois un cadeau.”
recevons is the nous form. With je the present form is reçois — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je reçois une lettre.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai reçu une lettre.”
The present reçois describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai reçu.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je reçus des amis.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai reçu des amis.”
The passé simple reçus belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai reçu.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je reçois une lettre.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je reçoive une lettre.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use reçoive here, not the indicative reçois.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je recevais un message avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai reçu un message avant.”
The imperfect recevais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai reçu.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on recevoir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of recevoir in the Present indicative?
- A) reçois
- B) recevez
- C) recevons
- D) reçoivent
What is the il/elle form of recevoir in the Passé simple?
- A) reçûtes
- B) reçut
- C) reçurent
- D) reçus
What is the nous form of recevoir in the Imperfect?
- A) recevait
- B) receviez
- C) recevaient
- D) recevions
What is the tu form of recevoir in the Future?
- A) recevrai
- B) recevras
- C) recevrons
- D) recevront
What is the je form of recevoir in the Conditional?
- A) recevriez
- B) recevrait
- C) recevrais
- D) recevrions
What is the il/elle form of recevoir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) reçoive
- B) receviez
- C) reçoives
- D) recevions
What is the je form of recevoir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) reçussiez
- B) reçussions
- C) reçusse
- D) reçusses
What is the gerund of recevoir?
- A) dormant
- B) recevant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of recevoir?
- A) dormi
- B) reçu
- C) bu
What does recevoir mean in English?
- A) sleep
- B) drink
- C) open
- D) receive
Answer key
- A) reçois — The je form of recevoir in the present indicative is reçois.
- B) reçut — The il/elle form of recevoir in the passé simple is reçut.
- D) recevions — The nous form of recevoir in the imperfect is recevions.
- B) recevras — The tu form of recevoir in the future is recevras.
- C) recevrais — The je form of recevoir in the conditional is recevrais.
- A) reçoive — The il/elle form of recevoir in the present subjunctive is reçoive.
- C) reçusse — The je form of recevoir in the imperfect subjunctive is reçusse.
- B) recevant — The gerund of recevoir is en recevant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) reçu — The past participle of recevoir is reçu; perfect tenses use avoir + reçu.
- D) receive — recevoir means “receive” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does recevoir mean in English?
recevoir means “receive”. You use it for talking about post and presents, for describing good news, and for welcoming guests. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is recevoir regular or irregular?
recevoir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en recevant and the past participle is reçu.
What are the gerund and past participle of recevoir?
The gerund is en recevant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is reçu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai reçu.
How do I say “I receive” in French?
Say “Je reçois une lettre.” — “I receive a letter.” The je form of the present is reçois, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between recevoir and envoyer?
recevoir means “receive” while envoyer means “send” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for envoyer and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Recevoir in Passé Composé Tense — French Conjugation Tables
- Recevoir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Envoyer conjugation
- Inviter conjugation
- Offrir conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise recevoir with the interactive tool.
- Irregular Verb Finder — practise recevoir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise recevoir with the interactive tool.