Rester: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Rester means “to stay”, 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 rester, 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 rester, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.”
  2. “Tu restes à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “You stay in Paris for a week every day.”
  3. “Je suis resté avec mes amis demain cette semaine.” — “I have stayed with my friends tomorrow this week.”
  4. “Il restait à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — “He used to stay at home this evening in the past.”
  5. “Nous resterons à Paris une semaine demain.” — “We will stay in Paris for a week tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu es resté avec mes amis demain cette semaine.” — “You have stayed with my friends tomorrow this week.”
  7. “Je resterais à la maison ce soir un jour.” — “I would stay at home this evening one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il reste à Paris une semaine.” — “It is important that he stay in Paris for a week.”
  9. “Nous étions resté avec mes amis demain avant la fête.” — “We had stayed with my friends tomorrow before the party.”
  10. “Il restera à la maison ce soir demain.” — “He will stay at home this evening tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils restent à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “They stay in Paris for a week every day.”
  12. “Reste avec mes amis demain !” — “Stay with my friends tomorrow!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about at home this evening. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how rester changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of rester below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je resterai à Paris une semaine demain.” — “I will stay in Paris for a week tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “Je suis resté avec mes amis demain cette semaine.” — “I have stayed with my friends tomorrow this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je resterais à la maison ce soir un jour.” — “I would stay at home this evening 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.

Rester in different tenses

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

The present: habits and facts

In the present, rester describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is reste: “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, rester describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is restait: “Il restait à Paris une semaine autrefois.” — “He used to stay in Paris for a week in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, rester reports one finished action, built with être plus the participle resté. The je form is suis resté: “Je suis resté avec mes amis demain cette semaine.” — “I have stayed with my friends tomorrow this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, rester talks about what will happen. The nous form is resterons: “Nous resterons à la maison ce soir demain.” — “We will stay at home this evening tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, rester talks about what would happen. The tu form is resterais: “Tu resterais à Paris une semaine un jour.” — “You would stay in Paris for a week one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, rester appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is reste, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je reste avec mes amis demain.” — “It is important that I stay with my friends tomorrow.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je rester à la maison ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je reste à la maison ce soir.”

The infinitive rester never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form reste.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu reste à la maison ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Tu restes à la maison ce soir.”

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

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je reste à la maison ce soir hier.”

✓ Right: “Je suis resté à la maison ce soir hier.”

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

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu restes à Paris une semaine.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu restes à Paris une semaine.”

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

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je resté à la maison ce soir.”

✓ Right: “Je suis resté à la maison ce soir.”

The passé composé of rester needs the auxiliary être plus the participle resté: the full je form is suis resté.

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) restez
    • B) reste
    • C) restes
    • D) restons

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

    • A) restons
    • B) restez
    • C) restes
    • D) reste

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

    • A) sommes resté
    • B) est resté
    • C) suis resté
    • D) es resté

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

    • A) restiez
    • B) restions
    • C) restais
    • D) restait

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

    • A) resterai
    • B) restera
    • C) resterons
    • D) resteras

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

    • A) resterions
    • B) resteriez
    • C) resterais
    • D) resterait

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

    • A) restiez
    • B) reste
    • C) restes
    • D) restions

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

    • A) était resté
    • B) étions resté
    • C) étiez resté
    • D) étais resté

  9. What is the gerund of rester?

    • A) en restant
    • B) en arrivant
    • C) en entendant
    • D) en sortant

  10. What does rester mean in English?

  • A) to stay
  • B) to arrive
  • C) to hear
  • D) to go out

Answer key

  1. B) reste — the je form of rester in the Present indicative is reste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) restes — the tu form of rester in the Present indicative is restes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) est resté — the il/elle form of rester in the Present perfect (passé composé) is est resté. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. B) restions — the nous form of rester in the Imperfect is restions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. D) resteras — the tu form of rester in the Future is resteras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) resterais — the je form of rester in the Conditional is resterais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) reste — the il/elle form of rester in the Present subjunctive is reste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. D) étais resté — the je form of rester in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is étais resté. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. A) en restant — the gerund of rester is en restant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. A) to stay — rester means “to stay” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does rester mean in English?

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

Is rester regular or irregular?

rester is regular in every tense. The gerund is restant and the past participle is resté.

How do I practise rester every day?

Say one sentence with rester 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 reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.”, “Je suis resté à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” and “Je resterai à la maison ce soir 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 rester, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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