Devenir Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “devenir”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Devenir means “to become.” French uses it for changes of state and of role, where English often reaches for “get” or “turn”: devenir célèbre, devenir médecin, devenir difficile.
Devenir is how you talk about change over time: careers, moods, neighbourhoods, weather patterns. It is built on venir and conjugates exactly like it, so if you already know je viens you already know je deviens. The verb also lives inside one of the friendliest questions in French, qu'est-ce que tu deviens ?, which asks what someone has been up to since you last met.
Devenir inherits venir's whole pattern, prefix included. The present splits between devien- in the singular and third person plural (je deviens, il devient, ils deviennent with a doubled n) and deven- in nous devenons and vous devenez. The imperfect uses deven- throughout: je devenais, nous devenions. The future and conditional insert a d that the infinitive does not show, giving je deviendrai and je deviendrais. The subjunctive splits like the present again: que je devienne, but que nous devenions. The past participle is devenu, and because the auxiliary is être it has to agree.
Devenir takes être, so the participle agrees with the subject: il est devenu, elle est devenue, ils sont devenus, elles sont devenues. This is worth checking against the rest of the family: venir and revenir also take être, but tenir, obtenir and prévenir take avoir.
Devenir in context
Présent
Elle devient plus sûre d'elle à chaque présentation. She's getting more confident with every presentation.
Imparfait
Le quartier devenait plus calme après vingt heures. The neighbourhood used to quieten down after eight.
Passé composé
Mes cousines sont devenues médecins toutes les deux. Both my cousins became doctors.
Futur simple
Tu deviendras un très bon guide avec un peu de pratique. You'll make a very good guide with a bit of practice.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que vous deveniez membre pour réserver un court. You have to become a member to book a court.
Common mistakes with devenir
Using avoir in the passé composé
✗ Il a devenu très riche.
✓ Il est devenu très riche. — He became very rich.
Devenir describes a change of state, and those verbs take être in French. The participle then agrees with the subject: elle est devenue, elles sont devenues.
Using devenir for impersonal change
✗ Il devient tard, on rentre.
✓ Il se fait tard, on rentre. — It's getting late, let's head home.
Devenir needs a subject that actually changes. For impersonal statements about time or weather French uses se faire or faire: il se fait tard, il commence à faire froid.
Single n in ils deviennent
✗ Les soirées devienent fraîches en septembre.
✓ Les soirées deviennent fraîches en septembre. — The evenings turn chilly in September.
The n doubles wherever the ending is silent and the stem is stressed: ils deviennent, que je devienne. Keep a single n when the ending is pronounced: nous devenons, vous devenez, je devenais.
Expressions with devenir
qu'est-ce que tu deviens ?
what have you been up to?
devenir fou
to go mad
devenir quelqu'un
to make something of oneself
il est devenu tout rouge
he turned bright red
Frequently asked questions
Is devenir an irregular verb?
Yes. It is venir with a prefix, so it carries all of venir's irregularities: two present stems (devien- and deven-), a future stem with an inserted d (je deviendrai), and a subjunctive that splits the same way as the present. Nothing about the -ir ending predicts any of it.
Does devenir take avoir or être?
Être. The passé composé is je suis devenu(e), and the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: elle est devenue, ils sont devenus. If you know the être-verb list as a set of movement and change-of-state verbs, devenir is the clearest example of the change-of-state half.
What is the past participle of devenir?
It is devenu, with devenue, devenus and devenues as the agreeing forms. You will always need to pick one, because the auxiliary is être: ma sœur est devenue avocate. It is also used as an adjective in phrases such as un problème devenu urgent.
What is the difference between devenir and rendre?
Devenir describes the subject changing on its own: elle est devenue nerveuse. Rendre describes one thing making another thing change: ce bruit me rend nerveux. If there is a cause acting on someone, use rendre plus an adjective; if the change is simply happening, use devenir.
How do you say “to get” in French?
It depends on the sense. For a gradual change of state, use devenir: il devient impatient. For something you obtain, use obtenir or recevoir. For arriving somewhere, use arriver. English “get” is far broader than any single French verb, so translate the meaning rather than the word.