Rêver Conjugation in French
rêver means “to dream” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of rêver — 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 rêve de voyager en France.” — “I dream of travelling in France.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: French spelling and endings change with the person and the tense, and rêver is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: rêver
- English: to dream
- Verb type: Regular -er verb
- Irregular in: — (regular in every tense)
- Gerund: en rêvant
- Past participle: rêvé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for rêver. 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 | rêve |
| tu | rêves |
| il/elle | rêve |
| nous | rêvons |
| vous | rêvez |
| ils/elles | rêvent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêvai |
| tu | rêvas |
| il/elle | rêva |
| nous | rêvâmes |
| vous | rêvâtes |
| ils/elles | rêvèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêvais |
| tu | rêvais |
| il/elle | rêvait |
| nous | rêvions |
| vous | rêviez |
| ils/elles | rêvaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêverai |
| tu | rêveras |
| il/elle | rêvera |
| nous | rêverons |
| vous | rêverez |
| ils/elles | rêveront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêverais |
| tu | rêverais |
| il/elle | rêverait |
| nous | rêverions |
| vous | rêveriez |
| ils/elles | rêveraient |
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai rêvé |
| tu | as rêvé |
| il/elle | a rêvé |
| nous | avons rêvé |
| vous | avez rêvé |
| ils/elles | ont rêvé |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais rêvé |
| tu | avais rêvé |
| il/elle | avait rêvé |
| nous | avions rêvé |
| vous | aviez rêvé |
| ils/elles | avaient rêvé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai rêvé |
| tu | auras rêvé |
| il/elle | aura rêvé |
| nous | aurons rêvé |
| vous | aurez rêvé |
| ils/elles | auront rêvé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais rêvé |
| tu | aurais rêvé |
| il/elle | aurait rêvé |
| nous | aurions rêvé |
| vous | auriez rêvé |
| ils/elles | auraient rêvé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêve |
| tu | rêves |
| il/elle | rêve |
| nous | rêvions |
| vous | rêviez |
| ils/elles | rêvent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | rêvasse |
| tu | rêvasses |
| il/elle | rêvât |
| nous | rêvassions |
| vous | rêvassiez |
| ils/elles | rêvassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | rêve |
| nous | rêvons |
| vous | rêvez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | rêve |
| nous | rêvons |
| vous | rêvez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en rêvant |
| Past participle | rêvé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je rêve de voyager en France.” — “I dream of travelling in France.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu rêvas de voyager en France.” — “You dreamed of travelling in France one day.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Il rêvait de voyager en France quand j’étais jeune.” — “He used to dream of travelling in France.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Nous rêverons de voyager en France.” — “We will dream of travelling in France tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Vous rêveriez de voyager en France.” — “You would dream of travelling in France if you could.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for recent past actions and completed events. With rêver it is formed with avoir + the past participle rêvé. For example: “Ils ont rêvé de voyager en France hier.” — “They have dreamed of travelling in France.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais rêvé de voyager en France avant la fête.” — “I had dreamed of travelling in France before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras rêvé de voyager en France.” — “You will have dreamed of travelling in France by tomorrow evening.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait rêvé de voyager en France.” — “He would have dreamed of travelling in France if he had been able to.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il faut que je rêve de voyager en France.” — “It is important that I dream of travelling in France.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mainly in formal writing. For example: “Il fallait que je rêvasse de voyager en France.” — “It was important that I dream of travelling in France.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Rêve de voyager en France !” — “Dream of travelling in France!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Rêve de voyager en France !” — “Do not dream of travelling in France!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund is en rêvant — “while dreaming” — used after en to say how something happens. The past participle is rêvé, used with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai rêvé.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with rêver, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je rêve de voyager en France.” — “I dream of travelling in France.”
- “Tu rêves de voyager en France.” — “You dream of travelling in France.”
- “Il rêvait de voyager en France.” — “He used to dream of travelling in France.”
- “Nous rêverons de voyager en France.” — “We will dream of travelling in France tomorrow.”
- “Je rêverais de voyager en France.” — “I would dream of travelling in France if I could.”
- “Tu as rêvé de voyager en France.” — “You have dreamed of travelling in France.”
- “Il avait rêvé de voyager en France.” — “He had dreamed of travelling in France before the party.”
- “Nous aurons rêvé de voyager en France.” — “We will have dreamed of travelling in France by tomorrow evening.”
- “Il faut que je rêve de voyager en France.” — “It is important that I dream of travelling in France.”
- “Rêve de voyager en France !” — “Dream of travelling in France!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je rêver de voyager en France.”
✓ Right: “Je rêve de voyager en France.”
The infinitive rêver never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form rêve.
2. Confusing rêver with imaginer
✗ Wrong: “Je rêve une vie meilleure.” (meant as “imaginer”)
✓ Right: “Je rêve de voyager en France.”
rêver means “to dream”; imaginer means “to imagine”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary for the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis rêvé de voyager en France.”
✓ Right: “J'ai rêvé de voyager en France.”
With rêver the passé composé is formed with avoir, not être: ai rêvé.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il faut que je rêve de voyager en France.”
✓ Right: “Il faut que je rêve de voyager en France.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive, so use rêve here, not the indicative rêve.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Je rêve de voyager en France hier.”
✓ Right: “J'ai rêvé de voyager en France hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (ai rêvé), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the je form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvent
- B) rêve
- C) rêvons
- D) rêves
What is the ils/elles form of rêver in the Present indicative?
- A) rêvent
- B) rêvons
- C) rêvez
- D) rêves
What is the il/elle form of rêver in the Passé simple?
- A) rêvâmes
- B) rêvâtes
- C) rêvai
- D) rêva
What is the nous form of rêver in the Imperfect?
- A) rêvions
- B) rêvait
- C) rêviez
- D) rêvais
What is the tu form of rêver in the Future?
- A) rêvera
- B) rêverons
- C) rêveras
- D) rêverai
What is the je form of rêver in the Conditional?
- A) rêverais
- B) rêverions
- C) rêveriez
- D) rêverait
What is the il/elle form of rêver in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ont rêvé
- B) a rêvé
- C) ai rêvé
- D) avons rêvé
What is the vous form of rêver in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) aviez rêvé
- B) avions rêvé
- C) avais rêvé
- D) avaient rêvé
What is the gerund of rêver?
- A) rêvé
- B) rêverai
- C) rêve
- D) en rêvant
What is the past participle of rêver?
- A) en rêvant
- B) rêvé
- C) rêvais
- D) rêve
Answer key
- B) rêve — the je form of rêver in the present indicative is rêve.
- A) rêvent — the ils/elles form of rêver in the present indicative is rêvent.
- D) rêva — the il/elle form of rêver in the passé simple is rêva.
- A) rêvions — the nous form of rêver in the imperfect is rêvions.
- C) rêveras — the tu form of rêver in the future is rêveras.
- A) rêverais — the je form of rêver in the conditional is rêverais.
- B) a rêvé — the il/elle form of rêver in the present perfect (passé composé) is a rêvé.
- A) aviez rêvé — the vous form of rêver in the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is aviez rêvé.
- D) en rêvant — the gerund of rêver is en rêvant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) rêvé — the past participle of rêver is rêvé; perfect tenses use avoir + rêvé.
Frequently asked questions
What does rêver mean in English?
rêver means “to dream”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je rêve de voyager en France.” (“I dream of travelling in France.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is rêver regular or irregular?
rêver is regular: its endings follow the standard -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is en rêvant and the past participle is rêvé.
What are the gerund and past participle of rêver?
The gerund is en rêvant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is rêvé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai rêvé.
What is the difference between rêver and imaginer?
rêver means “to dream”, while imaginer means “to imagine”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for imaginer and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I dream” in French?
Say “Je rêve de voyager en France.” — “I dream of travelling in France.” The je form of the present is rêve, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn rêver
Start with the present tense: rêve, rêves, rêve, rêvons, rêvez, rêvent. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the passé composé — ai rêvé — and the imperfect — rêvais. Next, learn the future (rêverai) and the conditional (rêverais), which share the same stem. Finally, tackle the subjunctive (rêve) and the imperative (rêve). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the present-tense quiz.
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.