How to Use the French Verb Vivre (to Live)

'Joie de Vivre' message in light box on white table
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The French verb vivre (pronounced "veev-ruh") is a highly irregular -re verb with a conjugation that doesn't follow any pattern. Translated, it means "to live" and is one of the most common in the language. Other irregular -re verbs include: absoudre, boire, clore, conclure, conduire, confire, connaître, coudre, croire, dire, écrire, faire, inscrire, lire, moudre, naître, plaire, rire, and suivre. 

Because these words do not follow the regular rules of conjugation, you'll have to memorize each one individually, something many students find challenging at first. One exception are the verbs that end in -vivre, such as revivre and survivre are conjugated the same as vivre.

Usage and Expressions

  • Vivre vieux: to live to a ripe old age
  • Avoir vécu: to have had one's day
  • Vivre avec quelqu'un: to live / reside with someone
  • Être facile à vivre: to be easygoing / to be easy to live with or get along with
  • Vivre aux crochets de quelqu'un: to sponge off someone
  • Vivre d'amour et d'eau fraîche: to live on love alone
  • Vivre des temps difficiles: to live through / experience difficult times
  • Elle a vécu jusqu'à 95 ans. She lived to 95.
  • Il ne lui reste plus longtemps à vivre. He hasn't got much time left to live.
  • On ne vit plus. This isn't a life. / This isn't what you call living.
  • Ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants. And they lived happily ever after.
  • Elle a mal vécu mon départ. She couldn't cope well after I left.
  • Il faut vivre l'instant présent. We should live for the moment.

Present Indicative

Je

vis

Je vis toute seule.

I live alone.

Tu

vis

Tu vis avec ta soeur.

You live with your sister.

Il/Elle/On

vit

Elle vit avec ses deux chiens.

She lives with her two dogs.

Nous

vivons

Nous vivons à Paris.

We live in Paris.

Vous

vivez

Est-ce que vous vivez en Allemagne maintenant?

Do you live in Germany now?

Ils/Elles

vivent

Elles vivent ensemble.

They live together.

Compound Past Indicative

The passé composé is a past tense that can be translated as the simple past or the present perfect. For the verb vivre, it is formed with the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle vécu​.

J’

ai vécu

L'année que j'ai vécu en Angleterre était très belle.

I had a very good year in England.

Tu

as vécu

Tu as vécu avec elle pendant dix ans.

You lived with her for ten years.

Il/Elle/On

a vécu

Il y a vécu pendant trois ans.

He lived there for three years.

Nous

avons vécu

Nous avons vécu pas mal de choses ensemble.

We experienced/lived through quite a lot together.

Vous

avez vécu

Vous avez vécu de choses terribles.

You lived through horrible things.

Ils/Elles

ont vécu

Ils ont vécu heureux ensemble.

They lived happily together.

Imperfect Indicative

The imperfect tense is another form of the past tense, but it is used to talk about ongoing or repeated actions in the past. L'imparfait can be translated to English as "was living" or "used to live," although it can sometimes also be translated as the simple "lived," depending on the context.

Je

vivais

Je vivais ici l'année derniere.

I lived here last year.

Tu

vivais

Tu vivais ici, papa?

You used to live here, dad?

Il/Elle/On

vivait

Elle vivait à Versailles au temps de Louis XIV.

She lived in Versailles during the time of Louis XIV.

Nous

vivions

Nous vivions ensemble depuis neuf ans.

We lived together for nine years.

Vous

viviez

Vous viviez à la campagne, n'est-ce pas?

You used to live in the country, didn't you?

Ils/Elles

vivaient

Ells vivaient d'espoir.

They lived off hope.

Simple Future Indicative

To talk about the future in English, in most cases we simply add the modal verb "will." In French, however, the future tense is formed by adding different endings to the infinitive.  

Je

vivrai

Je ne vivrai pas sans toi.

I won't live without you.

Tu

vivras

Tu vivras toujours dans mon coeur.

You will always live in my heart.

Il/Elle/On

vivra

Il vivra pour toi.

He will live for you.

Nous

vivrons

Nous vivrons d'amour.

We will live off love.

Vous

vivrez

Vous vivrez vieux.

You will live long.

Ils/Elles

vivront

Elles vivront mieux sans nous.

They will have a better life without us.

Near Future Indicative

Another form of a future tense is the near future, the futur proche, which is the equivalent of the English "going to + verb." In French, the near future is formed with the present tense conjugation of the verb aller (to go) + the infinitive (vivre).

Je

vais vivre

Je vais vivre pour le meilleur.

I am going to live for the better.

Tu

vas vivre

Jusqu'à quel âge vas-tu vivre?

How long are you going to live?

Il/Elle/On

va vivre

Elle va vivre avec sa copine.

She is going to live with her girlfriend.

Nous

allons vivre

Nous allons vivre une grande histoire d'amour.

We are going to have a great love story.

Vous

allez vivre

Vous allez vivre un week-end inoubliable.

You are going to have an unforgettable weekend.

Ils/Elles

vont vivre

Elles vont vivre à Londres l'année prochaine.

They are going to live in London next year.

Conditional

The conditional mood in French is equivalent to the English "would + verb." Notice that the endings it adds to the infinitive are very similar to those of the imperfect indicative.

Je

vivrais

Je vivrais ma vie avec toi.

I would live my life with you.

Tu

vivrais

Tu vivrais dans un chalet si tu pouvais.

You would live in a cottage if you could.

Il/Elle/On

vivrait

Il vivrait le reste de sa vie en peine.

He would live the rest of his life in pain.

Nous

vivrions

Sans internet, nous vivrions toujours dans les années 90.

Without the internet, we would still live in the 90s.

Vous

vivriez

Vous vivriez dans cette chambre et moi dans celle-là.

You would live in this room and I in that one.

Ils/Elles

vivraient

Elles vivraient dans un motel pour éviter le gouvernement.

They would live in a motel to avoid the government.

Present Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood conjugation of vivre, which comes in after the expression que + person, looks very much like the present indicative and past imperfect.

Que je

vive Comment voulez-vous que je vive? How do you want me to live?

Que tu

vives Elle désire que tu vives long. She hopes you live long.

Qu'il/elle/on

vive Je ne suis pas sur s'il vive encore. I'm not sure if he's still alive.

Que nous

vivions Il faut que nous vivions mieux. We need to live better.

Que vous

viviez Je ferais tout pour que vous viviez. I would do everything for you to live.

Qu'ils/elles

vivent Il est temps qu'elles vivent pour elles-mêmes. It's time for them to live their own lives.

Imperative

The imperative mood is used to give commands, both positive and negative. They have the same verb form, but the negative commands include ne...pas, ne...plus, or ne...jamais around the verb.

Positive Commands

Tu

vis! Vis ta propre vie! Live your own life!

Nous

vivons! Vivons ensemble! Let's live together!

Vous

vivez! Vivez la vie pleinement! Live life fully!

Negative Commands

Tu

ne vis pas! Ne vis pas sans moi! Don't live without me!

Nous

ne vivons pas! Ne vivons plus ici! Lets's not live here anymore!

Vous

ne vivez pas! Ne vivez pas seul! Don't live alone!

Present Participle/Gerund

One of the uses of the present participle is to form the gerund (usually preceded by the preposition en). The gerund can be used to talk about simultaneous actions.

Present Participle/Gerund of Vivre: vivant

Il est un danseur anglais vivant aux Etats Unis. -> He is an English dancer who lives in the United States.

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Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Use the French Verb Vivre (to Live)." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/vivre-to-live-1371017. Team, ThoughtCo. (2021, December 6). How to Use the French Verb Vivre (to Live). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/vivre-to-live-1371017 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Use the French Verb Vivre (to Live)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/vivre-to-live-1371017 (accessed March 29, 2024).