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fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

nettoyer

to clean

  • #161 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: nettoyé
  • Present participle: nettoyant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use nettoyer

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

  1. Present

    Je nettoie la salle de bain tous les samedis.

    I clean the bathroom every Saturday.

  2. Past

    On a nettoyé tout l'appartement avant de rendre les clés.

    We cleaned the whole flat before handing back the keys.

  3. Imperfect

    Il nettoyait sa voiture chaque dimanche matin.

    He cleaned his car every Sunday morning.

  4. Future

    Je nettoierai la cuisine après le dîner, promis.

    I'll clean the kitchen after dinner, promise.

  5. Conditional

    Tu nettoierais les vitres pendant que je passe l'aspirateur ?

    Would you clean the windows while I vacuum?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut qu'on nettoie le barbecue avant samedi.

    We need to clean the barbecue before Saturday.

  7. Imperative

    Nettoie tes chaussures avant d'entrer, s'il te plaît.

    Clean your shoes before coming in, please.

Good to know

  • Nettoyer is to clean something; faire le ménage is to do the housework.

Verbs like this one

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