Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

dépenser

to spend (money)

  • #173 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: dépensé
  • Present participle: dépensant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I spend
  2. tu you spend
  3. il, elle, on he/she spends
  4. nous we spend
  5. vous you spend
  6. ils, elles they spend

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I spent
  2. tu you spent
  3. il, elle, on he/she spent
  4. nous we spent
  5. vous you spent
  6. ils, elles they spent

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to spend
  2. tu you used to spend
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to spend
  4. nous we used to spend
  5. vous you used to spend
  6. ils, elles they used to spend

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will spend
  2. tu you will spend
  3. il, elle, on he/she will spend
  4. nous we will spend
  5. vous you will spend
  6. ils, elles they will spend

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would spend
  2. tu you would spend
  3. il, elle, on he/she would spend
  4. nous we would spend
  5. vous you would spend
  6. ils, elles they would spend

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I spend
  2. tu (that) you spend
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she spend
  4. nous (that) we spend
  5. vous (that) you spend
  6. ils, elles (that) they spend

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu spend!
  2. nous spend! (let’s)
  3. vous spend! (plural, or formal)

How to use dépenser

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Je dépense trop en livraisons de repas.

    I spend too much on food deliveries.

  2. Past

    On a dépensé deux cents euros au supermarché !

    We spent two hundred euros at the supermarket!

  3. Imperfect

    Étudiant, je dépensais tout en concerts.

    As a student, I spent everything on concerts.

  4. Future

    Je ne dépenserai rien ce mois-ci, c'est décidé.

    I won't spend anything this month, that's settled.

  5. Conditional

    Tu dépenserais combien pour un bon matelas ?

    How much would you spend on a good mattress?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas qu'on dépense plus que prévu.

    I don't want us to spend more than planned.

  7. Imperative

    Dépense moins et pars plus souvent en vacances.

    Spend less and go on holiday more often.

Good to know

  • Dépenser is only for money; for time, it's passer : j'ai passé deux heures là-bas.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.