sauter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

sauter — jump — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. sauter is the verb for playing in the garden: it comes up whenever you talk about describing sport or jumping with joy. On this page you will find sauter in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with sauter

In the present tense

  • “Je saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.”
  • “Tu sautes par-dessus la flaque.” — “You jump over the puddle.”
  • “Il saute de joie.” — “He jumps with joy.”
  • “Nous sautons dans le jardin.” — “We jump in the garden.”
  • “Vous sautez très haut.” — “You jump very high.”
  • “Ils sautent par-dessus la flaque.” — “They jump over the puddle.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai sauté très haut cette semaine.” — “I have jumped very high this week.”
  • “Tu as sauté par-dessus la flaque cette semaine.” — “You have jumped over the puddle this week.”
  • “Il a sauté de joie cette semaine.” — “He has jumped with joy this week.”
  • “Nous avons sauté dans le jardin cette semaine.” — “We have jumped in the garden this week.”
  • “Vous avez sauté très haut cette semaine.” — “You have jumped very high this week.”
  • “Ils ont sauté par-dessus la flaque cette semaine.” — “They have jumped over the puddle this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je sautais très haut avant.” — “I used to jump very high before.”
  • “Je sauterai par-dessus la flaque demain.” — “I will jump over the puddle tomorrow.”
  • “Je sauterais de joie un jour.” — “I would jump with joy one day.”
  • “Bien que il saute dans le jardin” — “Although he jumps in the garden.”

sauter in context

Je saute très haut. Tu sautes par-dessus la flaque. Il saute de joie. Nous sautons dans le jardin.

I jump very high. You jump over the puddle. He jumps with joy. We jump in the garden.

J'ai sauté très haut. Il a sauté par-dessus la flaque. Nous avons sauté de joie.

I have jumped very high this week. He has jumped over the puddle this week. We have jumped with joy this week.

Common mistakes with sauter

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je sauter très haut.

Right: Je saute très haut.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form saute.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je sautons par-dessus la flaque.

Right: Je saute par-dessus la flaque.

sautons is the nous form. With je, use saute.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je saute de joie.

Right: Hier, j'ai sauté de joie.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai sauté, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je saute dans le jardin.

Right: Bien que je saute dans le jardin.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive saute.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je sautais très haut hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai sauté très haut hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on sauter

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

  1. What is the tu form of sauter in the Present indicative?

    • A) sautons
    • B) sautent
    • C) saute
    • D) sautes

  2. What is the nous form of sauter in the Present indicative?

    • A) sautes
    • B) sautons
    • C) saute
    • D) sautez

  3. What is the il/elle form of sauter in the Present perfect?

    • A) a sauté
    • B) avons sauté
    • C) ai sauté
    • D) as sauté

  4. What is the je form of sauter in the Imperfect?

    • A) sautions
    • B) sautait
    • C) sautais
    • D) sautaient

  5. What is the nous form of sauter in the Future?

    • A) sauterons
    • B) sauteront
    • C) sautera
    • D) sauterai

  6. What is the tu form of sauter in the Conditional?

    • A) sauteriez
    • B) sauterais
    • C) sauterait
    • D) sauteraient

  7. What is the je form of sauter in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) saute
    • B) sautiez
    • C) sautent
    • D) sautions

  8. What is the il/elle form of sauter in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) sautassions
    • B) sautassent
    • C) sautasses
    • D) sautât

  9. What is the gerund of sauter?

    • A) sautant
    • B) buvant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of sauter?

  • A) sauté
  • B) bu
  • C) dormi

Answer key

  1. D) sautes — The tu form of sauter in the present indicative is sautes.
  2. B) sautons — The nous form of sauter in the present indicative is sautons.
  3. A) a sauté — The il/elle form of sauter in the present perfect is a sauté.
  4. C) sautais — The je form of sauter in the imperfect is sautais.
  5. A) sauterons — The nous form of sauter in the future is sauterons.
  6. B) sauterais — The tu form of sauter in the conditional is sauterais.
  7. A) saute — The je form of sauter in the present subjunctive is saute.
  8. D) sautât — The il/elle form of sauter in the imperfect subjunctive is sautât.
  9. A) sautant — The gerund of sauter is en sautant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. A) sauté — The past participle of sauter is sauté; perfect tenses use avoir + sauté.

Frequently asked questions

What does sauter mean in English?

sauter means “jump”. You use it for playing in the garden, for describing sport, and for jumping with joy.

Is sauter regular or irregular?

sauter is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en sautant and the past participle is sauté.

How do I say “I jump” in French?

Say “Je saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.” The je form of the present is saute.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sauter?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Sauter Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise sauter this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with sauter out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — très haut, par-dessus la flaque and de joie — and change only the person, so you hear how saute, sautes and saute sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai sauté and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en sautant and sauté in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sauter, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages