METTRE the wonders of this silent star

Do you avoid the irregular verb METTRE because it seems so complicated? 

Yet it’s extremely common in many situations.

So, to help you get to grips with it a bit more, I put together a whole bunch of examples for you to choose which one (or ones) you want to adopt in your daily life! 

In this mini-lesson, I share the verb METTRE - the wonders of this silent star

• Interesting uses of this very much used irregular verb
• Examples in use to help you learn & pronounce well
• Mettre in idiomatic expressions

What does METTRE mean in French?

To start with, the translation of this French verb is to put in English. Mettre is very versatile and you can use it in different contexts.

It’s one of these verbs combined with another word, you get something new.

Indeed, you can see it on its own, as a reflexive verb, with a preposition, in idiomatic expressions and even suggestions:

• mettre 

• se mettre

• se mettre à

• idiomatic expressions

• assumptions

But before diving into the subject, you’d better know how to conjugate it. It’s an irregular verb:

• je mets >>> I put
• tu mets >>> you put

• il / elle met >>> s/he put

• nous mettons >>> we put

• vous mettez >>> you put

• ils / elles mettent >>> they put

Now that you know how to conjugate Mettre, let’s see several ways to play with it.

Mettre as to set the table.

While you set the table in English, in French, you “put the table”. Refrain from translating word for word and simply try to remember this combination: put + the table (in French) = to set the table.

In a typical sentence, you would hear or see this:

• Est-ce que tu peux mettre la table ? >>> Can you set the table?

Use mettre while talking about time.

In English, whenever you talk about the quantity of time needed, you would pick the verb take. For instance, it took me such amount of time to…

Well, in French, you will choose mettre.

Here’s an example::

• J’ai mis une heure pour faire ce boulot. >>> It took me an hour to do this job.

As you can see, in the French sentence, you are doing the action while in English, we prefer a passive voice.

The structure is completely different. However, the meaning remains the same.

 Let me show you how to conjugate the verb mettre at the passé composé:

• j’ai mis >>> I have put
• tu as mis >>> you have put

• il / elle a mis >>> s/he has put

• nous avons mis >>> we have put

• vous avez mis >>> you have put
• ils / elles ont mis >>> they have put

Not familiar with this tense? I have you covered in these articles:

How to choose the right auxiliary in French

Speak and understand French better with 5 past participles

The French verb METTRE to accentuate a feature.

Imagine that you find something beautiful. In French, there’s a lovely expression:

• mettre en relief >>> to show off well.

Let me explain with a concrete example:

• Ces lunettes mettent bien les yeux en relief.  >>> These glasses show off your eyes well.

Do you know that mettre is a synonym of to wear in French? 

In English, you instantly have the verb to wear when talking about clothes. You could also opt for “to sport”.

In French, the ideal verb is porter (to wear) but you can easily switch to mettre.

Here’s an illustration:

• Il fait froid. Je vais mettre un manteau. >>> It’s cold. I’m going to put a coat on.

Mettre, the French everyday word for to switch on the TV.

I have an interesting structure for you in French: mettre la TV (or the radio) means to turn on. 

The usual verb is allumer but mettre is also an option. 

This is how you would do it:

• Viens - j’ai mis la télé.  >>> Come on - I’ve put the tv on.

Mettre à with an activity.

If you are putting something somewhere to start an activity like to heat / cold / freeze / switch on…, you’ll want the structure mettre à.  

An illustration of the structure:

• J’ai mis le pain à chauffer. >>> I’ve put the bread in to warm up.

The French reflexive verb se mettre meaning to put something on.

Time to play with the reflexive version: se mettre.

As any reflexive verb, the action is on yourself.

You would conjugate it like this:

• je me mets >>> I'm putting on
• tu tu mets >>> you're putting on

• il / elle se met >>> s/he's putting on

• nous nous mettons >>> we putting on

• vous vous mettez >>> you putting on

• ils / elles se mettent >>> they're putting on

Just like that:

• Je me mets un chapeau contre le soleil. >>> I’m putting a hat on to protect me from the sun.

Se mettre for location.

If you happen to put something (or someone) at a specific place, mettre will be useful.

My illustration for you:

• Je me mets ici à l’ombre. >>> I’ll put myself here in the shade.

Make a suggestion with the verb mettre. 

Are you suggesting something? Good! You could play with mettre.

A sentence with the verb:

• Mettons la table ici. >>> Let’s put the table here. 

Se mettre à when starting something. 

We already touched on this. This time you are starting an activity.

The pattern is: se mettre à. 

And the conjugation is like the following: 

• je me mets à >>> I start
• tu tu mets à >>> you start

• il / elle se met à >>> s/he starts

• nous nous mettons à >>> we start

• vous vous mettez à >>> you start

• ils / elles se mettent à >>> they start

Let’s see an example:

• Il  s’est mis à beaucoup aboyer. >>> He started barking a lot.

Since, we are dealing with the passé composé in our example, let’s review it quickly:

• je me suis mis(e) >>> I started
• tu t’es mis (e) >>> you started

• il / elle s’est mis (e) >>> s/he started

• nous nous sommes mis (es) >>> we started

• vous vous êtes mis (es) >>> you started

• ils / elles se sont mis(es) >>> they started

The 3 French idiomatic expressions with the verb mettre.

Ready to have fun? Let’s have a look at 3 fun expressions.

The first one is:

• mettre les pieds dans le plat. >>> to mess up 

In a sentence:

• Il a vraiment mis les pieds dans le plat ! >>> He really messed up!

Another one for you: 

• mettre son grain de sel. >>> to poke one’s nose in.

In a sentence:

• Elle a mis son grain de sel ! >>> She poked her nose in!

Finally, this useful one for you:

• mettre de l’argent de côté. >>> to put money aside.

In a sentence:

Elle a mis de l’argent de côté pour voyager. >>> She put money aside to travel.

2 French idiomatic expressions with the reflexive verb se mettre.

Let’s wrap up with 2 idiomatic expressions with the reflexive version: 

• se mettre en colère. >>> to get angry. 

In a sentence:

• Il s’est mis en colère. >>> He got angry.

• se mettre en quatre. >>> to put oneself out. 

In a sentence:

• Elle s’est mise en quatre ! >>> She put herself out!

As you can see, the verb mettre and its variations allow you to say many things.

You saw that it can be used as:

• mettre >>> to set, wear…

• se mettre >>> to put something on

• se mettre à >>> to start an activity

• idiomatic expressions >>> to mess up, to poke one’s nose in, to put money aside, to get angry…

• assumptions >>> supposed we put…

As long as you master the conjugation, you simply add the preposition or turn it into a reflexive verb and you can express so  many things.

Should you have any doubt, feel free to contact me. I love questions…and if I can help you learn - I am also happy.