mettre

Mettre is a highly common French verb with a broad range of meanings centered on putting, placing, or setting something in a state or condition. Its core sense is physical placement, but the verb also covers figurative uses such as applying a rule, turning something on, or spending time in a given activity. Mettre appears in many idioms and fixed expressions, making it one of the most versatile verbs in the language.

Etymology and status: Mettre derives from a Latin verb meaning to send or to place, and over time its meaning broadened to include “to put” in various contexts. It is an irregular verb and is used with the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses. The past participle is mis.

Conjugation overview: In the present tense the forms are je mets, tu mets, il met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils mettent. The passé composé uses avoir + mis (ex: j’ai mis). The imperfect is mettais, the future simple is mettrai, mettras, mettra, mettrons, mettrez, mettront. The conditional present uses the same stem: mettrais, mettrait, mettrions, mettriez, mettraient. The subjunctive present is que je mette, que tu mettes, qu’il mette, que nous mettions, que vous mettiez, qu’ils mettent. The imperative forms are mets, mettons, mettez.

Common usages and constructions: Mettre takes a direct object to indicate placing something somewhere (mettre le livre sur la table). It also occurs with prepositions and fixed expressions, such as mettre en place (to establish), mettre en œuvre (to implement), mettre en scène (to stage), mettre à jour (to update), or mettre de côté (to put aside). Se mettre can express return to a state or action, notably se mettre à faire quelque chose (to begin doing something), se mettre en colère (to get angry), or se mettre en route (to set off).

Examples: Je mets le vase sur l’étagère. Il s’est mis à étudier. Nous mettons en œuvre les mesures.