Mettre (to put) · All tenses

'Mettre du temps' (literally 'to put time') idiomatically means 'to take time': 'j'ai mis deux heures à finir' (I took two hours to finish), 'il met du temps à comprendre' (he takes time to understand). The pattern is 'mettre + du temps + à + infinitive'. Common conversational structure for describing duration.

Mettre is the model for many compound verbs that follow its pattern exactly: admettre (to admit), permettre (to allow), promettre (to promise), remettre (to put back, postpone), soumettre (to submit), transmettre (to transmit), commettre (to commit). All share mettre's irregular conjugation, including the participle 'mis' → admis, permis, promis, remis.

Use avoir + the irregular past participle 'mis': j'ai mis, tu as mis, il a mis, nous avons mis, vous avez mis, ils ont mis. The participle 'mis' looks identical to the je/tu present 'mets' minus the 't' — but here it's the participle used after the auxiliary.

Mettre's participle 'mis' is irregular — a short form inherited from Latin 'missum' (sent, placed). Following the regular pattern would yield 'mettu' (drop -re, add -u), but mettre preserved the older shorter form. Same irregularity in all compounds: admettre → admis, promettre → promis, remettre → remis.

Since mettre takes avoir, 'mis' is invariable in standard cases. Exception: a preceding direct object triggers agreement ('les clés que j'ai mises' = the keys I put — feminine plural).

Mettre is regular in the imparfait: je mettais, tu mettais, il/elle/on mettait, nous mettions, vous mettiez, ils/elles mettaient. Stem 'mett-' (double t) from nous form.

Use 'je mettais' for habitual or ongoing past putting: 'chaque soir, je mettais mes clés sur la table' (every night, I used to put my keys on the table). Use 'j'ai mis' for a specific completed action: 'hier soir, j'ai mis mes clés sur la table' (last night, I put my keys on the table).

Yes — the imparfait stem comes from the nous form 'mettons' which already has the double t. All imparfait forms preserve it: mettais, mettais, mettait, mettions, mettiez, mettaient. Only the present singular forms drop one t.

The subjonctif of mettre is: que je mette, que tu mettes, qu'il mette, que nous mettions, que vous mettiez, qu'ils mettent. Stem 'mett-' (double t) across all six persons.

Use it after triggers of necessity, will, doubt, or time: 'il faut que je mette' (I need to put), 'je veux qu'il mette' (I want him to put), 'avant que tu mettes' (before you put). Common collocations: 'il faut que je me mette à + infinitif' (I need to start + verb-ing).

The spelling 'mette' (subjonctif) is identical to 'il mette' but distinct from 'il met' (indicative). The subjonctif always adds a final -e to the bare stem for je/tu/il, even when it creates an identical-looking form. The difference shows in writing — pronunciation is nearly identical.

The futur of mettre uses 'mettr-' (drop -e from infinitive): je mettrai, tu mettras, il/elle/on mettra, nous mettrons, vous mettrez, ils/elles mettront. Standard -re-verb pattern.

All French -re verbs drop the final -e before future endings. Mettre → mettr-, vendre → vendr-, prendre → prendr-, attendre → attendr-. Standard rule for -re verbs in the futur.

Both express future putting. 'Je mettrai' (futur simple) feels slightly more formal. 'Je vais mettre' (futur proche) is more conversational for near-term plans.

The conditionnel of mettre is: je mettrais, tu mettrais, il/elle/on mettrait, nous mettrions, vous mettriez, ils/elles mettraient. Same stem 'mettr-' as the futur, plus imperfect endings.

'Je mettrais + complement' is used to make a soft suggestion: 'je mettrais ça ici' (I would put that here — a suggestion). 'Je mettrais plus de sucre' (I'd put more sugar). The conditional softens the suggestion from imperative to opinion.

Standard structure: 'si + imparfait, je mettrais...': 'si j'étais toi, je mettrais ça ici' (if I were you, I'd put that here). The if-clause uses the imparfait; the main clause uses the conditionnel.