Se préparer Conjugation in French
se préparer means “to get ready” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 641 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a reflexive, regular -er verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — 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 me prépare tous les jours.” — “I get ready every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: se préparer
- English: to get ready
- Verb type: Reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en préparant
- Past participle: préparé
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se préparer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for se préparer. 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 | prépare |
| tu | prépares |
| il/elle | prépare |
| nous | préparons |
| vous | préparez |
| ils/elles | préparent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | préparai |
| tu | préparas |
| il/elle | prépara |
| nous | préparâmes |
| vous | préparâtes |
| ils/elles | préparèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | préparais |
| tu | préparais |
| il/elle | préparait |
| nous | préparions |
| vous | prépariez |
| ils/elles | préparaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | préparerai |
| tu | prépareras |
| il/elle | préparera |
| nous | préparerons |
| vous | préparerez |
| ils/elles | prépareront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | préparerais |
| tu | préparerais |
| il/elle | préparerait |
| nous | préparerions |
| vous | prépareriez |
| ils/elles | prépareraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis préparé |
| tu | es préparé |
| il/elle | est préparé |
| nous | sommes préparé |
| vous | êtes préparé |
| ils/elles | sont préparé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais préparé |
| tu | étais préparé |
| il/elle | était préparé |
| nous | étions préparé |
| vous | étiez préparé |
| ils/elles | étaient préparé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai préparé |
| tu | seras préparé |
| il/elle | sera préparé |
| nous | serons préparé |
| vous | serez préparé |
| ils/elles | seront préparé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais préparé |
| tu | serais préparé |
| il/elle | serait préparé |
| nous | serions préparé |
| vous | seriez préparé |
| ils/elles | seraient préparé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | prépare |
| tu | prépares |
| il/elle | prépare |
| nous | préparions |
| vous | prépariez |
| ils/elles | préparent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | préparasse |
| tu | préparasses |
| il/elle | préparât |
| nous | préparassions |
| vous | préparassiez |
| ils/elles | préparassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | prépare |
| nous | préparons |
| vous | préparez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | prépare |
| nous | préparons |
| vous | préparez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en préparant |
| Past participle | préparé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je me prépare tous les jours.” — “I get ready every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu te préparas la semaine dernière.” — “You got ready last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il se préparait ce matin.” — “He used to get ready this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous nous préparerons.” — “We will get ready.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous vous prépareriez.” — “You would get ready.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils se sont préparé hier.” — “They have got ready yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je m'étais préparé hier.” — “I had got ready yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu te seras préparé la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have got ready next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il se serait préparé ce matin.” — “He would have got ready this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous nous préparions tous les jours.” — “It is important that We get ready every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous vous préparassiez hier.” — “It was necessary that You get ready yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Préparez-vous !” — “Get ready!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With se préparer this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne te prépare pas !” — “Do not get ready!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en préparant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En me préparant, je commence la journée.” — “While getting ready myself, I start the day.” The past participle préparé is used with être in the perfect tenses, as in je me suis préparé — “I have got ready yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with se préparer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je me prépare à la maison.” — “I get ready at home.”
- “Tu te préparas ce matin.” — “You got ready this morning.”
- “Il se préparait avec Paul.” — “He used to get ready with Paul.”
- “Je me préparerai demain.” — “I will get ready tomorrow.”
- “Tu te préparerais tous les jours.” — “You would get ready every day.”
- “Il s'est préparé la semaine dernière.” — “He has got ready last week.”
- “Je m'étais préparé ce matin.” — “I had got ready this morning.”
- “Tu te seras préparé demain.” — “You will have got ready tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il se prépare tous les jours.” — “It is important that He get ready every day.”
- “Prépare-toi !” — “Get ready!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je se préparer .”
✓ Right: “Je me prépare tous les jours.”
The infinitive se préparer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form prépare.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je me prépares .”
✓ Right: “Je me prépare tous les jours.”
prépares is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is prépare — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je me prépare hier.”
✓ Right: “Je me suis préparé hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect suis préparé here, not the present prépare.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je me préparons .”
✓ Right: “Je me prépare tous les jours.”
préparons is the nous form. The je form is prépare — the two persons never share a form in the present of se préparer.
5. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
✗ Wrong: “Je prépare .”
✓ Right: “Je me prépare tous les jours.”
se préparer is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before the verb — je me prépare. Without it the sentence means something else entirely.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous préparons .”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous préparions .”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use préparions here, not the indicative préparons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on se préparer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of se préparer in the Present indicative?
- A) préparerais
- B) prépare
- C) préparai
- D) serais préparé
What is the il/elle form of se préparer in the Passé simple?
- A) prépara
- B) préparât
- C) préparerait
- D) préparai
What is the nous form of se préparer in the Imperfect?
- A) serions préparé
- B) préparons
- C) préparions
- D) sommes préparé
What is the tu form of se préparer in the Future?
- A) préparera
- B) prépareras
- C) préparerons
- D) préparerai
What is the je form of se préparer in the Conditional?
- A) préparerais
- B) suis préparé
- C) préparerai
- D) serais préparé
What is the il/elle form of se préparer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) préparerait
- B) prépare
- C) serait préparé
- D) préparait
What is the nous form of se préparer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) étions préparé
- B) suis préparé
- C) sommes préparé
- D) préparerons
What is the gerund of se préparer?
- A) baissant
- B) bougeant
- C) en préparant
- D) assistant
What is the past participle of se préparer?
- A) attiré
- B) accompagné
- C) préparé
- D) appartenu
What does se préparer mean in English?
- A) beat
- B) get ready
- C) bring
- D) conclude
Answer key
- B) prépare — the je form of se préparer in the present indicative is prépare. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) prépara — the il/elle form of se préparer in the passé simple is prépara. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) préparions — the nous form of se préparer in the imperfect is préparions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) prépareras — the tu form of se préparer in the future is prépareras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) préparerais — the je form of se préparer in the conditional is préparerais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) prépare — the il/elle form of se préparer in the present subjunctive is prépare. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) sommes préparé — the nous form of se préparer in the present perfect (passé composé) is sommes préparé. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) en préparant — the gerund of se préparer is en préparant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) préparé — the past participle of se préparer is préparé; perfect tenses use être + préparé. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- B) get ready — se préparer means “to get ready” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn se préparer in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je me prépare, tu te prépares, il se prépare, nous nous préparons, vous vous préparez, ils se préparent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: suis préparé shows the pattern, and the participle préparé is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare se préparer with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does se préparer mean in English?
se préparer means “to get ready”. It is a reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is se préparer regular or irregular?
se préparer is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. se préparer is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict.
What are the gerund and past participle of se préparer?
The gerund is en préparant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is préparé — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in je me suis préparé.
How do I say “I get ready” in French?
Say “Je me prépare tous les jours.” — “I get ready every day.” The je form of the present is prépare, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce se préparer?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se préparer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- se préparer in the present tense
- se préparer examples and quiz
- Dessiner conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Assister conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Quiz — practise se préparer with the interactive tool.
- Subjunctive Helper — practise se préparer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise se préparer with the interactive tool.