Se calmer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
se calmer — “to calm down” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find se calmer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues 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. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “Je me calme après une longue journée.” — “I calm down after a long day.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se calmer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Example sentences with se calmer
In the present tense
- “Je me calme après une longue journée tous les jours.” — “I calm down after a long day.”
- “Tu te calmes après une longue journée souvent.” — “You calm down after a long day.”
- “Il se calme après une longue journée chaque matin.” — “He calms down after a long day.”
- “Nous nous calmons après une longue journée le week-end.” — “We calm down after a long day.”
In the passé composé
- “Je me suis calmé après une longue journée hier.” — “I have calmed down after a long day.”
- “Tu t'es calmé après une longue journée ce matin.” — “You have calmed down after a long day.”
- “Il s'est calmé après une longue journée la semaine dernière.” — “He has calmed down after a long day.”
In the imperfect and the future
- “Je me calmais après une longue journée quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to calm down after a long day.”
- “Nous nous calmions après une longue journée quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to calm down after a long day.”
- “Tu te calmeras après une longue journée demain.” — “You will calm down after a long day tomorrow.”
- “Ils se calmeront après une longue journée demain.” — “They will calm down after a long day tomorrow.”
In other tenses
- “Je me calmerais après une longue journée si je pouvais.” — “I would calm down after a long day if I could.”
- “Il faut que je me calme après une longue journée.” — “It is important that I calm down after a long day.”
- “Ne te calme pas après une longue journée !” — “Do not calm down after a long day!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “Je m'étais calmé après une longue journée avant la fête.” — “I had calmed down after a long day before the party.”
All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en calmant and the past participle is calmé; the perfect tenses use être + calmé, as in suis calmé.
Se calmer in context
Dialogue 1: every day
Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how se calmer changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.
Marie: “Tu te calmes après une longue journée tous les jours ?” — “You calm down after a long day.” Paul: “Je me calme après une longue journée tous les jours.” — “I calm down after a long day.” Marie: “Tu t'es calmé après une longue journée hier ?” — “You have calmed down after a long day.” Paul: “Je me suis calmé après une longue journée hier.” — “I have calmed down after a long day.” Marie: “Nous nous calmerons après une longue journée demain ?” — “We will calm down after a long day tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous nous calmerons après une longue journée demain.” — “We will calm down after a long day tomorrow.”
Dialogue 2: making plans
Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.
Paul: “Je me calmerais après une longue journée si je pouvais.” — “I would calm down after a long day if I could.” Marie: “Tu te calmes après une longue journée souvent ?” — “You calm down after a long day.” Paul: “Je me calme après une longue journée souvent.” — “I calm down after a long day.” Marie: “Ne te calme pas après une longue journée !” — “Do not calm down after a long day!” Paul: “Il faut que je me calme après une longue journée.” — “It is important that I calm down after a long day.” Marie: “Nous nous sommes calmé après une longue journée hier.” — “We have calmed down after a long day.”
Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: calme becomes calmes, calmes becomes calme, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — calme*, calmes, calme, calmons, calmez, *calment — in memory.
Common mistakes with se calmer
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: “Je se calmer après une longue journée.”
Right: “Je me calme après une longue journée.”
The infinitive se calmer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form calme.
Mistake 2: Confusing se calmer with se reposer
Wrong: “Je me calme dans le jardin le dimanche.” (meant as “se reposer”)
Right: “Je me calme après une longue journée.”
se calmer means “to calm down” and se reposer means “to rest”. They appear in similar situations, but they are different actions — check the meaning before you choose the verb.
Mistake 3: Using avoir for the passé composé
Wrong: “J’ai calmé après une longue journée.”
Right: “Je me suis calmé après une longue journée.”
With se calmer the passé composé is formed with être: suis calmé.
Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: “Il faut que je calme après une longue journée.”
Right: “Il faut que je me calme après une longue journée.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: calme, not the indicative calme.
Mistake 5: Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: “Je calme après une longue journée.”
Right: “Je me calme après une longue journée.”
se calmer is reflexive: the pronoun is part of the verb.
Quiz: se calmer in everyday use
What is the je form of se calmer in the Present indicative?
- A) calmez
- B) calme
- C) calmes
- D) calment
What is the ils/elles form of se calmer in the Present indicative?
- A) calmons
- B) calmes
- C) calme
- D) calment
What is the tu form of se calmer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) est calmé
- B) es calmé
- C) êtes calmé
- D) suis calmé
What is the nous form of se calmer in the Imperfect?
- A) calmiez
- B) calmais
- C) calmions
- D) calmaient
What is the il/elle form of se calmer in the Future?
- A) calmeras
- B) calmerez
- C) calmera
- D) calmeront
What is the je form of se calmer in the Conditional?
- A) calmerait
- B) calmerais
- C) calmeraient
- D) calmeriez
What is the tu form of se calmer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) calment
- B) calmions
- C) calmes
- D) calmiez
What is the tu form of se calmer in the Imperative (affirmative)?
- A) calma
- B) calmons
- C) calme
- D) calmez
What is the past participle of se calmer?
- A) calme
- B) calmais
- C) calmé
- D) en calmant
What does se calmer mean in English?
- A) to have
- B) to go
- C) to be
- D) to calm down
Answer key
- B) calme — the je form of se calmer in the present indicative is calme.
- D) calment — the ils/elles form of se calmer in the present indicative is calment.
- B) es calmé — the tu form of se calmer in the present perfect (passé composé) is es calmé.
- C) calmions — the nous form of se calmer in the imperfect is calmions.
- C) calmera — the il/elle form of se calmer in the future is calmera.
- B) calmerais — the je form of se calmer in the conditional is calmerais.
- C) calmes — the tu form of se calmer in the present subjunctive is calmes.
- C) calme — the tu form of se calmer in the imperative (affirmative) is calme.
- C) calmé — the past participle of se calmer is calmé; perfect tenses use être + calmé.
- D) to calm down — se calmer means “to calm down” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does se calmer mean in English?
se calmer means “to calm down”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je me calme après une longue journée.” (“I calm down after a long day.”).
Which auxiliary does se calmer take in the passé composé?
se calmer takes être: suis calmé. Because the auxiliary is être, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
What is the hardest form of se calmer to remember?
Most learners struggle with keeping the six persons apart — calme*, calmes, calme, calmons, calmez, *calment. Say them in order every day, and use the dialogues above to practise them in real sentences.
Where can I see the full conjugation of se calmer?
On the full conjugation page for se calmer, which has every tense, and on the se calmer present page, which goes deep on one tense.
Say it yourself
Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I calm down after a long day.” should become “Je me calme après une longue journée”. Then try the passé composé: “I have calmed down after a long day.” should become “Je me suis calmé après une longue journée”. Finally, try the future: “I will calm down after a long day tomorrow.” should become “Je me calmerai après une longue journée”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.
Related pages
- se calmer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- se calmer 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.
- Se reposer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Craindre conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise se calmer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise se calmer with the interactive tool.
- Reflexive Verb Conjugator — practise reflexive verbs with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.