Rêver Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of rêver — “to dream” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for rêver, 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 rêve de voyager en France.” — “I dream of travelling in France.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for rêver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of rêver
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for rêver. rêver is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — rêver
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêve |
| tu | rêves |
| il/elle | rêve |
| nous | rêvons |
| vous | rêvez |
| ils/elles | rêvent |
The gerund of rêver is en rêvant and the past participle is rêvé. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of rêver is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem rêv- (the infinitive rêver without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → rêve, tu → rêves, il/elle → rêve, nous → rêvons, vous → rêvez, ils/elles → rêvent. So rêver gives rêve, rêves, rêve, rêvons, rêvez, rêvent.
When to use the present tense of rêver
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with rêver: “Je rêve de voyager en France tous les jours.” — “I dream of travelling in France.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with rêver: “Tu rêves de voyager en France en général.” — “You dream of travelling in France.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with rêver: “Il rêve de voyager en France maintenant.” — “He dreams of travelling in France.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with rêver: “Nous rêvons de voyager en France demain.” — “We dream of travelling in France.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with rêver: “Ils rêvent de voyager en France souvent.” — “They dream of travelling in France.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: rêver now, rêver later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “Je rêve de voyager en France tous les jours.” — “I dream of travelling in France.”
Future: “Je rêverai de voyager en France demain.” — “I will dream of travelling in France tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu rêves de voyager en France maintenant.” — “You dream of travelling in France.”
Future: “Tu rêveras de voyager en France demain.” — “You will dream of travelling in France tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous rêvons de voyager en France en classe.” — “We dream of travelling in France.”
Future: “Nous rêverons de voyager en France demain.” — “We will dream of travelling in France tomorrow.”
Example sentences: rêver in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of rêver, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je rêve de voyager en France tous les jours.” — “I dream of travelling in France.”
- “Tu rêves de voyager en France chaque matin.” — “You dream of travelling in France.”
- “Il rêve de voyager en France souvent.” — “He dreams of travelling in France.”
- “Nous rêvons de voyager en France maintenant.” — “We dream of travelling in France.”
- “Vous rêvez de voyager en France en général.” — “You dream of travelling in France.”
- “Ils rêvent de voyager en France le week-end.” — “They dream of travelling in France.”
Common mistakes with rêver in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je rêver de voyager en France.”
Right: “Je rêve de voyager en France.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form rêve.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu rêve de voyager en France.”
Right: “Tu rêves de voyager en France.”
After tu you need rêves, not the je form rêve. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je rêverai de voyager en France.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je rêve de voyager en France tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (rêverai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai rêvé de voyager en France tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “Je rêve de voyager en France tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: rêver in the present tense
What is the je form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvent
- B) rêve
- C) rêvons
- D) rêves
What is the tu form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvez
- B) rêvons
- C) rêve
- D) rêves
What is the il/elle form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêves
- B) rêvez
- C) rêvons
- D) rêve
What is the nous form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvons
- B) rêve
- C) rêvez
- D) rêvent
What is the vous form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvez
- B) rêvent
- C) rêvons
- D) rêve
What is the ils/elles form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvons
- B) rêvez
- C) rêves
- D) rêvent
What is the gerund of rêver?
- A) rêve
- B) rêverai
- C) en rêvant
- D) rêvé
What does rêver mean in English?
- A) to go
- B) to dream
- C) to have
- D) to be
Answer key
- B) rêve — the je form of rêver in the present indicative is rêve.
- D) rêves — the tu form of rêver in the present indicative is rêves.
- D) rêve — the il/elle form of rêver in the present indicative is rêve.
- A) rêvons — the nous form of rêver in the present indicative is rêvons.
- A) rêvez — the vous form of rêver in the present indicative is rêvez.
- D) rêvent — the ils/elles form of rêver in the present indicative is rêvent.
- C) en rêvant — the gerund of rêver is en rêvant.
- B) to dream — rêver means “to dream” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of rêver formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is rêve and the ils form is rêvent.
When do I use the present tense of rêver?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (rêve), while the future is for what will happen (rêverai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of rêver?
On the full conjugation page for rêver, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of rêver in order, without looking: rêve, rêves, rêve, rêvons, rêvez, rêvent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using rêve, ai rêvé and rêverai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- rêver in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- rêver examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Imaginer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Preparer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise rêver with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise rêver with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.