Faire Conjugation: Every Tense With Examples

Faire means to do and to make, and it does far more work than either English verb. It tells you the weather (il fait froid), names your hobbies (je fais du yoga), runs your errands (je fais les courses) and even lets you have things done for you (je fais réparer ma voiture). It is one of the first verbs every learner meets, and one of the last they fully master.

The two errors I hear most in class are vous faisez and a nous faisons that rhymes with "maison". This page fixes both. You get the full faire conjugation in every tense you need, simple pronunciation hints, 10 example sentences, the everyday expressions, causative faire, and a short practice set.

Faire conjugation in the present tense

Start here. These six forms come back in almost every conversation.

Two things make this table special.

First, vous faites. The University of Texas French grammar points out that faire is one of only three verbs whose vous form does not end in -ez. The other two are vous êtes (être) and vous dites (dire). So vous faisez is always wrong, no matter how logical it looks.

Second, ils font rhymes with ils vont (aller) and ils sont (être). Same grammar, same pattern.

Tip from class: I group êtes, dites, faites on one flashcard and sont, vont, font on another. Students who learn them as two little families stop mixing them up within a week.

The pronunciation trap: faisons sounds like "fuh-zohn"

This is the detail most learners never get told. Québec's Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) explains that in faisons, in every imparfait form (faisais, faisait, faisions, faisiez, faisaient) and in the present participle faisant, the letters ai are pronounced like the e of le. The OQLF adds that the vowel can even disappear: nous f'sons. The one thing to avoid is the open è sound.

The OQLF's examples are worth repeating out loud: Tu faisais semblant, non ? (You were pretending, weren't you?) and Il écoute de la musique en faisant le ménage. (He listens to music while doing the housework.)

The same rule applies to related words like faisable (doable) and bienfaisant (beneficial). Get it right and you instantly sound less like a textbook.

Faire in the passé composé: always with avoir

Larousse lists faire as a verb conjugated with avoir. The past participle is fait.

Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ce week-end ? (What did you do this weekend?) is the question every Monday lesson starts with. The reflexive se faire switches to être, and Larousse gives the example ça s'est fait tout seul (it happened on its own).

The plus-que-parfait follows the same logic: j'avais fait, "I had done". If you're still unsure which past tense to pick, our guide to passé composé vs imparfait shows how to choose in real stories.

Faire in the imparfait: je faisais

Take nous faisons, drop -ons, and add the imparfait endings. Remember the "fuh" sound from the previous section.

Use it for habits and backgrounds, and very often for weather in a story: Il faisait froid et il neigeait (It was cold and snowing).

Faire in the future and the conditional: the fer- stem

Both tenses use fer-, which you also pronounce "fuh". Larousse gives these forms:

Je ferai and je ferais sound almost the same. Check whether you mean "will" or "would" when you write. The conditional is the polite one: Qu'est-ce que vous feriez à ma place ? (What would you do in my position?)

In conversation, the near future is often more natural: je vais faire les courses (I'm going to do the shopping). Our article on the futur proche vs futur simple explains the difference.

Faire in the subjunctive and the imperative

The subjunctive has its own stem, fass-, for all six persons.

You need it after il faut que, je veux que, bien que: Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs (I have to do my homework). Unlike faisons, there is no "fuh" here: que je fasse is simply kuh zhuh FAHSS.

The imperative has three forms: fais, faisons, faites. You will hear Fais attention ! (Be careful!) and Faites comme chez vous (Make yourself at home) constantly.

The other forms: present participle faisant, past participle fait / faite / faits / faites. In novels you will meet the passé simple (il fit, ils firent). Recognize it; you don't need to use it.

Il fait beau: faire and the weather

Larousse defines this use clearly: il fait + an adjective, adverb or noun describes the state of the air or the light. The il is impersonal, like "it" in English.

The last one is very Canadian in January. Rain and snow use their own verbs: il pleut, il neige, never il fait pluie.

Faire du sport: activities with du, de la, des

For sports, hobbies and many activities, French uses faire + a partitive article. The University of Texas grammar practices this with du ski, du vélo and des randonnées.

• Je fais du ski. I ski.
• Elle fait de la natation. She swims.
• Nous faisons des randonnées. We go hiking.
• Tu fais du piano ? Do you play piano?

In the negative, the partitive becomes de: Je ne fais pas de sport. (I don't do any sport.) The same pattern works for music: faire du piano, faire de la guitare.

Causative faire: having something done

This is where faire stops looking like English. The University of Texas grammar defines the causative construction as the subject causing an action to be done by someone else.

• Je répare ma voiture. I fix my car (myself).
• Je fais réparer ma voiture. I'm having my car fixed.
• Elle fait rire tout le monde. She makes everyone laugh.

Three rules from the same source:

1. Pronouns go before faire: Je la fais réparer. (I'm having it fixed.)
2. In a positive command, they go after: Fais-la réparer ! (Get it fixed!)
3. Fait never agrees in this construction, even with être. Larousse's example: elles se sont fait faire des robes (they had dresses made for themselves).

Se faire + infinitive is also common for things done to you: Je me suis fait couper les cheveux. (I got my hair cut.)

10 example sentences with faire

1. Qu'est-ce que tu fais ce soir ? What are you doing tonight?
2. Je fais un gâteau pour l'anniversaire de Léa. I'm making a cake for Léa's birthday.
3. Il fait trop chaud pour sortir. It's too hot to go out.
4. Nous faisons la queue depuis vingt minutes. We've been standing in line for twenty minutes.
5. Vous faites quoi dans la vie ? What do you do for a living?
6. J'ai fait les courses ce matin. I did the grocery shopping this morning.
7. Quand j'étais petit, je faisais du hockey. When I was little, I played hockey.
8. Ça ne fait rien. It doesn't matter.
9. Il faut que tu fasses attention. You have to be careful.
10. On fera la fête samedi. We'll party on Saturday.

Everyday expressions with faire

Larousse lists dozens of fixed expressions. These are the ones my students need first.

You can review these and the other key verbs in five minutes a day with the free French Keys flashcards.

Common mistakes English speakers make

• Mistake: Vous faisez du sport ? → Say instead: Vous faites du sport ?
• Mistake: nous faisons pronounced feh-ZOHN → Say instead: fuh-ZOHN.
• Mistake: Il est froid aujourd'hui. → Say instead: Il fait froid aujourd'hui. (Il est froid means "he is cold to the touch".)
• Mistake: Je fais une décision. → Say instead: Je prends une décision. French "takes" decisions.
• Mistake: Elle s'est faite couper les cheveux. → Say instead: Elle s'est fait couper les cheveux. Causative fait never agrees.
• Mistake: Je fais le ski. → Say instead: Je fais du ski.

Practice

Fill in the correct form of faire.

1. Qu'est-ce que vous ___ ce week-end ? (present)
2. Hier, nous ___ ___ une longue promenade. (passé composé)
3. Quand j'étais jeune, je ___ du piano. (imparfait)
4. Demain, il ___ beau. (future)
5. Il faut que tu ___ tes devoirs. (subjunctive)

Answers: 1. faites · 2. avons fait · 3. faisais · 4. fera · 5. fasses

In short

Faire is irregular in almost every tense: learn vous faites and ils font by heart, say faisons and faisais with a soft "fuh", and use the fer- stem for the future and the conditional. It always takes avoir in the passé composé, describes the weather with il fait, and becomes causative when followed by an infinitive. Next, compare it with être, avoir and aller, then see where it ranks among the most common French verbs.

If you'd like someone to listen to your nous faisons and check your vous faites, book a free 30-minute assessment with Magali. You'll leave knowing exactly which verbs and sounds to work on next.