French Verb VOIR: How to Conjugate

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Last Updated: August 29, 2022

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The verb VOIR usually means to see (although it can also mean to understand) and has irregular forms in just about every tense and mood.  It is also classified as a verb of perception which means it uses sight, sound or touch to perceive something, and that thing can be an action or an object.

In this article, you’re going to learn about some of the more common uses of VOIR and the VOIR conjugation in French. A short quiz at the end will help you remember some of the key parts and uses of the verb. 

Conjugate French Verb Voir

Uses of VOIR

VOIR is another irregular verb, meaning it doesn’t follow a recognised pattern when you conjugate it. Make sure you look out for the many irregularities in the different tenses and moods but see if you can start to see similarities in the structure of different tenses.

VOIR is used in three different ways.

  1. 1
    In its simplest sense, it means ‘to see’ or ‘to experience’. Example: Je vois les poissons dans la mer (I see the fish in the see) and Il a vu la mort de son chien (He saw the death of his dog).
  2. 2
    VOIR can also mean ‘to see’ in the sense of ‘to understand’ Example: Ah oui, je vois (Oh yes, I understand).
  3. 3
    And it is found in a number of idiomatic expressions. Example: Je te vois venir (I see where you’re going (with that)).

Click on this link to see some of the more common uses of VOIR.

Conjugation of VOIR

As you now know, this is an irregular verb and doesn’t follow any of the regular patterns so learning it could be a chore. Keep repeating the verb and listening to the audio, though, and you’ll learn it in no time, but remember that often, different spellings can sound the same in French, so it’s important you secure the spellings as well as the sounds of the words.

Let’s review the VOIR conjugation in the indicative mood.

How to Conjugate the French Verb Voir

How to conjugate VOIR in the present tense (Présent)

In English, there are two present tenses - the Present Simple and the Present Continuous. In French, there’s only one tense - Le Présent. French is easy, right? 

In the present tense table below, you can see the two different VOIR conjugations and their meanings in English.

Je voisI see, I am seeing
Tu voisYou see, you are seeing
Il / elle voitHe / she sees, he / she is seeing
Nous voyonsWe see, we are seeing
Vous voyezYou see, you are seeing
Ils / elles voientThey see, they are seeing

How to conjugate VOIR in the Imparfait

The imperfect is used to create a sense of something that continued happening in the past. In English we would say ‘I was doing something’ or that ‘I used to do it’.

Je voyaisI was seeing
Tu voyaisYou were seeing
Il / elle voyaitHe / she was seeing
Nous voyionsWe were seeing
Vous voyiezYou were seeing
Ils / elles voyaientThey were seeing

How to conjugate VOIR in the Futur

Je verraiI will see
Tu verrasYou will see
Il / elle verraHe / she will see
Nous verronsWe will see
Vous verrezYou will see
Ils / elles verrontThey will see

How to conjugate VOIR in the Passé Composé

J’ai vuI saw
Tu as vuYou saw
Il / elle a vuHe / she saw
Nous avons vuWe saw
Vous avez vuYou saw
Ils / elles ont vuThey saw

How to conjugate VOIR in the Passé Simple 

Je visI saw
Tu visYou saw
Il / elle vitHe / she saw
Nous vîmes We saw
Vous vîtesYou saw
Ils / elles virentThey saw

How to conjugate VOIR in the Plus-que-Parfait 

J’avais vuI had seen
Tu avais vuYou had seen
Il / elle avait vuHe / she had seen
Nous avions vuWe had seen
Vous aviez vuYou had seen
Ils / elles avaient vuThey had seen

How to conjugate VOIR in the Passé Antérieur 

J’eus vuI had seen
Tu eus vuYou had seen
Il / elle eut vuHe / she had seen
Nous eûmes vuWe had seen
Vous eûtes vuYou had seen
Ils / elles eurent vuThey had seen

How to conjugate VOIR in the Futur Antérieur

J’aurai vuI will have seen
Tu auras vuYou will have seen
Il / elle aura vuHe / she will have seen
Nous aurons vuWe will have seen
Vous aurez vuYou will have seen
Ils auront vuThey will have seen

How to conjugate VOIR in the Subjunctive mood (Subjonctif)

How to conjugate VOIR in Present Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)

que je voiethat I see
que tu voiesthat you see
qu’il / elle voiethat he / she sees
que nous voyionsthat we see
que vous voyiezthat you see
qu’ils / elles voientthat they see

How to conjugate VOIR in Imperfect Subjunctive (Subjonctif Imparfait)

que je vissethat I was seeing
que tu vissesthat you were seeing
qu’il / elle vîtthat he / she was seeing
que nous vissionsthat we were seeing
que vous vissiezthat you were seeing
qu’ils / elles vissentthat they were seeing

How to conjugate VOIR in Past Subjunctive (Subjonctif Passé)

que j’aie vuthat I saw
que tu aies vuthat you saw
qu’il / elle ait vuthat he / she saw
que nous ayons vuthat we saw
que vous ayez vuthat you saw
qu’ils / elles aient vuthat they saw

How to conjugate VOIR in Past Perfect Subjunctive (Plus-que-Parfait)

que j’eusse vuthat I had seen
que tu eusses vuthat you had seen
qu’il / elle eût vuthat he / she had seen
que nous eussions vuthat we had seen
que vous eussiez vuthat you had seen
qu’ils / elles eussent vuthat they had seen

How to conjugate VOIR in the Conditional Mood (Conditionnel)

How to conjugate VOIR in the Present Conditional (Conditionnel Présent)

Je verraisI would see
Tu verraisYou would see
Il / elle verraitHe / she would see
Nous verrionsWe would see
Vous verriezYou would see
Ils / elles verraientThey would see

How to conjugate VOIR in the Past Conditional (Conditionnel Passé)

J’aurais vuI would have seen
Tu aurais vuYou would have seen
Il / elle aurait vuHe / she would have seen
Nous aurions vuWe would have seen
Vous auriez vuYou would have seen
Ils / elles auraient vuThey would have seen

How to conjugate VOIR in Participe

Présentvoyant
Passévu
Passé Composéayant vu

How to conjugate VOIR in the Imperative Mood (Impératif)

Présent(tu) voie
(nous) voyons
(vous) voyez
Passé(tu) aie vu
(nous) ayons vu
(vous) ayez vu

How to conjugate VOIR in the Infinitive Mood (Infinitif)

Présentvoir
Passéavoir vu

Quick Exercise - fill in the blanks

1. Il _____ ses parents le samedi.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:      Il voit ses parents le samedi.

2. Tu ________ le médecin demain?

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:      Tu verras le médecin demain?

3. J’ai ____ les enfants jouer dans le parc.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:     J’ai vu les enfants jouer dans le parc.

4. Il faut que je ______  le dentiste bientôt.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:       Il faut que je voie le dentiste bientôt.

5. _____ s’il y a du pain dans le placard.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:      Voie / Voyez s’il y a du pain dans le placard.

6. Je n’ai rien eu a ______ avec le vol.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:      Je n’ai rien eu a voir avec le vol.

7. Hier, nous avons ___ un groupe fantastique.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:      Hier, nous avons vu un groupe fantastique.

8. Je  _______ mes grand-parents chaque week-end quand j’étais petit.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:     Je voyais mes grand-parents chaque week-end quand j’étais petit.

9. Vous ______ votre patron au bureau demain?

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:     Vous verrez votre patron au bureau demain?

10. Je n’ai rien à ______ avec cela.

Click to reveal the correct answer:

ANSWER:     Je n’ai rien à voir avec cela.

Conclusion

VOIR is another useful but irregular verb to learn. It has its peculiarities in the VOIR conjugation, but you can learn it easily. You might by now be starting to recognise the different patterns that the different tenses bring, and that usually only parts of each form will actually change. Understand the pattern and then think about how the verb you’re learning modifies what you know.

So how will you go about learning them? If you thought learning verbs meant learning by rote and chanting your way through them, you’re mistaken. You can easily and naturally get them set in your memory if you use the audio drills every day.

About the author 

A self-confessed English francophile, Ginny loves immersing herself in French language and culture. Most of her working life has been spent teaching French to British pupils aged 2 to 18, as well as English as a foreign language to both school children and adults, in England and in France. Her teaching goal is to make learning fun and to find ways to enable learners to recall things easily, whether that's by identifying patterns, by making links with prior learning, or through mime and song. She spends as much of her free time as she can learning different languages---being able to communicate in a foreign language gives you such a buzz, it's well worth making the effort!

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