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FRENCH VERB

deviner

to guess

  • #210 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: deviné
  • Present participle: devinant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use deviner

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

  1. Present

    Je devine à ta tête que ça s'est mal passé.

    I can tell from your face it went badly.

  2. Past

    Tu as deviné juste, c'est bien lui.

    You guessed right, it's him.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma mère devinait toujours quand je mentais.

    My mother always guessed when I was lying.

  4. Future

    Personne ne devinera ton âge, crois-moi.

    Nobody will guess your age, believe me.

  5. Conditional

    Je ne devinerais jamais ce qu'il y a dedans.

    I'd never guess what's inside.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que tu devines le prix sans regarder.

    You have to guess the price without looking.

  7. Imperative

    Devine qui j'ai croisé au marché ce matin !

    Guess who I ran into at the market this morning!

Good to know

  • Devine ! is guess!; une devinette is a riddle.

Verbs like this one

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