You wait (plural, formal) in French 🇫🇷

vous attendez info.

To remember “vous attendez,” associate “attendez” with “attending” in English. Although they don’t have the same meaning (attendre means to wait), they sound similar. Use the formula “You (formal) + English cue (‘attending’) = Vous attendez.”

“Vous attendez” is the present tense of the verb “attendre” in French, which means “to wait” when addressing a group formally or respectfully. It’s an -re verb, and like many -re verbs, you remove the -re to form the stem and then add the present tense endings.

Other words that mean the same thing include:
– “patienter” (to wait patiently)
– “attendre” (to wait, less formal “tu” or “nous” forms)

Since “vous attendez” is already in the present tense, let’s look at other conjugations of “attendre”:

Present:
– je attends (though in practice, the -e is typically dropped to avoid the double vowel sound: j’attends)
– tu attends
– il/elle/on attend
– nous attendons
– vous attendez
– ils/elles attendent

Past (Passé Composé, one of the past tenses in French):
– j’ai attendu
– tu as attendu
– il/elle/on a attendu
– nous avons attendu
– vous avez attendu
– ils/elles ont attendu

Imperfect:
– j’attendais
– tu attendais
– il/elle/on attendait
– nous attendions
– vous attendiez
– ils/elles attendaient

Future Simple:
– j’attendrai
– tu attendras
– il/elle/on attendra
– nous attendrons
– vous attendrez
– ils/elles attendront

Sentences that use “vous attendez”:
1. “Vous attendez depuis longtemps ?” (Have you been waiting for a long time?)
2. “Pourquoi vous attendez ici ?” (Why are you waiting here?)
3. “Vous attendez le bus ?” (Are you waiting for the bus?)

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