Vivre Conjugation in French
vivre means “to live” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 31 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about living in Paris for ten years, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of vivre — 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 vis à Paris depuis dix ans tous les jours.” — “I live in Paris for ten years every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: vivre
- English: to live
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: vivant
- Past participle: vécu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern vivre in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for vivre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read vivre in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about vivre
- It is irregular in 5 tense(s): present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle vécu. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is vivant and the participle is vécu: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for vivre. 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 | vis |
| tu | vis |
| il/elle | vit |
| nous | vivons |
| vous | vivez |
| ils/elles | vivent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With vivre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je vis avec ma famille tous les jours.” — “I live with my family every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vécus |
| tu | vécus |
| il/elle | vécut |
| nous | vécûmes |
| vous | vécûtes |
| ils/elles | vécurent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With vivre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu vécus avec ma famille hier.” — “You lived with my family yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vivais |
| tu | vivais |
| il/elle | vivait |
| nous | vivions |
| vous | viviez |
| ils/elles | vivaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il vivait avec ma famille autrefois.” — “He used to live with my family in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vivrai |
| tu | vivras |
| il/elle | vivra |
| nous | vivrons |
| vous | vivrez |
| ils/elles | vivront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je vivrai avec ma famille demain.” — “I will live with my family tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vivrais |
| tu | vivrais |
| il/elle | vivrait |
| nous | vivrions |
| vous | vivriez |
| ils/elles | vivraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu vivrais avec ma famille un jour.” — “You would live with my family one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai vécu |
| tu | as vécu |
| il/elle | a vécu |
| nous | avons vécu |
| vous | avez vécu |
| ils/elles | ont vécu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a vécu avec ma famille cette semaine.” — “He has lived with my family this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais vécu |
| tu | avais vécu |
| il/elle | avait vécu |
| nous | avions vécu |
| vous | aviez vécu |
| ils/elles | avaient vécu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais vécu avec ma famille avant la fête.” — “I had lived with my family before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai vécu |
| tu | auras vécu |
| il/elle | aura vécu |
| nous | aurons vécu |
| vous | aurez vécu |
| ils/elles | auront vécu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras vécu avec ma famille pour demain.” — “You will have lived with my family by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais vécu |
| tu | aurais vécu |
| il/elle | aurait vécu |
| nous | aurions vécu |
| vous | auriez vécu |
| ils/elles | auraient vécu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait vécu avec ma famille hier.” — “He would have lived with my family yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vive |
| tu | vives |
| il/elle | vive |
| nous | vivions |
| vous | viviez |
| ils/elles | vivent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With vivre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je vive avec ma famille.” — “It is important that I live with my family.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vécusse |
| tu | vécusses |
| il/elle | vécût |
| nous | vécussions |
| vous | vécussiez |
| ils/elles | vécussent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu vécusses avec ma famille.” — “It is important that you live with my family.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vis |
| nous | vivons |
| vous | vivez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With vivre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Vis avec ma famille !” — “Live with my family!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vis |
| nous | vivons |
| vous | vivez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With vivre this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne vis pas avec ma famille.” — “Do not live with my family.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en vivant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En vivant à Paris depuis dix ans, je passe un bon moment.” — “While living in Paris for ten years, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | vécu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai vécu à Paris depuis dix ans cette semaine.” — “I have lived in Paris for ten years this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with vivre, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je vis à Paris depuis dix ans tous les jours.” — “I live in Paris for ten years every day.”
- “Tu vécus avec ma famille hier.” — “You lived with my family yesterday.”
- “Il vivait près de la mer autrefois.” — “He used to live near the sea in the past.”
- “Je vivrai à Paris depuis dix ans demain.” — “I will live in Paris for ten years tomorrow.”
- “Tu vivrais avec ma famille un jour.” — “You would live with my family one day.”
- “Il a vécu près de la mer cette semaine.” — “He has lived near the sea this week.”
- “J'avais vécu à Paris depuis dix ans avant la fête.” — “I had lived in Paris for ten years before the party.”
- “Tu auras vécu avec ma famille pour demain.” — “You will have lived with my family by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il vive près de la mer.” — “It is important that he live near the sea.”
- “Vis à Paris depuis dix ans !” — “Live in Paris for ten years!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je vivre à Paris depuis dix ans.”
✓ Right: “Je vis à Paris depuis dix ans.”
The infinitive vivre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form vis.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je vivent à Paris depuis dix ans.”
✓ Right: “Je vis à Paris depuis dix ans.”
vivent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with vis.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je vécus à Paris depuis dix ans tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je vis à Paris depuis dix ans tous les jours.”
The passé simple vécus describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present vis.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je vis à Paris depuis dix ans.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je vive à Paris depuis dix ans.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use vive here, not the indicative vis.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis vécu à Paris depuis dix ans.”
✓ Right: “Je ai vécu à Paris depuis dix ans.”
The passé composé of vivre is formed with avoir plus the past participle vécu: the je form is ai vécu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “vis” written without its accent
✓ Right: “vis”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on vivre. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of vivre in the Present indicative?
- A) vivons
- B) vivez
- C) vis
- D) vit
What is the il/elle form of vivre in the Passé simple?
- A) vécûtes
- B) vécut
- C) vécus
- D) vécûmes
What is the nous form of vivre in the Imperfect?
- A) vivait
- B) viviez
- C) vivions
- D) vivais
What is the tu form of vivre in the Future?
- A) vivrons
- B) vivras
- C) vivrai
- D) vivra
What is the je form of vivre in the Conditional?
- A) vivrais
- B) vivrait
- C) vivrions
- D) vivriez
What is the il/elle form of vivre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a vécu
- B) ai vécu
- C) as vécu
- D) avons vécu
What is the il/elle form of vivre in the Present subjunctive?
- A) vivions
- B) viviez
- C) vive
- D) vives
What is the je form of vivre in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) vécût
- B) vécussions
- C) vécusse
- D) vécusses
What is the gerund of vivre?
- A) en arrivant
- B) en vivant
- C) en sentant
- D) en restant
What does vivre mean in English?
- A) to arrive
- B) to live
- C) to feel
- D) to stay
Answer key
- C) vis — the je form of vivre in the Present indicative is vis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vécut — the il/elle form of vivre in the Passé simple is vécut. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) vivions — the nous form of vivre in the Imperfect is vivions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vivras — the tu form of vivre in the Future is vivras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) vivrais — the je form of vivre in the Conditional is vivrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) a vécu — the il/elle form of vivre in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a vécu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) vive — the il/elle form of vivre in the Present subjunctive is vive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) vécusse — the je form of vivre in the Imperfect subjunctive is vécusse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) en vivant — the gerund of vivre is en vivant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to live — vivre means “to live” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does vivre mean in English?
vivre means “to live”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is vivre regular or irregular?
vivre is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is vivant and the past participle is vécu.
What are the gerund and past participle of vivre?
The gerund is vivant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is vécu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai vécu.
Which auxiliary does vivre take in the passé composé?
vivre takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai vécu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle vécu.
How do I say “I live” in French?
Say “Je vis à Paris depuis dix ans tous les jours.” — “I live in Paris for ten years every day.” The je form of the present is vis, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of vivre — every tense of vivre in one place.
- Vivre in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Vivre examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Sentir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Rester conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Arriver conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise vivre with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise vivre with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise vivre with the interactive tool.