How to Conjugate 'Brosser' (to Brush)

The French verb brosser means "to brush." To say "I brush my teeth" or "She is brushing her hair," you would use the reflexive se brosser. (Je me brosse les dents and Elle se brosse les cheveux.) Brosser is a regular -er verb.

How to Conjugate the French Verb Brosser

Like any regular -er verb, you start conjugating brosser by determining the stem. The stem is bross- (the infinitive minus -er), and you complete the conjugation by adding the ending that matches the subject pronoun and tense you're using. These charts will guide you to choosing the proper ending.

How to Use Brosser in the Past Tense

To say you brushed something, you'll most likely use the passé composé. Brosser uses the auxiliary verb avoir and its past participle is brossé. However, whenever you're constructing the passé composé with a reflexive verb, the auxiliary verb is être.

For example:

Je me suis brossé les dents.
I brushed my teeth.

Il a brossé le chat.
He brushed the cat.