se lever Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of se lever — get up — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. se lever is the verb for describing your morning routine: it comes up whenever you talk about talking about getting up early or explaining a school morning. This page gives you the complete present table for se lever, 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 me lève tôt.” — “I get up early.”

Present conjugation of se lever

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for se lever. se lever is regular with a spelling change (grave-e) (irregular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — se lever

Person Form
je lève
tu lèves
il/elle lève
nous levons
vous levez
ils/elles lèvent

The gerund of se lever is en levant and the past participle is levé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of se lever is formed

The present of se lever is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are lève, lèves, lève, levons, levez and lèvent. Watch the spelling change (grave-e): the stem changes in some persons, exactly as the table shows. 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 lève — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for se lever: 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 se lever

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je me lève tôt.” — “I get up early.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il se lève à six heures.” — “He gets up at six o'clock.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous nous levons tous les jours.” — “We get up every day.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je me lève vite.” — “I get up quickly.”

Present vs passé composé: se lever finished, se lever in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with se lever. 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 me lève tôt.” — “I get up early.”

  • Passé composé: “Je me suis levé tôt cette semaine.” — “I have got up early this week.”

  • Present: “Il se lève à six heures.” — “He gets up at six o'clock.”

  • Passé composé: “Il se est levé à six heures cette semaine.” — “He has got up at six o'clock this week.”

  • Present: “Nous nous levons tous les jours.” — “We get up every day.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous nous sommes levé tous les jours cette semaine.” — “We have got up every day this week.”

Example sentences: se lever in the present

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

  • “Je me lève tôt.” — “I get up early.”
  • “Tu te lèves à six heures.” — “You get up at six o'clock.”
  • “Il se lève tous les jours.” — “He gets up every day.”
  • “Nous nous levons vite.” — “We get up quickly.”
  • “Vous vous levez tôt.” — “You get up early.”
  • “Ils se lèvent à six heures.” — “They get up at six o'clock.”

Common mistakes in the present of se lever

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je levons tôt.”

✓ Right: “Je lève tôt.”

levons is the nous form. With je the present form is lève.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je se lever à six heures.”

✓ Right: “Je lève à six heures.”

The infinitive se lever never takes a subject. After je you need lève.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'suis levé tous les jours.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je lève tous les jours.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je lève vite tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je levais vite tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu lève tôt.”

✓ Right: “Tu lèves tôt.”

With tu the present form is lèves, not lève. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of se lever

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

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

    • A) levons
    • B) lèvent
    • C) levez
    • D) lève

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

    • A) levez
    • B) lève
    • C) lèves
    • D) lèvent

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

    • A) lèvent
    • B) levez
    • C) lève
    • D) levons

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

    • A) lèvent
    • B) lèves
    • C) levons
    • D) lève

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

    • A) lèves
    • B) levez
    • C) lèvent
    • D) levons

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

    • A) lève
    • B) lèvent
    • C) lèves
    • D) levez

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

    • A) suis levé
    • B) sont levé
    • C) sommes levé
    • D) es levé

  8. What is the gerund of se lever?

    • A) buvant
    • B) dormant
    • C) levant

  9. What is the past participle of se lever?

    • A) dormi
    • B) levé
    • C) bu

  10. What does se lever mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) drink
  • C) get up
  • D) open

Answer key

  1. D) lève — The je form of se lever in the present indicative is lève.
  2. C) lèves — The tu form of se lever in the present indicative is lèves.
  3. C) lève — The il/elle form of se lever in the present indicative is lève.
  4. C) levons — The nous form of se lever in the present indicative is levons.
  5. B) levez — The vous form of se lever in the present indicative is levez.
  6. B) lèvent — The ils/elles form of se lever in the present indicative is lèvent.
  7. A) suis levé — The je form of se lever in the present perfect is suis levé.
  8. C) levant — The gerund of se lever is en levant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) levé — The past participle of se lever is levé; perfect tenses use être + levé.
  10. C) get up — se lever means “get up” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of se lever?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For se lever that covers describing your morning routine, talking about getting up early and explaining a school morning.

Is the present of se lever regular?

se lever is regular with a spelling change (grave-e). In the present it is irregular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of se lever?

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

How do I say “I get up” in the present?

Say “Je me lève tôt.” — “I get up early.” The je form is lève.

Pronunciation

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

Related pages