# Monter Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Go Up”

> **Monter** means “to go up”. Présent: **je monte, tu montes, il monte, nous montons, vous montez, ils montent** — fully regular. Its past takes **être** when nobody carries anything (*je suis monté*) and **avoir** when they do (*j’ai monté les valises*).

Canonical page: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/monter-conjugation
Published by Cocoon French (https://cocoonfrench.com/) — French for total beginners through
slow, visual stories. The Club adds full lessons and a scored speaking drill, free for 7 days:
https://club.cocoonfrench.com/login
Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — a model -er verb

Stem mont- with the standard endings — nothing irregular anywhere in the verb.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| 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 |

**Agreement follows the helper** — 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.

**The same four verbs, every time** — 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.

**Getting on transport** — 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |

## FAQ

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

Je monte, tu montes, il / elle monte, nous montons, vous montez, ils / elles montent.

### Does monter take être or avoir?

Both. With no direct object it takes être and agrees — elle est montée. With a direct object it takes avoir and does not — elle a monté les valises.

### Which other verbs switch auxiliary like monter?

Descendre, sortir, rentrer, passer and retourner — all on the same direct-object test.

### How do you say “get on the train” in French?

Monter dans le train. Getting off is descendre du train.

### What is the past participle of monter?

Monté — agreeing after être (montée, montés), invariable after avoir.

## Related guides

- Descendre conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/descendre-conjugation
- Sortir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/sortir-conjugation
- Rester conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/rester-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides