vendre Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of vendre — sell — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. vendre is the verb for selling something second-hand: it comes up whenever you talk about talking about a shop or describing a sale. This page gives you the complete present table for vendre, 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 vends ma voiture.” — “I sell my car.”

Present conjugation of vendre

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for vendre. vendre is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — vendre

Person Form
je vends
tu vends
il/elle vend
nous vendons
vous vendez
ils/elles vendent

The gerund of vendre is en vendant and the past participle is vendu. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of vendre is formed

The present of vendre is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are vends, vends, vend, vendons, vendez and vendent. 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 vends — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for vendre: 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 vendre

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je vends ma voiture.” — “I sell my car.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il vend des livres.” — “He sells books.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous vendons la maison.” — “We sell the house.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je vends des légumes.” — “I sell vegetables.”

Present vs passé composé: vendre finished, vendre in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with vendre. 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 vends ma voiture.” — “I sell my car.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai vendu ma voiture cette semaine.” — “I have sold my car this week.”

  • Present: “Il vend des livres.” — “He sells books.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a vendu des livres cette semaine.” — “He has sold books this week.”

  • Present: “Nous vendons la maison.” — “We sell the house.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons vendu la maison cette semaine.” — “We have sold the house this week.”

Example sentences: vendre in the present

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

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of vendre

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je vendons ma voiture.”

✓ Right: “Je vends ma voiture.”

vendons is the nous form. With je the present form is vends.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je vendre des livres.”

✓ Right: “Je vends des livres.”

The infinitive vendre never takes a subject. After je you need vends.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai vendu la maison.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je vends la maison.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je vends des légumes tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je vendais des légumes tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu vends ma voiture.”

✓ Right: “Tu vends ma voiture.”

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

Quiz: test yourself on the present of vendre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of vendre?

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

  9. What is the past participle of vendre?

    • A) bu
    • B) vendu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does vendre mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) drink
  • C) open
  • D) sell

Answer key

  1. D) vends — The je form of vendre in the present indicative is vends.
  2. D) vends — The tu form of vendre in the present indicative is vends.
  3. B) vend — The il/elle form of vendre in the present indicative is vend.
  4. C) vendons — The nous form of vendre in the present indicative is vendons.
  5. C) vendez — The vous form of vendre in the present indicative is vendez.
  6. A) vendent — The ils/elles form of vendre in the present indicative is vendent.
  7. B) ai vendu — The je form of vendre in the present perfect is ai vendu.
  8. B) vendant — The gerund of vendre is en vendant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) vendu — The past participle of vendre is vendu; perfect tenses use avoir + vendu.
  10. D) sell — vendre means “sell” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of vendre?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For vendre that covers selling something second-hand, talking about a shop and describing a sale.

Is the present of vendre regular?

vendre is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of vendre?

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

How do I say “I sell” in the present?

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

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.

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