French Verb Focus: Ouvrir (To Open)

Ouvrir, to open, is another useful irregular verb. The past participle, ouvert, is unusual for an -ir verb, and the present tense is more similar to the pattern of an -er verb. The future and imperfect tenses, however, are quite regular, so it is not too difficult to learn on the whole. Other verbs conjugated in a similar way are couvrir (to cover), offrir (to offer, to give) and souffrir (to suffer).

PRESENT TENSE

J’ouvre – I open, I am opening
Tu ouvres – you open, you are opening (singular, familiar)
Il ouvre – he/it opens, he/it is opening
Elle ouvre – she/it opens, she/it is opening
Nous ouvrons – we open, we are opening
Vous ouvrez – you open, you are opening (polite, plural)
Ils ouvrent – they open, they are opening (m.)
Elles ouvrent – they open, they are opening (f.)

PERFECT TENSE (PASSE COMPOSE)

J’ai ouvert – I have opened, I opened, I did open
Tu as ouvert – you have opened, you opened, you did open
Il a ouvert – he/it has opened, he/it opened, he/it did open
Elle a ouvert – she/it has opened, she/it opened, she/it did open
Nous avons ouvert – We have opened, we opened, we did open
Vous avez ouvert – you have opened, you opened, you did open
Ils ont ouvert – they have opened, they opened, they did open
Elles ont ouvert – they have opened, they opened, they did open

FUTURE TENSE

J’ouvrirai l’oeil. – I will keep my eyes open.
Tu m’ouvriras ton coeur? – Will you open your heart to me?
Il ouvrira sa maison au public. – He will open his house to the public.
Elle nous ouvrira la voie. – She will lead the way for us.
Nous ouvrirons un compte bancaire. – We will open a bank account.
Vous ouvrirez le coffre? – Will you break open the safe?
Ils ouvriront tous les jours de 9 heures à 17 heures. – They will open every day from 9 am to 5 pm. (shop, etc.)
Elles ouvriront le jeu. – They will open the game.

IMPERFECT TENSE

J’ouvrais la porte quand j’ai entendu un bruit. – I was opening the door when I heard a noise.

CONDITIONAL TENSE

Je t’ouvrirais ma maison si tu le voulais. – I would open my house to you if you wanted me to.

IMPERATIVE

ouvre – open (tu form)
ouvrons – let’s open
ouvrez – open (vous form)

SUBJUNCTIVE

Il faut que j’ouvre une porte dans ce mur. – I must have a doorway made in this wall.

With thanks to Elizabeth Allen