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FRENCH VERB

mentir

to lie

  • #300 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: menti
  • Present participle: mentant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use mentir

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

  1. Present

    Il ment très mal, ça se voit tout de suite.

    He's a terrible liar, you can tell straight away.

  2. Past

    Pourquoi tu m'as menti sur ton âge ?

    Why did you lie to me about your age?

  3. Imperfect

    Petite, je mentais tout le temps à mes parents.

    As a kid, I lied to my parents all the time.

  4. Future

    Je ne te mentirai plus jamais, c'est promis.

    I'll never lie to you again, I promise.

  5. Conditional

    Je mentirais si je disais que ça va.

    I'd be lying if I said I was fine.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne supporte pas qu'on me mente.

    I can't stand being lied to.

  7. Imperative

    Ne mens pas, je t'ai vu avec elle !

    Don't lie, I saw you with her!

Good to know

  • Mentir à quelqu'un : tu m'as menti. Sans mentir means honestly.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ir verb.