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FRENCH VERB

rendre

to give back

  • #39 most used
  • Regular -re verb
  • Past participle: rendu
  • Present participle: rendant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use rendre

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

  1. Present

    Je te rends ton livre demain, promis.

    I'll give your book back tomorrow, promise.

  2. Past

    Tu as rendu les clés à l'agence ?

    Did you give the keys back to the agency?

  3. Imperfect

    Il rendait toujours la monnaie avec le sourire.

    He always gave the change back with a smile.

  4. Future

    On rendra la voiture de location à l'aéroport.

    We'll return the rental car at the airport.

  5. Conditional

    Ça me rendrait service si tu passais à la poste.

    It would help me out if you went to the post office.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que je rende ce dossier avant midi.

    I need to hand in this file before noon.

  7. Imperative

    Rends-lui son jouet, tout de suite !

    Give him his toy back, right now!

Good to know

  • Rendre visite à quelqu'un is to pay someone a visit; ça me rend heureux is it makes me happy.

Where you hear rendre

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

French · Beginner Level 3

  • Je rends le livre à Léo. I'm giving the book back to Leo.
  • Je lui ai rendu son vélo. I gave him back his bike.
  • Je vais te rendre un service. I'm going to do you a favour.
5
English for Leo

Beginner Level 3 · rendre un service · je les lui rends

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The Driving Lesson

Beginner Level 3 · je les lui ai rendus

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Verbs like this one

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