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FRENCH VERB

lever

to raise

  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: levé
  • Present participle: levant

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 lever

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

  1. Present

    Je lève mon verre à votre santé !

    I raise my glass to your health!

  2. Past

    L'élève a levé la main pour répondre.

    The pupil raised his hand to answer.

  3. Imperfect

    Il levait les yeux au ciel à chaque remarque.

    He rolled his eyes at every remark.

  4. Future

    On lèvera le camp demain à l'aube.

    We'll break camp tomorrow at dawn.

  5. Conditional

    Je lèverais bien le pied, mais on est en retard.

    I'd gladly slow down, but we're late.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que tu lèves la tête quand tu marches.

    You have to keep your head up when you walk.

  7. Imperative

    Levez la main si vous avez une question.

    Raise your hand if you have a question.

Good to know

  • Lever la main is to raise your hand; lever les yeux, to look up. Se lever is to get up.

Where you hear lever

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Nous levons nos verres. We raise our glasses.
  • Nous avons levé nos verres. We raised our glasses.
  • Nous allons lever nos verres. We are going to raise our glasses.

French · Advanced Level 1

  • Nous levons nos verres. We raise our glasses.
  • Nous avons levé nos verres. We raised our glasses.
  • Nous allons lever nos verres. We are going to raise our glasses.
10
A Housewarming

Beginner Level 2 · Levons nos verres !

Needs a subscription 17
A Letter of Complaint

Advanced Level 1 · Pour le retard, il a raison. Pour la parole, il ne lève jamais la main. · Il ne lève jamais la main.

Needs a subscription 16
The Harvest Dinner

Advanced Level 2 · À table ! Et on lève son verre aux nouveaux. Ils ont tenu toute la journée. · On lève son verre aux nouveaux.

Needs a subscription 19
Marcel's Toast

Advanced Level 3 · Je ne suis pas un homme de discours. Mais je lève mon verre.

Needs a subscription 20
The Council Votes

Fluency Level 2 · Monsieur Marcel, le public ne parle pas. Mais oui. La séance est levée.

Needs a subscription 27
The Birthday Dinner

Fluency Level 2 · Je lève mon verre pour la deuxième fois de ma vie. À Jeanne, qui nous a tous élevés, un peu.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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