The French verb grandir (to grow up) is a useful everyday verb (number 117 of the 150 on this site). It is a regular 2nd-group verb: the stem gains -iss- in the plural, as in nous grandissons and the present participle grandissant . In compound tenses it takes avoir (j’ai grandi ), with the past participle grandi . Below you will find every tense, example sentences and a free printable PDF.
grandir at a glance: meaning, group and auxiliary
Infinitive grandir — to grow up
Group 2nd group (-ir verbs)
Type Regular -ir verb (present participle in -issant)
Auxiliary takes avoir
Construction Intransitive (no object), transitive (direct object) Conjugated like finir (to finish)
Frequency No. 117 of the 150 most common French verbs The endings are in bold . Tense names are given in French with the English equivalent in parentheses; pronouns and verb forms stay in French, as you will see and hear them.
Indicatif (indicative): grandir Présent (present tense) of the verb grandir je grandis tu grandis il grandit nous grandissons vous grandissez ils grandissent
Imparfait (imperfect) of the verb grandir je grandissais tu grandissais il grandissait nous grandissions vous grandissiez ils grandissaient
Passé simple (simple past, literary) of the verb grandir je grandis tu grandis il grandit nous grandîmes vous grandîtes ils grandirent
Futur simple (simple future) of the verb grandir je grandirai tu grandiras il grandira nous grandirons vous grandirez ils grandiront
Passé composé (compound past) of the verb grandir j’ ai granditu as grandiil a grandinous avons grandivous avez grandiils ont grandi
Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) of the verb grandir j’ avais grandi tu avais grandi il avait grandi nous avions grandi vous aviez grandi ils avaient grandi
Passé antérieur (past anterior) of the verb grandir j’ eus grandi tu eus grandi il eut grandi nous eûmes grandi vous eûtes grandi ils eurent grandi
Futur antérieur (future perfect) of the verb grandir j’ aurai grandi tu auras grandi il aura grandi nous aurons grandi vous aurez grandi ils auront grandi
Conditionnel (conditional): grandir Conditionnel présent (present conditional) of the verb grandir je grandirais tu grandirais il grandirait nous grandirions vous grandiriez ils grandiraient
Conditionnel passé (past conditional) of the verb grandir j’ aurais grandi tu aurais grandi il aurait grandi nous aurions grandi vous auriez grandi ils auraient grandi
Subjonctif (subjunctive): grandir Subjonctif présent (present subjunctive) of the verb grandir que je grandisse que tu grandisses qu’il grandisse que nous grandissions que vous grandissiez qu’ils grandissent
Subjonctif passé (past subjunctive) of the verb grandir que j’ aie grandi que tu aies grandi qu’il ait grandi que nous ayons grandi que vous ayez grandi qu’ils aient grandi
Subjonctif imparfait (imperfect subjunctive) of the verb grandir que je grandisse que tu grandisses qu’il grandît que nous grandissions que vous grandissiez qu’ils grandissent
Subjonctif plus-que-parfait (pluperfect subjunctive) of the verb grandir que j’ eusse grandi que tu eusses grandi qu’il eût grandi que nous eussions grandi que vous eussiez grandi qu’ils eussent grandi
Impératif (imperative): grandir Impératif présent (imperative) of the verb grandir (tu) grandis (nous) grandissons (vous) grandissez
Impératif passé (past imperative) of the verb grandir (tu) aie grandi (nous) ayons grandi (vous) ayez grandi
Example sentences with grandir Real French sentences, with the conjugated form in bold, followed by the tense.
Watch out with grandir Use avoir
In compound tenses grandir takes avoir (j’ai grandi). The participle grandi agrees only with a direct object placed before the verb.
The -iss- stem
Regular -ir verbs add -iss- in the plural and in the participle and subjunctive: nous grandissons, ils grandissent, que je grandisse.
Verbs that conjugate like grandir See also all verbs sorted by group and the 150 most used French verbs .
Review the French tenses Questions about grandir How do you conjugate grandir (to grow up) in the present tense? In the présent: je grandis, tu grandis, il grandit, nous grandissons, vous grandissez, ils grandissent.
Does grandir take être or avoir in the passé composé? grandir takes avoir in compound tenses: j’ai grandi, nous avons grandi. The past participle is grandi.
What are the future and conditional forms of grandir? Futur simple: je grandirai. Conditionnel présent: je grandirais. Both are built on the same stem (grandir-).
Print it
The complete conjugation chart of grandir on A4 sheets in black and white, ready for your binder or flashcards.
