Offrir is the verb to offer — but more importantly, it is the standard French verb for giving a gift. Where English distinguishes "give a present" from "offer something," French uses offrir for both. Je vais lui offrir un livre is "I'm going to give him a book (as a gift)." Donner — the literal "give" — would here sound oddly transactional, even cold.
This semantic range is the central insight for English speakers. French offrir spans:
- gift-giving (offrir un cadeau)
- treating someone (je t'offre un café)
- offering / proposing (il m'a offert son aide)
- putting on display, presenting (la vue qu'offre cette terrasse)
Mechanically, offrir belongs to the ouvrir family: it conjugates with -er endings in the present despite ending in -ir, and it has the irregular past participle offert (not offri). This page is the full reference: every paradigm, all four senses, the pronominal s'offrir (treat oneself), and the idioms.
The defining oddity (shared with ouvrir)
Offrir takes -er-style endings in the present indicative. The infinitive ending in -ir is misleading — the present-tense pattern is -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent, identical to parler.
The other defining feature is the past participle offert, not offri. This shape (-ert) is the family signature: ouvert, couvert, découvert, offert, souffert. A regular -ir verb of the finir type would give offri; instead, French uses the irregular offert.
The simple tenses
Présent de l'indicatif
The -er-style endings, on the stem offr-.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| j' | offre | /ʒɔfʁ/ |
| tu | offres | /tyɔfʁ/ |
| il / elle / on | offre | /ilɔfʁ/ |
| nous | offrons | /nuzɔfʁɔ̃/ |
| vous | offrez | /vuzɔfʁe/ |
| ils / elles | offrent | /ilzɔfʁ/ |
Je elides to j' before the vowel: j'offre. The liaisons in nous offrons, vous offrez, ils offrent are obligatory: /nu‿zɔfʁɔ̃/, /vu‿zɔfʁe/, /il‿zɔfʁ/.
Qu'est-ce que tu offres à ta mère pour Noël ?
What are you giving your mother for Christmas?
Je t'offre un verre, qu'est-ce qui te ferait plaisir ?
I'm buying you a drink — what would you like?
L'entreprise offre des formations à tous ses employés.
The company offers training to all its employees.
Nous offrons une garantie de deux ans sur tous nos produits.
We offer a two-year warranty on all our products.
Mes parents nous offrent toujours un voyage pour notre anniversaire.
My parents always give us a trip for our anniversary.
Imparfait
Built on the present nous stem offr- + regular endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | offrais |
| tu | offrais |
| il / elle / on | offrait |
| nous | offrions |
| vous | offriez |
| ils / elles | offraient |
Quand j'étais enfant, mon grand-père m'offrait toujours un livre à mon anniversaire.
When I was a child, my grandfather always gave me a book for my birthday.
Cette boutique offrait des cadeaux à chaque achat, c'était sympa.
This shop used to give gifts with every purchase, it was nice.
Passé simple (literary)
The regular -is pattern, with circumflex on nous / vous.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | offris |
| tu | offris |
| il / elle / on | offrit |
| nous | offrîmes |
| vous | offrîtes |
| ils / elles | offrirent |
Le roi offrit à son fils un cheval de race.
The king offered his son a thoroughbred horse. (literary)
Ils nous offrirent l'hospitalité pour la nuit.
They offered us hospitality for the night. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem offrir- (the full infinitive), regular endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | offrirai |
| tu | offriras |
| il / elle / on | offrira |
| nous | offrirons |
| vous | offrirez |
| ils / elles | offriront |
Je t'offrirai quelque chose de plus joli pour ton mariage.
I'll get you something nicer for your wedding.
Cette nouvelle plateforme offrira plus de possibilités aux utilisateurs.
This new platform will offer more options to users.
Conditionnel présent
Same stem offrir-, with imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | offrirais |
| tu | offrirais |
| il / elle / on | offrirait |
| nous | offririons |
| vous | offririez |
| ils / elles | offriraient |
The conditional is the standard form for polite offers: je vous offrirais bien… (I'd be happy to offer you…).
Je t'offrirais bien un café, mais je n'ai plus de filtres.
I'd offer you a coffee, but I'm out of filters.
Si j'avais plus d'argent, je leur offrirais un meilleur cadeau.
If I had more money, I'd give them a better gift.
Subjonctif présent
The same offr- stem with -er-style endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) j' | offre |
| (que) tu | offres |
| (qu')il / elle / on | offre |
| (que) nous | offrions |
| (que) vous | offriez |
| (qu')ils / elles | offrent |
Il faut que tu offres quelque chose, on ne peut pas arriver les mains vides.
You need to bring something — we can't arrive empty-handed.
J'aimerais qu'on lui offre une montre, ce serait original.
I'd like us to give her a watch, that would be original.
Impératif
The tu form drops the -s (it follows the -er pattern).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | offre |
| (nous) | offrons |
| (vous) | offrez |
Offre-lui des fleurs, ça lui fera plaisir.
Get her some flowers, she'll like that.
Offrons-lui un dîner pour fêter sa promotion.
Let's treat her to a dinner to celebrate her promotion.
Note: when en follows the imperative, the -s is restored for euphony: Offres-en à tout le monde (offer some to everybody).
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: offert / feminine offerte / plurals offerts, offertes (irregular — NOT offri)
- Participe présent: offrant
- Gérondif: en offrant
The participle offert doubles as an adjective: un cadeau offert (a gift given), l'aide offerte (the help offered).
En offrant ce livre à mon ami, j'ai vu son visage s'illuminer.
By giving this book to my friend, I saw his face light up.
Tous les bouquets offerts ont été magnifiques.
All the bouquets given were magnificent.
The compound tenses
Offrir takes avoir as its auxiliary. Past participle: offert.
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + offert
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | ai offert |
| tu | as offert |
| il / elle / on | a offert |
| nous | avons offert |
| vous | avez offert |
| ils / elles | ont offert |
Mon frère m'a offert une montre pour mes trente ans.
My brother gave me a watch for my thirtieth birthday.
Ils nous ont offert un séjour à la mer.
They gave us a stay at the seaside.
Past participle agreement with avoir on a preceding direct object:
Les fleurs que tu m'as offertes sont fanées.
The flowers you gave me have wilted.
Voici le bracelet qu'elle m'a offert.
Here's the bracelet she gave me.
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + offert
J'avais déjà offert le même livre l'année précédente, j'avais oublié.
I'd already given the same book the year before — I'd forgotten.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + offert
D'ici son anniversaire, j'aurai offert quelque chose à chacun de ses neveux.
By her birthday, I'll have given something to each of her nephews.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + offert
Si j'avais su, je leur aurais offert un cadeau différent.
If I'd known, I would have given them a different gift.
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif) + offert
C'est gentil que vous lui ayez offert ce stylo.
It's kind of you to have given her this pen.
Core uses
1. Offrir + gift = give a present
The most common use, and the trap for English speakers. Donner un cadeau is grammatically correct but feels cold and transactional in French. Offrir is the warm, idiomatic choice for giving a gift.
Qu'est-ce que tu lui as offert pour la Saint-Valentin ?
What did you give her for Valentine's Day?
Mes collègues m'ont offert un bouquet pour mon départ.
My colleagues gave me a bouquet on my departure.
On ne sait jamais quoi offrir aux beaux-parents.
You never know what to get for your in-laws.
2. Offrir in the sense of "treating" — paying for someone
When you pay for someone's coffee, dinner, or drinks, you offrir it. Je t'offre le café = "It's on me / my treat."
C'est moi qui offre le restaurant ce soir.
Dinner's on me tonight.
Tu m'offres un verre ? J'ai oublié mon portefeuille.
Will you buy me a drink? I forgot my wallet.
Allez, je vous offre une tournée !
Come on, drinks are on me!
3. Offrir = to offer / propose / make available
Closer to the English "offer." Used for help, opportunities, services, prices, conditions.
Il m'a offert son aide sans hésiter.
He offered his help without hesitating.
Cet emploi offre de bonnes perspectives d'évolution.
This job offers good career prospects.
Le magasin offre une réduction sur les produits laitiers.
The shop is offering a discount on dairy products.
4. Offrir = to present / put on display (formal)
A more literary or formal use: a landscape offre une vue; a building offre une façade impressive.
La terrasse offre une vue magnifique sur la mer.
The terrace offers a magnificent view of the sea.
Cette ville offre un patrimoine architectural exceptionnel.
This city offers exceptional architectural heritage.
S'offrir — to treat oneself, to afford
The pronominal form has its own important use: to treat oneself to something, or to afford something. Like all pronominal verbs, s'offrir takes être in compound tenses.
Je me suis offert une nouvelle voiture, je l'ai bien méritée.
I treated myself to a new car — I really deserved it.
Avec mes économies, je peux m'offrir une semaine en Italie.
With my savings, I can afford a week in Italy.
Pour mes quarante ans, je me suis offert un saut en parachute.
For my fortieth birthday, I treated myself to a parachute jump.
The pattern s'offrir le luxe de + infinitif — to allow oneself the luxury of — is a frequent flourish.
Elle s'offre le luxe de ne plus travailler.
She allows herself the luxury of not working anymore.
High-frequency idioms and collocations
- offrir un cadeau — give a gift
- offrir des fleurs — give flowers
- offrir un verre / un café / un coup à boire — buy someone a drink
- offrir l'hospitalité — offer hospitality
- offrir l'asile — grant asylum (formal/legal)
- offrir ses services — offer one's services
- offrir sa démission — tender one's resignation (formal)
- offrir une résistance — put up a resistance (formal/military)
- s'offrir le luxe de — allow oneself the luxury of
- c'est offert par la maison — it's on the house
- prix à offrir — gift-priced (suitable for a gift, in shops)
L'apéritif est offert par la maison ce soir.
Drinks are on the house tonight.
Le candidat a offert sa démission après le scandale.
The candidate tendered his resignation after the scandal.
Cet emballage est gratuit, il est offert pour les fêtes.
This wrapping is free, offered for the holidays.
Offrir vs donner
The single most useful distinction:
| Verb | Use |
|---|---|
| offrir | give as a gift; offer; treat |
| donner | give (literal handover, no gift connotation) |
Donner is for handing something over, transferring it. Offrir is for giving it as a gift, offering it as a kindness, presenting it.
Donne-moi le sel, s'il te plaît.
Pass me the salt, please. (handover, not gift)
Offre-moi quelque chose de joli pour mon anniversaire.
Get me something nice for my birthday. (gift)
Il m'a donné ses clés.
He gave me his keys. (handed them over)
Il m'a offert ses clés.
He gave me his keys (as a gift, like for an apartment).
The difference is subtle but real: donner = transfer; offrir = gift. In ambiguous cases (you handed someone a present), offrir is the warmer choice.
The ouvrir-offrir-souffrir family
These verbs all conjugate identically.
| Verb | Meaning | Past participle | Present je / nous |
|---|---|---|---|
| ouvrir | open | ouvert | j'ouvre / nous ouvrons |
| offrir | offer, give | offert | j'offre / nous offrons |
| souffrir | suffer | souffert | je souffre / nous souffrons |
| couvrir | cover | couvert | je couvre / nous couvrons |
| découvrir | discover | découvert | je découvre / nous découvrons |
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
English "give a gift" maps to French offrir un cadeau, not donner un cadeau. Donner sounds transactional; for any gift-giving, offrir is the idiomatic choice.
"It's on me" / "I'll buy you a drink" = je t'offre. The verb covers the social act of treating someone. English speakers reach for je paie pour toi or je t'achète un verre; the natural French is je t'offre un verre.
The past participle offert, not offri. A regular -ir verb of the finir type would give offri; instead, offrir is irregular: offert. So j'ai offert, never j'ai offri.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Past participle offri instead of offert.
❌ Je t'ai offri un cadeau.
Wrong — the past participle is *offert*, not *offri*. The whole *ouvrir* family takes *-ert*.
✅ Je t'ai offert un cadeau.
I gave you a gift.
Mistake 2: Using donner for a gift.
❌ J'ai donné un livre à ma sœur pour son anniversaire.
Mismatch — *donner un cadeau* is grammatically correct but feels cold. For gift-giving, French uses *offrir*.
✅ J'ai offert un livre à ma sœur pour son anniversaire.
I gave my sister a book for her birthday.
Mistake 3: Using -ir endings in the present.
❌ Je offris un café à mon collègue.
Wrong — the present is *j'offre*, not *j'offris* (which is the literary passé simple). And *je* must elide before the vowel: *j'offre*.
✅ J'offre un café à mon collègue.
I'm offering my colleague a coffee.
Mistake 4: Forgetting agreement on the past participle.
❌ Les fleurs qu'il m'a offert sont magnifiques.
Wrong — *avoir* + preceding direct object triggers agreement. *Fleurs* is feminine plural, so the participle must be *offertes*.
✅ Les fleurs qu'il m'a offertes sont magnifiques.
The flowers he gave me are magnificent.
Mistake 5: Confusing s'offrir with offrir.
❌ J'ai offert une nouvelle voiture cette année.
Ambiguous — sounds like you gave a car to someone else. To say you bought yourself one, use *s'offrir*.
✅ Je me suis offert une nouvelle voiture cette année.
I treated myself to a new car this year.
Key takeaways
Offrir means "to offer," "to give as a gift," "to treat someone." It is broader than English "offer" — it is the standard French verb for gift-giving, and donner un cadeau sounds cold by comparison.
Mechanically, offrir belongs to the ouvrir family: -er-style endings in the present (j'offre, tu offres, nous offrons), but the irregular past participle offert (not offri). The tu imperative drops the -s (offre) like an -er verb. Auxiliary in compound tenses is avoir.
The pronominal s'offrir means "to treat oneself" or "to afford" something — je me suis offert un voyage (I treated myself to a trip). It takes être in compound tenses, like all pronominal verbs.
The verb covers gift-giving (offrir un cadeau, des fleurs), treating people (je t'offre un verre), offering services or help (offrir son aide), and presenting things (la terrasse offre une vue). When in doubt between offrir and donner, lean toward offrir — it is warmer and more idiomatic.
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