French Verb VOIR: How to Conjugate
Learn how to conjugate the useful French verb voir. Learn the conjugation of voir and take the short quiz after!
The verb VOIR usually means “to see,” and can also mean “to understand.” It is irregular and is a verb of visual perception. Other verbs of perception describe senses such as hearing or touch.
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.
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.
- 1In its simplest sense, it means ‘to see’ or ‘to experience’. Example: Je vois les poissons dans la mer (I see the fish in the sea) and Il a vu la mort de son chien (He saw the death of his dog).
- 2VOIR can also mean ‘to see’ in the sense of ‘to understand’ Example: Ah oui, je vois (Oh yes, I understand).
- 3And 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, 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 VOIR in the present tense (Présent)
The French present can correspond to the English simple present or present continuous: je vois can mean “I see” or “I am seeing,” depending on context.
The present-tense table below gives one French form for each subject, with two possible English translations.
- 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 vîmesWe 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 / elles 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)
(nous) voyons
(vous) voyez
(nous) ayons vu
(vous) ayez vu
How to conjugate VOIR in the Infinitive Mood (Infinitif)
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: Vois / Voyez s’il y a du pain dans le placard.
6. Je n’ai rien eu à ______ avec le vol.
Click to reveal the correct answer:
ANSWER: Je n’ai rien eu à 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 grands-parents chaque week-end quand j’étais petit.
Click to reveal the correct answer:
ANSWER: Je voyais mes grands-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 by using them in real sentences every day.
