How to Conjugate "Mener" (to Lead)

The French verb mener means "to lead." It's a simple word, but there is one little trick to learning its conjugations. A quick lesson will show you what that is so you can properly say "I led" or "we will lead."

Conjugations of the French Verb Mener 

Mener is a stem-changing verb. It follows some rules that apply to most verbs that end in -e_er, such as lever (to lift). Essentially, the "stem change" appears in certain verb forms where the first e is changed to è. While it doesn't affect the pronunciation, the spelling does change, so pay attention to this.

Other than that one simple change, mener is conjugated in a similar manner to regular -er verbs, which is the most common pattern found in French. This is great news because, with each new one you learn, they become easier.

To study these conjugations, begin by identifying the verb stem: men-. Then, you will match the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense for your subject. For example, "I am leading" is "je mène" and "we will lead" is "nous mènerons."

Subject	Present	Future	Imperfect
je	mène	mènerai	menais
tu	mènes	mèneras	menais
il	mène	mènera	menait
nous	menons	mènerons	menions
vous	menez	mènerez	meniez
ils	mènent	mèneront	menaient

The Present Participle of Mener 

The present participle of mener is menant. To form this, we simply added -ant to the stem. This is a verb, of course, but in some contexts, it can become an adjective, gerund, or noun as well.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

Another way to express the past tense "led" is to use the passé composé. It's a simple construction that uses the past participle mené. You will also need to conjugate avoir (an auxiliary verb) to fit the subject pronoun.

For example, "I led" is "j'ai mené" while "we led" is "nous avons mené."

More Simple Mener Conjugations to Learn

After you memorize all of those forms of mener, think about adding a few more simple conjugations to your vocabulary. They can be quite useful at times. For instance, if you need to imply uncertainty to the action, use the subjunctive. When the action is dependent on something else, turn to the conditional.

When reading French, it will improve your comprehension to be able to recognize the passé simple and the imperfect subjunctive as forms of mener.

Subject	Subjunctive	Conditional	Passé Simple	Imperfect Subjunctive
je	mène	mènerais	menai	menasse
tu	mènes	mènerais	menas	menasses
il	mène	mènerait	mena	menât
nous	menions	mènerions	menâmes	menassions
vous	meniez	mèneriez	menâtes	menassiez
ils	mènent	mèneraient	menèrent	menassent

For short sentences such as exclamations and demands, you can use the imperative verb form and bypass the subject pronoun. Instead of "tu mène," use "mène" alone.

	Imperative
(tu)	mène
(nous)	menons
(vous)	menez