vendre Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

vendre — sell — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. vendre is the verb for selling something second-hand: it comes up whenever you talk about talking about a shop or describing a sale. On this page you will find vendre in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts 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.

Example sentences with vendre

In the present tense

  • “Je vends ma voiture.” — “I sell my car.”
  • “Tu vends des livres.” — “You sell books.”
  • “Il vend la maison.” — “He sells the house.”
  • “Nous vendons des légumes.” — “We sell vegetables.”
  • “Vous vendez ma voiture.” — “You sell my car.”
  • “Ils vendent des livres.” — “They sell books.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai vendu ma voiture cette semaine.” — “I have sold my car this week.”
  • “Tu as vendu des livres cette semaine.” — “You have sold books this week.”
  • “Il a vendu la maison cette semaine.” — “He has sold the house this week.”
  • “Nous avons vendu des légumes cette semaine.” — “We have sold vegetables this week.”
  • “Vous avez vendu ma voiture cette semaine.” — “You have sold my car this week.”
  • “Ils ont vendu des livres cette semaine.” — “They have sold books this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Je vendais ma voiture avant.” — “I used to sell my car before.”
  • “Je vendrai des livres demain.” — “I will sell books tomorrow.”
  • “Je vendrais la maison un jour.” — “I would sell the house one day.”
  • “Bien que il vende des légumes” — “Although he sells vegetables.”

vendre in context

Je vends ma voiture. Tu vends des livres. Il vend la maison. Nous vendons des légumes.

I sell my car. You sell books. He sells the house. We sell vegetables.

J'ai vendu ma voiture. Il a vendu des livres. Nous avons vendu la maison.

I have sold my car this week. He has sold books this week. We have sold the house this week.

Common mistakes with vendre

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je vendre ma voiture.

Right: Je vends ma voiture.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form vends.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je vendons des livres.

Right: Je vends des livres.

vendons is the nous form. With je, use vends.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je vends la maison.

Right: Hier, j'ai vendu la maison.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai vendu, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je vends des légumes.

Right: Bien que je vende des légumes.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive vende.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je vendais ma voiture hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai vendu ma voiture hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on vendre

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

  1. What is the tu form of vendre in the Present indicative?

    • A) vendons
    • B) vends
    • C) vend
    • D) vendez

  2. What is the nous form of vendre in the Present indicative?

    • A) vendons
    • B) vendent
    • C) vend
    • D) vendez

  3. What is the il/elle form of vendre in the Present perfect?

    • A) as vendu
    • B) a vendu
    • C) ai vendu
    • D) avez vendu

  4. What is the je form of vendre in the Imperfect?

    • A) vendaient
    • B) vendions
    • C) vendiez
    • D) vendais

  5. What is the nous form of vendre in the Future?

    • A) vendrai
    • B) vendrons
    • C) vendrez
    • D) vendra

  6. What is the tu form of vendre in the Conditional?

    • A) vendrais
    • B) vendrait
    • C) vendraient
    • D) vendriez

  7. What is the je form of vendre in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) vendiez
    • B) vendent
    • C) vendions
    • D) vende

  8. What is the il/elle form of vendre in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) vendît
    • B) vendisses
    • C) vendissions
    • D) vendissent

  9. What is the gerund of vendre?

    • A) dormant
    • B) vendant
    • C) buvant

  10. What is the past participle of vendre?

  • A) bu
  • B) vendu
  • C) dormi

Answer key

  1. B) vends — The tu form of vendre in the present indicative is vends.
  2. A) vendons — The nous form of vendre in the present indicative is vendons.
  3. B) a vendu — The il/elle form of vendre in the present perfect is a vendu.
  4. D) vendais — The je form of vendre in the imperfect is vendais.
  5. B) vendrons — The nous form of vendre in the future is vendrons.
  6. A) vendrais — The tu form of vendre in the conditional is vendrais.
  7. D) vende — The je form of vendre in the present subjunctive is vende.
  8. A) vendît — The il/elle form of vendre in the imperfect subjunctive is vendît.
  9. B) vendant — The gerund of vendre is en vendant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. B) vendu — The past participle of vendre is vendu; perfect tenses use avoir + vendu.

Frequently asked questions

What does vendre mean in English?

vendre means “sell”. You use it for selling something second-hand, for talking about a shop, and for describing a sale.

Is vendre regular or irregular?

vendre is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en vendant and the past participle is vendu.

How do I say “I sell” in French?

Say “Je vends ma voiture.” — “I sell my car.” The je form of the present is vends.

Where can I see the full conjugation of vendre?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Vendre Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise vendre this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with vendre out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — ma voiture, des livres and la maison — and change only the person, so you hear how vends, vends and vend sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai vendu and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en vendant and vendu in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

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

Related pages