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FRENCH VERB

rester

to stay

  • #25 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: resté
  • Present participle: restant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use rester

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

  1. Present

    Je reste à la maison ce soir.

    I'm staying home tonight.

  2. Past

    On est restés deux nuits à Marseille.

    We stayed two nights in Marseille.

  3. Imperfect

    Il restait toujours un peu après la fermeture.

    He always stayed a bit after closing time.

  4. Future

    Vous resterez dîner avec nous ?

    Will you stay for dinner with us?

  5. Conditional

    Je resterais bien une semaine de plus.

    I'd happily stay another week.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Je préfère que tu restes ici, il fait nuit.

    I'd rather you stayed here, it's dark.

  7. Imperative

    Restez assis, le train va repartir.

    Stay seated, the train's about to leave again.

Good to know

  • Rester is to stay, never to rest; il reste means there is left : il reste du pain.

Where you hear rester

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

French · Beginner Level 1

  • Je reste à Marseille une semaine. I'm staying in Marseille for a week.
  • Je suis restée à Lyon cinq jours. I stayed in Lyon for five days.
  • Je vais rester en France. I'm going to stay in France.

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Je reste ici. I'm staying here.
  • Je suis restée à la maison hier. I stayed at home yesterday.
  • Je vais rester à Lyon ce week-end. I'm going to stay in Lyon this weekend.
21
Plans for the Weekend

Beginner Level 1 · rester · tu restes · je reste · vous restez

Needs a subscription 28
One Day...

Beginner Level 2 · je resterais · tu resterais

Needs a subscription 29
A Call from Chicago

Beginner Level 2 · ils restent

Needs a subscription 1
Welcome Back

Beginner Level 3 · je suis restée

Free 11
Packing for Brittany

Beginner Level 3 · on restera

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Verbs like this one

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