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FRENCH VERB

élever

to raise (children)

  • #393 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: élevé
  • Present participle: élevant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use élever

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

  1. Present

    Elle élève ses trois enfants toute seule.

    She's raising her three children on her own.

  2. Past

    Mes grands-parents m'ont élevé à la campagne.

    My grandparents raised me in the countryside.

  3. Imperfect

    Ils élevaient des poules derrière la maison.

    They kept chickens behind the house.

  4. Future

    On élèvera nos enfants dans les deux langues.

    We'll raise our children in both languages.

  5. Conditional

    J'élèverais bien des abeilles sur le toit.

    I'd quite like to keep bees on the roof.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Elle veut qu'on élève le bébé près de ses parents.

    She wants us to raise the baby near her parents.

  7. Imperative

    Élève un peu la voix, on ne t'entend pas.

    Raise your voice a bit, we can't hear you.

Good to know

  • Élever is also to raise animals : ils élèvent des moutons. Bien élevé is well brought up.

Verbs like this one

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