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FRENCH VERB

peindre

to paint

  • #239 most used
  • Irregular -re verb
  • Past participle: peint
  • Present participle: peignant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use peindre

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

  1. Present

    Je peins la chambre en bleu clair.

    I'm painting the bedroom light blue.

  2. Past

    Qui a peint ce tableau ? Il est magnifique.

    Who painted this picture? It's magnificent.

  3. Imperfect

    Mon grand-père peignait des bateaux le dimanche.

    My grandfather used to paint boats on Sundays.

  4. Future

    On peindra la cuisine quand il fera moins humide.

    We'll paint the kitchen when it's less damp.

  5. Conditional

    Je peindrais bien les volets en vert.

    I'd quite like to paint the shutters green.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut qu'on peigne le plafond avant de poser le papier.

    We need to paint the ceiling before putting up the wallpaper.

  7. Imperative

    Peins doucement, sans en mettre partout.

    Paint gently, without getting it everywhere.

Good to know

  • Peindre is for walls and pictures; a painter is un peintre, the paint la peinture.

Where you hear peindre

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • On peint ce mur en bleu. We're painting this wall blue.
  • On a peint la cuisine. We painted the kitchen.
  • Je vais peindre mon studio. I'm going to paint my studio.
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Painting the Walls

Beginner Level 3 · peindre · on peint

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Verbs like this one

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