Table of Contents

1. Definition of the verb ‘Monter’
2. Which auxiliary verb to use with the verb ‘Monter’?
3. ÊTRE and AVOIR Conjugation in Indicative
4. When it has a Direct Object Complement (DOC), the verb Monter necessarily conjugates with the auxiliary AVOIR.
5. When the subject is a person
6. To talk about a level or a price
7. The verb ‘Monter’ conjugated
8. 10 French expressions with ‘Monter’
9. When ‘Monter’ is a noun

Hi everyone, in this article I share with you How to use the verb Monter.

1. Definition of the Verb Monter

1- Move up

• Example :
• Nous montons au sommet de la montagne. ? We climb to the top of the mountain.

2- Increase, grow

• Example :
• Le niveau du fleuve a monté. ? The level of the river has risen.

3- Put yourself on an animal or in a vehicle

• Example :
• Il monte à cheval. ? He rides horseback.
• Elle monte dans la voiture. ? She gets in the car.

2. Which auxiliary verb to use with the verb Monter ?

Depending on the context, the verb Monter is conjugated with

• the auxiliary verb AVOIR

or

• the auxiliary verb ÊTRE

3. ÊTRE and AVOIR conjugation in indicative

4. When it has a Direct Object Complement (DOC), the verb Monter necessarily conjugates with the auxiliary AVOIR.

To find out if the sentence contains a DOC, we ask the question QUOI (WHAT) or QUI (WHO) after the verb.

The verb + QUOI (WHAT) ? / QUI (WHO) ?

Examples :

• J’ai mangé une pomme. ? I ate an apple.
• J’ai mangé QUOI ? – une pomme. ? I ate WHAT ? – an apple.
• Guillaume a attendu sa mère. ? Guillaume waited for his mother.
• Guillaume a attendu QUI ? – Sa mère. ? Guillaume waited for WHO ? – his mother.
• Julien a monté l’escalier rapidement. ? Julien climbed the stairs quickly.
• Elle lui avait monté dans sa chambre quelques livres et un verre d’eau. ? She had brought him some books and a glass of water in his room.
• J’ai même monté les valises dans sa chambre moi-même. ? I even bring the suitcases to his room myself.
• Ses amis lui ont monté un bateau pour son anniversaire. ? His friends built him a boat for his birthday.

5. When the subject is a person

When the verb has no direct object complement, the two auxiliaries verbs (ÊTRE and AVOIR) are in competition. In fact, the auxiliary verb ÊTRE is used more often than the auxiliary verb AVOIR when the subject of the verb is a person. Note that AVOIR is sometimes possible in some contexts.

Examples :

ÊTRE

• Simone n’est jamais montée dans un avion. ? Simone never got on a plane.
• Harold est monté se reposer quelques minutes. ? Harold went up to rest a few minutes.
• Jeanne est montée à cheval pour la première fois la semaine dernière. ? Jeanne rode for the first time last week.
• Ils sont montés sur le toit pour enlever la neige. ? They climbed onto the roof to remove the snow.
• Philippe est immédiatement monté sur ses grands chevaux. ? Philippe is immediately mounted on his big horses.

AVOIR

• Sylvie a monté les valises dans sa chambre. ? Sylvie packed the suitcases in her room.

6. To talk about a level or a price

When Monter is used when speaking of a level or a price, the auxiliary verb AVOIR is used more often than the auxiliary ÊTRE.

Examples :

• Le thermomètre a monté à vingt-six degrés dans l’après-midi. ? The thermometer rose to twenty-six degrees in the afternoon. (or Le thermomètre est monté à vingt-six degrés).
• Le prix de l’essence a monté en flèche hier. ? The price of gasoline skyrocketed yesterday.
• L’eau du lac a monté encore aujourd’hui. ? The lake’s water has risen again today.
• Les enchères ont monté particulièrement haut pour cet article. ? Auctions rose particularly high for this article.

7. The verb Monter conjugated

8. 10 French expressions with Monter

The French expression / the literal translation into English = what does it mean

1. La génération qui monte / The rising generation = the generation that comes to adulthood
2. Le ton monte / Tone up = a situation of tension is created between people. The tone is the way a person says or writes something
3. La moutarde lui monte au nez / Mustard goes to his nose = he starts to get angry
4. Monter à cheval / Ride a horse = to practice riding
5. Monter le son / mount the sound (of a sound device) = to make the sound lower
6. Monter une couleur = give it more intensity
7. Monter la gamme = pass from the lowest sounds to the highest sounds
8. Monter une pièce de théâtre = put a play on stage
9. Monter au filet / Climb to the net = engage vigorously in an action
10. Monter à la tête de quelqu’un = obsessed, troubled, stunned by something

9. When Monter is a noun

1 – Action to go up

• Example :
• Il est en train de faire une montée. ? He is doing a climb.

2 – Place where we go up.

• Example :
• Prenez par la montée, c’est le chemin le plus court. ? Take the climb, it is the shortest way.

3 – A little slope in front of a building

• Example :
• La montée du Capitole, à Rome, est grande. ? The slope of the Capitol, in Rome, is great.

4 – All that goes up

• Example :
• La montée de la sève dans les plantes. ? The rise of sap in plants.

Thank you for reading this article. Hope you enjoyed it and leave a comment if you have any question.

Thomas Ricomard
Fast French Learning