Voir Conjugation in French
voir means “to see” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 7 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about seeing a film this evening, 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 voir — 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 vois un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I see a film this evening every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: voir
- English: to see
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: voyant
- Past participle: vu
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -ir verbs; pattern voir in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for voir, 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 voir in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about voir
- 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 vu. 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 voyant and the participle is vu: 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 voir. 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 | vois |
| tu | vois |
| il/elle | voit |
| nous | voyons |
| vous | voyez |
| ils/elles | voient |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With voir 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 vois mes amis demain tous les jours.” — “I see my friends tomorrow every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vis |
| tu | vis |
| il/elle | vit |
| nous | vîmes |
| vous | vîtes |
| ils/elles | virent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With voir 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 vis mes amis demain hier.” — “You saw my friends tomorrow yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voyais |
| tu | voyais |
| il/elle | voyait |
| nous | voyions |
| vous | voyiez |
| ils/elles | voyaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il voyait mes amis demain autrefois.” — “He used to see my friends tomorrow in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | verrai |
| tu | verras |
| il/elle | verra |
| nous | verrons |
| vous | verrez |
| ils/elles | verront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je verrai mes amis demain demain.” — “I will see my friends tomorrow tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | verrais |
| tu | verrais |
| il/elle | verrait |
| nous | verrions |
| vous | verriez |
| ils/elles | verraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu verrais mes amis demain un jour.” — “You would see my friends tomorrow one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai vu |
| tu | as vu |
| il/elle | a vu |
| nous | avons vu |
| vous | avez vu |
| ils/elles | ont vu |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a vu mes amis demain cette semaine.” — “He has seen my friends tomorrow this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais vu |
| tu | avais vu |
| il/elle | avait vu |
| nous | avions vu |
| vous | aviez vu |
| ils/elles | avaient vu |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais vu mes amis demain avant la fête.” — “I had seen my friends tomorrow before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai vu |
| tu | auras vu |
| il/elle | aura vu |
| nous | aurons vu |
| vous | aurez vu |
| ils/elles | auront vu |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras vu mes amis demain pour demain.” — “You will have seen my friends tomorrow by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais vu |
| tu | aurais vu |
| il/elle | aurait vu |
| nous | aurions vu |
| vous | auriez vu |
| ils/elles | auraient vu |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait vu mes amis demain hier.” — “He would have seen my friends tomorrow yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | voie |
| tu | voies |
| il/elle | voie |
| nous | voyions |
| vous | voyiez |
| ils/elles | voient |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With voir 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 voie mes amis demain.” — “It is important that I see my friends tomorrow.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | visse |
| tu | visses |
| il/elle | vît |
| nous | vissions |
| vous | vissiez |
| ils/elles | vissent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu visses mes amis demain.” — “It is important that you see my friends tomorrow.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vois |
| nous | voyons |
| vous | voyez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With voir 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: “Vois mes amis demain !” — “See my friends tomorrow!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | vois |
| nous | voyons |
| vous | voyez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With voir 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 vois pas mes amis demain.” — “Do not see my friends tomorrow.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en voyant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En voyant un film ce soir, je passe un bon moment.” — “While seeing a film this evening, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | vu |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai vu un film ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have seen a film this evening this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with voir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je vois un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I see a film this evening every day.”
- “Tu vis mes amis demain hier.” — “You saw my friends tomorrow yesterday.”
- “Il voyait la mer de ma fenêtre autrefois.” — “He used to see the sea from my window in the past.”
- “Je verrai un film ce soir demain.” — “I will see a film this evening tomorrow.”
- “Tu verrais mes amis demain un jour.” — “You would see my friends tomorrow one day.”
- “Il a vu la mer de ma fenêtre cette semaine.” — “He has seen the sea from my window this week.”
- “J'avais vu un film ce soir avant la fête.” — “I had seen a film this evening before the party.”
- “Tu auras vu mes amis demain pour demain.” — “You will have seen my friends tomorrow by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il voie la mer de ma fenêtre.” — “It is important that he see the sea from my window.”
- “Vois un film ce soir !” — “See a film this evening!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je voir un film ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Je vois un film ce soir.”
The infinitive voir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form vois.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je voient un film ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Je vois un film ce soir.”
voient is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with vois.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je vis un film ce soir tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je vois un film ce soir tous les jours.”
The passé simple vis describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present vois.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je vois un film ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je voie un film ce soir.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use voie here, not the indicative vois.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis vu un film ce soir.”
✓ Right: “Je ai vu un film ce soir.”
The passé composé of voir is formed with avoir plus the past participle vu: the je form is ai vu. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “vois” written without its accent
✓ Right: “vois”
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 voir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of voir in the Present indicative?
- A) voit
- B) voyons
- C) voyez
- D) vois
What is the il/elle form of voir in the Passé simple?
- A) vîtes
- B) vit
- C) vis
- D) vîmes
What is the nous form of voir in the Imperfect?
- A) voyiez
- B) voyions
- C) voyais
- D) voyait
What is the tu form of voir in the Future?
- A) verrons
- B) verras
- C) verrai
- D) verra
What is the je form of voir in the Conditional?
- A) verrais
- B) verrait
- C) verrions
- D) verriez
What is the il/elle form of voir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a vu
- B) ai vu
- C) as vu
- D) avons vu
What is the il/elle form of voir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) voyiez
- B) voie
- C) voies
- D) voyions
What is the je form of voir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) vît
- B) vissions
- C) visse
- D) visses
What is the gerund of voir?
- A) en voyant
- B) en prenant
- C) en mettant
- D) en devant
What does voir mean in English?
- A) to see
- B) to take
- C) to put
- D) to must, to owe
Answer key
- D) vois — the je form of voir in the Present indicative is vois. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) vit — the il/elle form of voir in the Passé simple is vit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) voyions — the nous form of voir in the Imperfect is voyions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) verras — the tu form of voir in the Future is verras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) verrais — the je form of voir in the Conditional is verrais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) a vu — the il/elle form of voir in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a vu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) voie — the il/elle form of voir in the Present subjunctive is voie. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) visse — the je form of voir in the Imperfect subjunctive is visse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) en voyant — the gerund of voir is en voyant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to see — voir means “to see” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does voir mean in English?
voir means “to see”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is voir regular or irregular?
voir is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is voyant and the past participle is vu.
What are the gerund and past participle of voir?
The gerund is voyant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is vu — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai vu.
Which auxiliary does voir take in the passé composé?
voir takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai vu. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle vu.
How do I say “I see” in French?
Say “Je vois un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I see a film this evening every day.” The je form of the present is vois, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of voir — every tense of voir in one place.
- Voir in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Voir examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Prendre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Mettre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Devoir 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 voir with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise voir with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise voir with the interactive tool.