Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

servir

to serve

  • #56 most used
  • Irregular -ir verb
  • Past participle: servi
  • Present participle: servant

Conjugation

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

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

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

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

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

Future

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

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

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

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

Present subjunctive

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

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

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

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

How to use servir

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

  1. Present

    Ce restaurant sert le petit-déjeuner jusqu'à onze heures.

    This restaurant serves breakfast until eleven.

  2. Past

    Il nous a servi un café et des biscuits.

    He served us coffee and biscuits.

  3. Imperfect

    Ma mère servait toujours les invités en premier.

    My mother always served the guests first.

  4. Future

    On servira le gâteau après les cadeaux.

    We'll serve the cake after the presents.

  5. Conditional

    À quoi ça servirait de partir maintenant ?

    What would be the point of leaving now?

  6. Present subjunctive

    Il faut que je serve le dîner avant huit heures.

    I need to serve dinner before eight.

  7. Imperative

    Servez-vous, il y a de tout sur la table.

    Help yourselves, there's everything on the table.

Good to know

  • "Ça sert à quoi ?" asks what something is for; "se servir" is to help yourself.

Where you hear servir

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

French · Beginner Level 2

  • Qu'est-ce que je vous sers ? What can I get you?
  • J'ai servi le poisson. I served the fish.
  • Je vais servir le gâteau. I'm going to serve the cake.
10
The Housewarming

Beginner Level 2 · Servez-vous !

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

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