Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

fermer

to close

  • #155 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: fermé
  • Present participle: fermant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use fermer

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

  1. Present

    La boulangerie ferme à treize heures le dimanche.

    The bakery closes at one on Sundays.

  2. Past

    J'ai fermé les volets à cause de la chaleur.

    I closed the shutters because of the heat.

  3. Imperfect

    Le magasin fermait toujours entre midi et deux.

    The shop always closed between twelve and two.

  4. Future

    Le musée fermera plus tôt pendant les fêtes.

    The museum will close earlier over the holidays.

  5. Conditional

    Tu fermerais la fenêtre ? Il y a un courant d'air.

    Would you close the window? There's a draught.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Dépêche-toi avant que la poste ferme.

    Hurry up before the post office closes.

  7. Imperative

    Fermez la porte derrière vous, s'il vous plaît.

    Close the door behind you, please.

Good to know

  • Fermer à clé is to lock : tu as fermé à clé ?

Where you hear fermer

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Le musée ferme à dix-huit heures. The museum closes at six o'clock.
  • Voilà, je l'ai fermée ! There, I've closed it!
  • Je vais fermer la fenêtre. I'm going to close the window.
11
Packing for Brittany

Beginner Level 3 · fermer · ferme · je l'ai fermée

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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