Sauter Conjugation in French
sauter means “jump” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for playing in the garden, for describing sport, and for jumping with joy. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of sauter — 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 saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: sauter
- English: jump
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en sautant
- Past participle: sauté
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for sauter. 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 | saute |
| tu | sautes |
| il/elle | saute |
| nous | sautons |
| vous | sautez |
| ils/elles | sautent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sautai |
| tu | sautas |
| il/elle | sauta |
| nous | sautâmes |
| vous | sautâtes |
| ils/elles | sautèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sautais |
| tu | sautais |
| il/elle | sautait |
| nous | sautions |
| vous | sautiez |
| ils/elles | sautaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sauterai |
| tu | sauteras |
| il/elle | sautera |
| nous | sauterons |
| vous | sauterez |
| ils/elles | sauteront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sauterais |
| tu | sauterais |
| il/elle | sauterait |
| nous | sauterions |
| vous | sauteriez |
| ils/elles | sauteraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | saute |
| tu | sautes |
| il/elle | saute |
| nous | sautions |
| vous | sautiez |
| ils/elles | sautent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | sautasse |
| tu | sautasses |
| il/elle | sautât |
| nous | sautassions |
| vous | sautassiez |
| ils/elles | sautassent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai sauté |
| tu | as sauté |
| il/elle | a sauté |
| nous | avons sauté |
| vous | avez sauté |
| ils/elles | ont sauté |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais sauté |
| tu | avais sauté |
| il/elle | avait sauté |
| nous | avions sauté |
| vous | aviez sauté |
| ils/elles | avaient sauté |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai sauté |
| tu | auras sauté |
| il/elle | aura sauté |
| nous | aurons sauté |
| vous | aurez sauté |
| ils/elles | auront sauté |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais sauté |
| tu | aurais sauté |
| il/elle | aurait sauté |
| nous | aurions sauté |
| vous | auriez sauté |
| ils/elles | auraient sauté |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | saute |
| nous | sautons |
| vous | sautez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | saute |
| nous | sautons |
| vous | sautez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en sautant |
| Past participle | sauté |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je saute par-dessus la flaque.” — “I jump over the puddle.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je sautai par-dessus la flaque hier.” — “I jumped over the puddle yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je sautais par-dessus la flaque avant.” — “I used to jump over the puddle before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je sauterai par-dessus la flaque demain.” — “I will jump over the puddle tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je sauterais par-dessus la flaque un jour.” — “I would jump over the puddle one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je saute par-dessus la flaque” — “Although I jump over the puddle.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je sautasse par-dessus la flaque” — “Although I jump over the puddle.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai sauté par-dessus la flaque cette semaine.” — “I have jumped over the puddle this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais sauté par-dessus la flaque avant la fête.” — “I had jumped over the puddle before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai sauté par-dessus la flaque pour demain.” — “I will have jumped over the puddle by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais sauté par-dessus la flaque hier.” — “I would have jumped over the puddle yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “saute par-dessus la flaque !” — “Jump over the puddle!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne saute pas par-dessus la flaque !” — “Don't jump over the puddle!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en sautant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle sauté builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai sauté de joie cette semaine.” — “I have jumped with joy this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with sauter, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je saute très haut.” — “I jump very high.”
- “Tu sautas par-dessus la flaque hier.” — “You jumped over the puddle yesterday.”
- “Il sautait de joie avant.” — “He used to jump with joy before.”
- “Je sauterai dans le jardin demain.” — “I will jump in the garden tomorrow.”
- “Tu sauterais très haut un jour.” — “You would jump very high one day.”
- “Il a sauté par-dessus la flaque cette semaine.” — “He has jumped over the puddle this week.”
- “J'avais sauté de joie avant la fête.” — “I had jumped with joy before the party.”
- “Tu auras sauté dans le jardin pour demain.” — “You will have jumped in the garden by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il saute très haut” — “Although he jumps very high.”
- “saute par-dessus la flaque !” — “Jump over the puddle!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je sauter très haut.”
✓ Right: “Je saute très haut.”
The infinitive sauter never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form saute.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je sautons par-dessus la flaque.”
✓ Right: “Je saute par-dessus la flaque.”
sautons is the nous form. With je the present form is saute — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je saute très haut.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai sauté très haut.”
The present saute describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai sauté.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je sautai de joie.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai sauté de joie.”
The passé simple sautai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai sauté.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je saute très haut.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je saute très haut.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use saute here, not the indicative saute.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je sautais dans le jardin avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai sauté dans le jardin avant.”
The imperfect sautais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai sauté.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on sauter. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of sauter in the Present indicative?
- A) sautent
- B) sautez
- C) saute
- D) sautes
What is the il/elle form of sauter in the Passé simple?
- A) sautèrent
- B) sautâmes
- C) sauta
- D) sautâtes
What is the nous form of sauter in the Imperfect?
- A) sautaient
- B) sautiez
- C) sautait
- D) sautions
What is the tu form of sauter in the Future?
- A) sauterai
- B) sautera
- C) sauteras
- D) sauterons
What is the je form of sauter in the Conditional?
- A) sauterions
- B) sauterais
- C) sauteraient
- D) sauteriez
What is the il/elle form of sauter in the Present subjunctive?
- A) saute
- B) sautiez
- C) sautions
- D) sautent
What is the je form of sauter in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) sautassions
- B) sautasse
- C) sautassiez
- D) sautât
What is the gerund of sauter?
- A) dormant
- B) buvant
- C) sautant
What is the past participle of sauter?
- A) dormi
- B) bu
- C) sauté
What does sauter mean in English?
- A) drink
- B) open
- C) sleep
- D) jump
Answer key
- C) saute — The je form of sauter in the present indicative is saute.
- C) sauta — The il/elle form of sauter in the passé simple is sauta.
- D) sautions — The nous form of sauter in the imperfect is sautions.
- C) sauteras — The tu form of sauter in the future is sauteras.
- B) sauterais — The je form of sauter in the conditional is sauterais.
- A) saute — The il/elle form of sauter in the present subjunctive is saute.
- B) sautasse — The je form of sauter in the imperfect subjunctive is sautasse.
- C) sautant — The gerund of sauter is en sautant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- C) sauté — The past participle of sauter is sauté; perfect tenses use avoir + sauté.
- D) jump — sauter means “jump” in English.
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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
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.
What are the gerund and past participle of sauter?
The gerund is en sautant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is sauté — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between sauter and courir?
sauter means “jump” while courir means “run” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for courir and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Sauter Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Sauter Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Courir conjugation
- Danser conjugation
- Jouer conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise sauter with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise sauter with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise sauter with the interactive tool.