 |
|
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
Put a French Verb
The irregular French verb mettre usually means "to put" but has some additional meanings and can also be used pronominally.
Mettre = to put
Generally speaking, mettre is equivalent to "to put," literally and figuratively.
Par exemple…
| Tu peux mettre ta voiture dans le garage. | You can put your car in the garage. | |
| Je ne mets jamais mon travail avant ma famille. | I never put my work before my family. | |
| Nous la mettons parmi les plus grands écrivains. | We put (rate) her among the greatest writers. |
Mettre = to put + preposition
1) to put on (wear)
| Je vais mettre une robe. | I’m going to put on a dress. | |
| Elle ne mets jamais du rouge. | She never wears red. |
Synonym: porter
2) to put on, turn on
| Je vais mettre la télé. | I’m going to put the TV on. | |
| Qui a mis mon ordinateur ? | Who turned my computer on? |
Synonym: allumer
Mettre à
1) to put something on/up/out to do something
| Je vais mettre le pain à décongeler. | I’m going to put the bread out to defrost. | |
| Mets la soupe à mijoter. | Put the soup on to simmer. |
Synonym: causative construction
2) to put (time, effort) into
| Il a mis trois heures à nettoyer. | He put 3 hours into cleaning, He spent 3 hours cleaning. | |
| Je mets toute mon énergie à cuisiner. | I’m putting all my energy into cooking. |
Synonym: consacrer
Mettons
In the nous imperative, mettre can be a presentative meaning supposing, assuming:
| Mettons qu’elle arrive demain … | Assuming she arrives tomorrow … | |
| On y consacre 2 heures, mettons, et puis … | We’ll spend, say, 2 hours on it, and then … |
Synonyms: assumer | présumer | supposer
Se mettre
As a pronominal verb, se mettre also has many different meanings.
1) to put on oneself
| Je vais me mettre un pansement. | I’m going to put a bandage on. | |
| Peux-tu te mettre une robe ? | Can you put on a dress? |
2) to put oneself
| Tu dois te mettre au chaud. | You need to go (stand/sit) in the warmth. | |
| Je me suis mis au piano. | I sat down at the piano. |
3) to belong in a place
| Cette lampe se met à ma chambre. | This lamp goes / belongs in my bedroom. | |
| Où se mettent les serviettes ? | Where do the napkins go / belong? |
4) to become (weather)
| J’espère qu’il se mettra au chaud samedi. | I hope it will get warm on Saturday. | |
| Malheureusement, il se met à la pluie. | Unfortunately, it’s turning/getting wet. |
5) se mettre à = to start, begin
| Je vais me mettre au régime. | I’m going to start / go on a diet. | |
| Pourquoi s’est-il mis à rire ? | Why did he start laughing? |
Mettre in idiomatic expressions
Mettre is found in dozens of idiomatic expressions; here are just a few:
- mettre de l’eau dans son vin – to tone it down
- mettre les pieds dans le plat – to mess up, put one’s foot in one’s mouth
- mettre sa langue dans sa poche – to hold one’s tongue
- mettre son grain de sel – to stick one’s nose in
Related lessons
En español
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a 
Fear of speaking, glossophobia, is one of the most common phobias – even just in one’s native language. If you feel nervous when speaking French, it’s probably due to a lack of confidence in your skills. The obvious solution is to improve your French, but there are also other ways to increase your confidence and feel more comfortable speaking French.
Learn how to translate French infinitives, imperatives, and participles into English.