Entrer is the verb to enter, to come in, to go in. Its conjugation is impeccably regular — pure 1er groupe (-er), no orthographic quirks, no stem changes — but it sits in a small grammatically prestigious group: the maison d'être, the closed list of motion / change-of-state verbs that take être as their compound-tense auxiliary. Je suis entré is "I came in," not j'ai entré.
Beyond the auxiliary, two things make entrer trip up English speakers. First, when it takes a place name, it requires the preposition dans (or à / en in some constructions) — never a bare object the way English to enter does. Second, in modern French it has acquired a transitive use (entrer des données, entrer un mot de passe) that switches the auxiliary to avoir, mirroring monter, descendre, sortir, passer, rentrer. This page is the full reference.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary. Entrer is a fully regular 1er-groupe (-er) verb across all of them. The only thing to watch carefully is the spelling of the passé simple third-person plural — entrèrent, with a grave accent on the è.
Présent de l'indicatif
Standard -er endings on the entr- stem.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| j' | entre | /ɑ̃tʁ/ |
| tu | entres | /ɑ̃tʁ/ |
| il / elle / on | entre | /ɑ̃tʁ/ |
| nous | entrons | /ɑ̃.tʁɔ̃/ |
| vous | entrez | /ɑ̃.tʁe/ |
| ils / elles | entrent | /ɑ̃tʁ/ |
The 1sg, 2sg, 3sg, and 3pl forms are all pronounced identically (/ɑ̃tʁ/) — only context and the pronoun distinguish them. This is the typical -er pattern: spelling carries information that pronunciation does not.
Note the elision: je becomes j' before entre (vowel-initial form), que becomes qu', ne becomes n', etc. This is automatic for any vowel-starting form.
J'entre toujours par la porte du jardin, c'est plus pratique.
I always come in through the garden door, it's more convenient.
Vous entrez sans frapper, vous ?
Do you come in without knocking?
Ils entrent dans le restaurant, l'air complètement trempé.
They come into the restaurant, looking completely soaked.
Imparfait
Built on the entr- stem with the regular imparfait endings. Note that the 1sg / 2sg are pronounced exactly like the 3sg / 3pl (entrais, entrais, entrait, entraient all /ɑ̃.tʁɛ/) — orthographic disambiguation only.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | entrais |
| tu | entrais |
| il / elle / on | entrait |
| nous | entrions |
| vous | entriez |
| ils / elles | entraient |
Quand j'étais petite, j'entrais toujours par la cuisine pour voler des biscuits.
When I was little, I always used to come in through the kitchen to steal cookies.
On entrait à peine dans la salle quand le téléphone a sonné.
We were just walking into the room when the phone rang.
Passé simple (literary)
Regular 1er-groupe pattern: -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent. Two diacritic alarms: the circumflex on nous entrâmes and vous entrâtes, and the grave accent on ils entrèrent (3rd plural ending is -èrent, never -érent).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | entrai |
| tu | entras |
| il / elle / on | entra |
| nous | entrâmes |
| vous | entrâtes |
| ils / elles | entrèrent |
Elle entra sans un mot et s'assit près de la fenêtre.
She came in without a word and sat down near the window. (literary)
Les enfants entrèrent en courant, suivis du chien.
The children rushed in, followed by the dog. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem: the full infinitive entrer-, plus standard endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | entrerai |
| tu | entreras |
| il / elle / on | entrera |
| nous | entrerons |
| vous | entrerez |
| ils / elles | entreront |
Je n'entrerai pas dans les détails maintenant.
I won't go into the details right now.
Quand le nouveau président entrera en fonction, tout va changer.
When the new president takes office, everything is going to change.
Conditionnel présent
Same entrer- base with imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | entrerais |
| tu | entrerais |
| il / elle / on | entrerait |
| nous | entrerions |
| vous | entreriez |
| ils / elles | entreraient |
J'entrerais bien prendre un café, mais je suis en retard.
I'd happily come in for a coffee, but I'm running late.
Subjonctif présent
Standard subjunctive endings on the entr- stem.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) j' | entre |
| (que) tu | entres |
| (qu')il / elle / on | entre |
| (que) nous | entrions |
| (que) vous | entriez |
| (qu')ils / elles | entrent |
The nous entrions / vous entriez forms are identical to the imparfait — context distinguishes them.
J'aimerais qu'on entre par la porte de derrière, pour ne pas réveiller les enfants.
I'd like us to go in through the back door, so we don't wake the children.
Il faut que tu entres tes coordonnées avant de valider.
You need to enter your details before you confirm.
Impératif
Three forms. Note the spelling: the tu imperative of -er verbs drops the -s (so entre, not entres) — this is the standard -er rule that distinguishes the imperative from the indicative tu entres.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | entre |
| (nous) | entrons |
| (vous) | entrez |
The phrase Entrez ! is the standard French response to a knock on the door. Equivalent to English Come in!.
Entrez, c'est ouvert !
Come in, it's open!
Entre, ne reste pas sous la pluie.
Come in, don't stand out there in the rain.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: entré (with être: agrees with subject — entré, entrée, entrés, entrées; with avoir in the modern transitive use: agrees only with a preceding direct object)
- Participe présent: entrant
- Gérondif: en entrant
En entrant dans le salon, j'ai tout de suite remarqué le tableau.
Walking into the living room, I immediately noticed the painting.
The auxiliary switch: être vs avoir
Entrer is one of the canonical maison d'être verbs. In its core intransitive sense (the subject moves into a space), it takes être in compound tenses, and the past participle agrees with the subject.
In modern French, however, entrer has acquired a transitive use — particularly in computing and clerical contexts — meaning to enter (data), to input. When transitive, it switches to avoir and behaves like any normal -er transitive verb. This pattern is identical to monter, descendre, sortir, passer, rentrer.
Intransitive: être
The subject is the thing entering. Past participle agrees with subject.
Je suis entrée dans la pièce sur la pointe des pieds pour ne pas la réveiller.
I tiptoed into the room so as not to wake her.
Ils sont entrés sans frapper, comme si c'était chez eux.
They walked in without knocking, as if they owned the place.
Elle est entrée à HEC en 2018.
She got into HEC in 2018.
The participle agrees: entré, entrée, entrés, entrées. Elle est entrée, ils sont entrés, elles sont entrées.
Transitive (modern): avoir
When entrer takes a direct object — typically data, a code, a value — it takes avoir.
J'ai entré le mot de passe trois fois, ça ne marche toujours pas.
I've entered the password three times, it still doesn't work.
Vous avez entré toutes les données dans le tableur ?
Did you enter all the data into the spreadsheet?
L'employé a entré les coordonnées du client dans le logiciel.
The employee entered the customer's details into the software.
This transitive entrer is restricted to clerical / digital contexts. You would not say j'ai entré la pièce meaning "I went into the room" — for that, the verb is intransitive and uses être. To express moving an object into a space, French prefers faire entrer (causative) or introduire:
J'ai fait entrer le chat avant de fermer la porte.
I let the cat in before closing the door.
Il a introduit la clé dans la serrure.
He inserted the key into the lock.
The major uses
1. Entrer dans — to enter / go into a space
The default construction. The space-being-entered is marked with dans, never as a bare object.
Elle est entrée dans le café et a commandé un crème.
She walked into the café and ordered a coffee with milk.
On entre dans le tunnel, le réseau va couper.
We're going into the tunnel — the signal's going to cut out.
N'entrez pas dans cette pièce, le sol est encore humide.
Don't go into that room, the floor is still wet.
The English-French mismatch here is sharp: English to enter takes a bare object (enter the room), but French never allows entrer la pièce. The preposition dans is obligatory.
2. Entrer à — to enter (a school, an institution, a profession)
For institutions — schools, universities, the army, a hospital — French uses entrer à (where à + the institution).
Mon fils entre à l'école primaire en septembre.
My son is starting primary school in September.
Elle est entrée à l'hôpital pour une opération de routine.
She went into the hospital for routine surgery.
Il est entré à l'armée à dix-huit ans.
He joined the army at eighteen.
3. Entrer en — abstract entry
For abstract conditions or phases (a relationship, a war, a coma, a recession, office), the construction is entrer en:
Le pays est entré en récession au troisième trimestre.
The country went into recession in the third quarter.
Le nouveau ministre entrera en fonction lundi prochain.
The new minister will take office next Monday.
Après l'accident, elle est entrée dans un coma de plusieurs jours.
After the accident, she went into a coma that lasted several days.
4. Entrez ! — Come in!
Used as a standalone imperative to invite someone in after they knock. Universal in French, equivalent to English Come in!. Very high-frequency.
— Toc, toc. — Entrez !
— Knock, knock. — Come in!
5. Entrer dans les détails / entrer dans le vif du sujet
Two extremely useful figurative idioms:
Je ne vais pas entrer dans les détails, mais c'était compliqué.
I won't go into the details, but it was complicated.
Bon, entrons dans le vif du sujet : qu'est-ce qu'on fait ?
Right, let's get to the heart of the matter: what are we going to do?
6. Entrer en contact / entrer en relation
Set phrases for getting in touch or starting a relationship.
Nous sommes entrés en contact via un ami commun.
We got in touch through a mutual friend.
Si vous voulez plus d'informations, entrez en relation avec notre service client.
If you'd like more information, get in touch with our customer service.
7. Entrer en collision / entrer en éruption
Used for natural events and impacts.
Le volcan est entré en éruption pour la première fois en cent ans.
The volcano erupted for the first time in a hundred years.
Les deux voitures sont entrées en collision au carrefour.
The two cars collided at the intersection.
High-frequency idioms
- entrer en jeu — to come into play
- entrer en scène — to come onstage
- entrer en lice — to enter the fray, to throw one's hat in
- ça n'entre pas — it doesn't fit (literally: it doesn't go in)
- faire entrer quelqu'un — to let someone in / to invite in
- entrer par une oreille et sortir par l'autre — to go in one ear and out the other
C'est là que les pénalités entrent en jeu.
That's where the penalties come into play.
Cette valise n'entre pas dans le coffre, elle est trop grande.
This suitcase doesn't fit in the trunk, it's too big.
Je lui ai expliqué dix fois, mais ça lui entre par une oreille et ça lui sort par l'autre.
I've explained it to him ten times, but it goes in one ear and out the other.
Entrer vs rentrer — the everyday confusion
These two verbs overlap heavily and English speakers find them genuinely confusing. The strict prescriptive rule:
- entrer = to enter (for the first time / in general)
- rentrer = to re-enter, to return home, to come back inside
In everyday spoken French, however, rentrer has largely taken over the territory of entrer in many contexts. Rentrer dans la pièce is now more common in speech than entrer dans la pièce — especially in northern France. The traditional distinction is preserved in writing and in formal contexts; native speakers shift between them flexibly in conversation.
The clearest rentrer-only meaning is to return home (which is its dominant sense): je rentre chez moi à dix-huit heures (I'm going home at six). For this sense, entrer would be wrong. See the rentrer page for the full breakdown.
Je rentre chez moi en métro.
I'm going home by metro. (rentrer only — not *entrer)
Il est entré dans le café puis il est ressorti tout de suite.
He went into the café and came right back out. (entrer is preferred for first entry)
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
Obligatory preposition. English to enter takes a bare object: enter the room, enter the building. French requires dans / à / en depending on the type of place: entrer dans la pièce, entrer à l'école, entrer en récession. Saying j'entre la pièce is the most common English-speaker mistake.
Auxiliary être in compound tenses. English uses to have universally for the perfect (I have entered). French uses être for the intransitive entrer (je suis entrée). The participle then agrees with the subject in gender and number — another English-speaker blind spot.
The transitive use is restricted. English freely allows to enter with any direct object: enter the data, enter the room, enter the building. French only allows the transitive entrer (with avoir) for information / data. For physical things being moved into a space, you need faire entrer or introduire.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Omitting dans / à / en before the place.
❌ J'entre la pièce.
Wrong — entrer requires a preposition: dans + place.
✅ J'entre dans la pièce.
I'm going into the room.
Mistake 2: Using avoir for the intransitive sense.
❌ J'ai entré dans la salle de classe à huit heures.
Wrong — without a direct object, entrer takes être.
✅ Je suis entré(e) dans la salle de classe à huit heures.
I came into the classroom at eight.
Mistake 3: Forgetting agreement with être.
❌ Elle est entré dans le bureau du directeur.
Wrong — with être, the participle agrees with the subject (feminine: entrée).
✅ Elle est entrée dans le bureau du directeur.
She went into the director's office.
Mistake 4: Using transitive entrer for physical objects.
❌ J'ai entré la valise dans le coffre.
Wrong — for physical objects, French prefers faire entrer or mettre.
✅ J'ai mis la valise dans le coffre. / J'ai fait entrer la valise dans le coffre.
I put the suitcase in the trunk.
Mistake 5: Keeping the -s on the tu imperative.
❌ Entres !
Wrong — -er imperatives drop the -s in the tu form.
✅ Entre !
Come in!
Key takeaways
Entrer is a fully regular -er verb meaning to enter, come in, go in. It is a canonical maison-d'être verb: in its intransitive use (the default), it takes être as auxiliary, and the participle agrees with the subject (je suis entré, elle est entrée, ils sont entrés).
The verb almost always requires a preposition before its complement: dans for spaces (entrer dans la pièce), à for institutions (entrer à l'école, à l'hôpital, à l'armée), en for abstract phases (entrer en récession, en fonction, en éruption).
A modern transitive use exists for data input (j'ai entré le mot de passe) — there entrer takes avoir and behaves like any -er transitive verb. For physical objects being moved into a space, prefer faire entrer or introduire.
Watch the orthographic details: the passé simple 3rd plural is entrèrent (grave accent), the nous / vous forms have circumflexes (entrâmes, entrâtes), and the tu imperative drops the -s (entre !).
The everyday alternative rentrer has overtaken entrer in much spoken French — especially in northern France — but the two remain distinct in writing, and rentrer alone carries the return home meaning.
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