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FRENCH VERB

gâter

to spoil

  • #394 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: gâté
  • Present participle: gâtant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use gâter

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

  1. Present

    Mes parents gâtent trop leurs petits-enfants.

    My parents spoil their grandchildren too much.

  2. Past

    Vous m'avez gâté, c'est beaucoup trop !

    You've spoiled me, it's far too much!

  3. Imperfect

    Ma grand-mère nous gâtait à chaque visite.

    My grandmother spoiled us on every visit.

  4. Future

    Pour Noël, on gâtera les enfants un peu plus.

    For Christmas, we'll spoil the kids a bit more.

  5. Conditional

    Je le gâterais moins si j'étais sa mère.

    I'd spoil him less if I were his mother.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas que tu gâtes le chien avec des gâteaux.

    I don't want you spoiling the dog with biscuits.

  7. Imperative

    Gâtez-vous un peu, vous l'avez bien mérité.

    Treat yourself a little, you've earned it.

Good to know

  • Gâter un enfant is to spoil a child with gifts; a spoiled child is un enfant gâté.

Where you hear gâter

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Vous me gâtez ! You spoil me!
  • Mes parents m'ont gâtée à Chicago. My parents spoiled me in Chicago.
  • On va te gâter pour ton anniversaire. We're going to spoil you for your birthday.
9
A Neighbour in Bed

Beginner Level 3 · Vous me gâtez !

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Verbs like this one

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