sauter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of sauter — jump — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. sauter is the verb for playing in the garden: it comes up whenever you talk about describing sport or jumping with joy. This page gives you the complete present table for sauter, 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 saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.”

Present conjugation of sauter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for sauter. sauter is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — sauter

Person Form
je saute
tu sautes
il/elle saute
nous sautons
vous sautez
ils/elles sautent

The gerund of sauter is en sautant and the past participle is sauté. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of sauter is formed

The present of sauter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are saute, sautes, saute, sautons, sautez and sautent. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example saute — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for sauter: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of sauter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il saute par-dessus la flaque.” — “He jumps over the puddle.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous sautons de joie.” — “We jump with joy.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je saute dans le jardin.” — “I jump in the garden.”

Present vs passé composé: sauter finished, sauter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with sauter. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “Je saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai sauté très haut cette semaine.” — “I have jumped very high this week.”

  • Present: “Il saute par-dessus la flaque.” — “He jumps over the puddle.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a sauté par-dessus la flaque cette semaine.” — “He has jumped over the puddle this week.”

  • Present: “Nous sautons de joie.” — “We jump with joy.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons sauté de joie cette semaine.” — “We have jumped with joy this week.”

Example sentences: sauter in the present

Six sentences using only the present of sauter, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of sauter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je sautons très haut.”

✓ Right: “Je saute très haut.”

sautons is the nous form. With je the present form is saute.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je sauter par-dessus la flaque.”

✓ Right: “Je saute par-dessus la flaque.”

The infinitive sauter never takes a subject. After je you need saute.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai sauté de joie.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je saute de joie.”

A habit needs the present saute, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je saute dans le jardin tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je sautais dans le jardin tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect sautais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu saute très haut.”

✓ Right: “Tu sautes très haut.”

With tu the present form is sautes, not saute. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of sauter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  5. What is the vous form of sauter in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the ils/elles form of sauter in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of sauter?

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

  9. What is the past participle of sauter?

    • A) bu
    • B) sauté
    • C) dormi

  10. What does sauter mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) jump
  • C) drink
  • D) open

Answer key

  1. A) saute — The je form of sauter in the present indicative is saute.
  2. A) sautes — The tu form of sauter in the present indicative is sautes.
  3. A) saute — The il/elle form of sauter in the present indicative is saute.
  4. A) sautons — The nous form of sauter in the present indicative is sautons.
  5. D) sautez — The vous form of sauter in the present indicative is sautez.
  6. D) sautent — The ils/elles form of sauter in the present indicative is sautent.
  7. A) ai sauté — The je form of sauter in the present perfect is ai sauté.
  8. C) sautant — The gerund of sauter is en sautant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) sauté — The past participle of sauter is sauté; perfect tenses use avoir + sauté.
  10. B) jump — sauter means “jump” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of sauter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For sauter that covers playing in the garden, describing sport and jumping with joy.

Is the present of sauter regular?

sauter is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of sauter?

The past participle is sauté. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + sauté.

How do I say “I jump” in the present?

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

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.

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