French guides · Verb tables + audio
Monter: the object that changes the helper.
Monter means “to go up” — stairs, a hill, a price, a temperature. The conjugation itself is as regular as parler. What earns it a page is the same switch that catches people with sortir and descendre: when you go up, the past takes être; when you take something up, it takes avoir — and the agreement disappears with it.
Présent — a model -er verb
Stem mont- with the standard endings — nothing irregular anywhere in the verb.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je monte | I go up | |
| tu montes | you go up | |
| il / elle monte | he / she goes up | |
| nous montons | we go up | |
| vous montez | you go up | |
| ils / elles montent | they go up |
Être or avoir? — the direct-object test
Ask whether something is being taken up. If yes, avoir; if no, être.
| French | Helper | Means |
|---|---|---|
| je suis monté | être | I went up |
| elle est montée au premier | être | she went up to the first floor |
| j’ai monté les valises | avoir | I took the cases up |
| il a monté le son | avoir | he turned the volume up |
| les prix ont monté | avoir | prices went up |
With être the participle agrees with the subject: elle est montée. With avoir it does not agree with the subject at all: elle a monté les valises, no extra e. Getting the helper right decides the spelling for you.
Monter, descendre, sortir, rentrer, passer and retourner all do this. Learn the test once and you have all six.
Going up, in the broad sense
Monter covers a wider range than English “go up”, and several of its uses are the normal way to say the thing:
- monter dans le train — to get on the train (and monter en voiture, to get in the car).
- monter à cheval — to ride a horse.
- monter un meuble — to assemble furniture.
- monter une entreprise — to set up a business.
- monter les blancs en neige — to whisk egg whites.
You montez dans a train, bus or plane and descendez de it. For a car it is usually monter en voiture. English “get on” and “get in” map onto the same French verb.
Passé composé
The table shows the être version, which is the more common. Swap in avoir and drop the agreement when there is a direct object.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je suis monté(e) | I went up / have gone up | |
| tu es monté(e) | you went up / have gone up | |
| il / elle est monté(e) | he / she went up / have gone up | |
| nous sommes monté(e)s | we went up / have gone up | |
| vous êtes monté(e)(s) | you went up / have gone up | |
| ils / elles sont monté(e)s | they went up / have gone up |
Imparfait — was going up
Je montais, from the nous stem.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je montais | I used to go up / was going up | |
| tu montais | you used to go up / was going up | |
| il / elle montait | he / she used to go up / was going up | |
| nous montions | we used to go up / was going up | |
| vous montiez | you used to go up / was going up | |
| ils / elles montaient | they used to go up / was going up |
Futur and conditionnel
Full infinitive as stem: je monterai.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je monterai | I will go up | |
| tu monteras | you will go up | |
| il / elle montera | he / she will go up | |
| nous monterons | we will go up | |
| vous monterez | you will go up | |
| ils / elles monteront | they will go up |
Conditionnel — would go up
Je monterais.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je monterais | I would go up | |
| tu monterais | you would go up | |
| il / elle monterait | he / she would go up | |
| nous monterions | we would go up | |
| vous monteriez | you would go up | |
| ils / elles monteraient | they would go up |
Subjonctif — regular
Identical to the présent in four forms.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| je monte | (that) I go up | |
| tu montes | (that) you go up | |
| il / elle monte | (that) he / she go up | |
| nous montions | (that) we go up | |
| vous montiez | (that) you go up | |
| ils / elles montent | (that) they go up |
Impératif — come up
Monte ! with no s. Montez is what a driver says when you are getting in.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| monte ! | go up! (to one person you know) | |
| montons ! | let’s go up! | |
| montez ! | go up! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had gone up
J’étais monté — or j’avais monté with an object.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’étais monté(e) | I had gone up | |
| tu étais monté(e) | you had gone up | |
| il / elle était monté(e) | he / she had gone up | |
| nous étions monté(e)s | we had gone up | |
| vous étiez monté(e)(s) | you had gone up | |
| ils / elles étaient monté(e)s | they had gone up |
Hear it, then say it
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Quick answers
Monter, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.