Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

prêter

to lend

  • #174 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: prêté
  • Present participle: prêtant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use prêter

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

  1. Present

    Tu me prêtes ta voiture ce week-end ?

    Will you lend me your car this weekend?

  2. Past

    Je lui ai prêté cent euros le mois dernier.

    I lent him a hundred euros last month.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma voisine me prêtait souvent des livres.

    My neighbour often lent me books.

  4. Future

    Je te prêterai mon parapluie, il va pleuvoir.

    I'll lend you my umbrella, it's going to rain.

  5. Conditional

    Vous me prêteriez votre chargeur deux minutes ?

    Would you lend me your charger for two minutes?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je ne veux pas que tu prêtes mon vélo à n'importe qui.

    I don't want you lending my bike to just anyone.

  7. Imperative

    Prête-moi ta veste, j'ai froid.

    Lend me your jacket, I'm cold.

Good to know

  • Prêter is to lend and emprunter to borrow : tu me prêtes ton stylo ?

Where you hear prêter

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Je te prête vingt euros. I'm lending you twenty euros.
  • Je lui ai prêté mon vélo. I lent him my bike.
  • Tu vas me prêter ton livre ? Are you going to lend me your book?
4
The Machine Ate My Card

Beginner Level 3 · prêter · je lui ai prêté

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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