Rester in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Rester means “to stay”, and this page covers exactly one thing: rester in the present tense. The present is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for rester, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about rester in the present. For example: “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of rester exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Rester in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je reste
tu restes
il/elle reste
nous restons
vous restez
ils/elles restent

Gerund: restant · Past participle: resté

The gerund is restant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is resté, which you use with être in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is suis resté, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how rester is used.

How the present of rester is formed

The present of rester follows the regular -er pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je reste, tu restes, il/elle reste, nous restons, vous restez, ils/elles restent. The nous and vous forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the imperfect is built from the present nous form, and the present subjunctive is built from the present ils form, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. The gerund restant and the participle resté belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise rester in every tense.

When to use the present of rester

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use rester in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Staying at home this evening — the everyday use

Rester is the verb for staying at home this evening. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.”

2. Staying in Paris for a week — a second everyday use

Rester also covers staying in Paris for a week. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu restes à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “You stay in Paris for a week every day.”

3. Staying with my friends tomorrow — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use rester for staying with my friends tomorrow. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Il reste avec mes amis demain tous les jours.” — “He stays with my friends tomorrow every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and rester is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous restons à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “We stay at home this evening every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. French often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with rester in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Vous restez à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “You stay in Paris for a week every day.”

Present Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as tous les jours or hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Je restais à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — “I used to stay at home this evening in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Tu restes à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “You stay in Paris for a week every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu restais à Paris une semaine autrefois.” — “You used to stay in Paris for a week in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Nous restons avec mes amis demain tous les jours.” — “We stay with my friends tomorrow every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous restions avec mes amis demain autrefois.” — “We used to stay with my friends tomorrow in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: rester in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Je reste à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “I stay in Paris for a week every day.”

  2. “Tu restes avec mes amis demain tous les jours.” — “You stay with my friends tomorrow every day.”

  3. “Il reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “He stays at home this evening every day.”

  4. “Nous restons à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “We stay in Paris for a week every day.”

  5. “Vous restez avec mes amis demain tous les jours.” — “You stay with my friends tomorrow every day.”

  6. “Ils restent à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “They stay at home this evening every day.”

  7. “Je reste à Paris une semaine tous les jours.” — “I stay in Paris for a week every day.”

  8. “Tu restes avec mes amis demain tous les jours.” — “You stay with my friends tomorrow every day.”

Common mistakes with rester in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je restent à la maison ce soir.” Right: “Je reste à la maison ce soir.” Why: The je form is reste, not restent. Restent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous restent à la maison ce soir.” Right: “Nous restons à la maison ce soir.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: restons, not restent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “À la maison ce soir” with the infinitive: “Je rester à la maison ce soir.” Right: “Je reste à la maison ce soir.” Why: The infinitive rester never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form reste.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je reste à la maison ce soir.” Right: “Il est important que je reste à la maison ce soir.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use reste here, not the indicative reste.

Quiz: rester in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ à Paris une semaine.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ avec mes amis demain.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ à la maison ce soir.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ à Paris une semaine.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ avec mes amis demain.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ à la maison ce soir.”

  • (A) reste
  • (B) restes
  • (C) restons
  • (D) restent

7. What does rester mean in English?

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

8. What is the past participle of rester?

  • (A) sorti
  • (B) resté
  • (C) arrivé
  • (D) entendu

Answer key

  1. B) reste — The je form is reste.
  2. C) restes — The tu form is restes.
  3. B) reste — The il/elle form is reste.
  4. C) restons — The nous form is restons.
  5. D) restez — The vous form is restez.
  6. D) restent — The ils/elles form is restent.
  7. A) to stay — rester means “to stay”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) resté — The past participle of rester is resté; the present is formed with être + resté.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of rester formed?

The present of rester is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je reste, tu restes, il reste, nous restons, vous restez, ils restent.

When do I use the present of rester?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” — “I stay at home this evening every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

What is the difference between the present and the imperfect of rester?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the imperfect describes what used to happen or was happening in the past. Compare “Je reste à la maison ce soir tous les jours.” with “Je restais à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it used to be.

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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