# Mettre Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Put”

> **Mettre** means “to put”. Présent: **je mets, tu mets, il met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils mettent**. The double *t* of the infinitive collapses to one in the singular. It is also the verb for putting clothes *on* (*je mets un pull*) and for how long something takes (*ça met deux heures*).

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — one t or two

The singular takes a single t — mets, mets, met — and the plural restores the double: mettons, mettez, mettent. It is the same shape as prendre losing its d, and for the same reason: the singular endings are silent, so the consonant before them is simplified.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mets | I put |
| tu mets | you put |
| il / elle met | he / she puts |
| nous mettons | we put |
| vous mettez | you put |
| ils / elles mettent | they put |

**Hearing the difference** — All three singular forms are “meh”. Mettent is “met”, with an audible t. That is the only spoken clue to singular versus plural — and it is the same clue as in il part / ils partent.

**⚠ je mets keeps its s** — Even though the t simplifies, the je and tu forms still end in s: je mets, not je met. Only il / elle gets the bare met.

## What French puts

The literal sense is only the start. These are all everyday:

| French | Literally | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je mets un pull | I put a jumper | I put a jumper on |
| ça met deux heures | that puts two hours | it takes two hours |
| mettre la table | to put the table | to lay the table |
| mettre la musique | to put the music | to put music on |
| se mettre à travailler | to put oneself to work | to start working |
| mettre au courant | to put in the current | to bring up to speed |

**Clothes go on with no “on”** — French does not need a second word: je mets mes chaussures is “I put my shoes on”. Adding anything to translate the “on” — je mets sur — breaks the sentence. To say you are wearing them rather than putting them on, switch to porter.

**⚠ Two verbs for “to take time”** — Mettre is used when a person or thing does the taking: je mets vingt minutes pour venir. Prendre is used impersonally: ça prend vingt minutes. Both are correct; they just start the sentence differently.

## Passé composé — mis

With avoir, participle mis — short, irregular, and shared by the family: promis, permis, admis, remis. The s is silent.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai mis | I put / have put |
| tu as mis | you put / have put |
| il / elle a mis | he / she put / have put |
| nous avons mis | we put / have put |
| vous avez mis | you put / have put |
| ils / elles ont mis | they put / have put |

## Imparfait — regular

From mettons, so the double t runs through the whole tense: je mettais.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mettais | I used to put / was putting |
| tu mettais | you used to put / was putting |
| il / elle mettait | he / she used to put / was putting |
| nous mettions | we used to put / was putting |
| vous mettiez | you used to put / was putting |
| ils / elles mettaient | they used to put / was putting |

## Futur and conditionnel — mettr-

The infinitive minus its final e, double t intact: je mettrai. Careful in writing — there are now two ts and one r, which is easy to get backwards.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mettrai | I will put |
| tu mettras | you will put |
| il / elle mettra | he / she will put |
| nous mettrons | we will put |
| vous mettrez | you will put |
| ils / elles mettront | they will put |

## Conditionnel — would put

Je mettrais. Useful for suggestions about arrangements: je mettrais le canapé ici.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mettrais | I would put |
| tu mettrais | you would put |
| il / elle mettrait | he / she would put |
| nous mettrions | we would put |
| vous mettriez | you would put |
| ils / elles mettraient | they would put |

## Subjonctif — mette

Regular from the plural stem, double t throughout, no boot.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je mette | (that) I put |
| tu mettes | (that) you put |
| il / elle mette | (that) he / she put |
| nous mettions | (that) we put |
| vous mettiez | (that) you put |
| ils / elles mettent | (that) they put |

## Impératif — put it there

Mets !, mettez ! — keeping the s on the tu form, because this is an -re verb rather than an -er one. Mets-toi là is “sit yourself there”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| mets ! | put! (to one person you know) |
| mettons ! | let’s put! |
| mettez ! | put! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had put

J’avais mis — very often about where something ended up: j’avais mis mes clés sur la table.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais mis | I had put |
| tu avais mis | you had put |
| il / elle avait mis | he / she had put |
| nous avions mis | we had put |
| vous aviez mis | you had put |
| ils / elles avaient mis | they had put |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate mettre in the present tense?

Je mets, tu mets, il / elle met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils / elles mettent. One t in the singular, two in the plural.

### What is the past participle of mettre?

Mis, with avoir. The compounds follow: promis, permis, remis.

### How do you say “to put on clothes” in French?

Just mettre: je mets un pull. There is no separate word for “on”. If you mean wearing rather than putting on, use porter.

### What does se mettre à mean?

To start doing something: je me mets à travailler, “I’m getting down to work”. It suggests the beginning of an activity rather than a plan to do it.

### What is the difference between ça met and ça prend for time?

Mettre attaches the time to a person or thing doing the travelling — je mets vingt minutes. Prendre is impersonal — ça prend vingt minutes. Both are normal.

### Which verbs conjugate like mettre?

All its compounds: promettre, permettre, admettre, remettre, soumettre.

## Related guides

- Prendre conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/prendre-conjugation
- Faire conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/faire-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides