Fermer Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “fermer”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Fermer means “to close” or “to shut,” and it is one of the first -er verbs you will actually need: doors, windows, shops, accounts, browser tabs. It is completely regular, so the difficulty is telling fermer from fermé rather than conjugating it.
Fermer is everywhere in practical French. Shop signs use it (nous fermons à 19 h), so do opening hours (le musée ferme le lundi), and so does everyday instruction (ferme la porte). Note that it works both ways round: you can close something, and a shop can simply ferme with no object at all. The one thing worth flagging early is that French does not use fermer for lights in the standard European variety, where the verb is éteindre.
Fermer is a fully regular first-group verb on the stem ferm-, and every form is that stem plus a standard ending: je ferme, tu fermes, il ferme, nous fermons, vous fermez, ils ferment. Because -e, -es and -ent are silent, il ferme and ils ferment sound exactly the same, and only context or a written s tells you which you have. The future adds its ending to the whole infinitive, giving je fermerai with an e you write but never say. That silent e is where fermerai (future) and fermerais (conditional) part company from fermais (imparfait). The past participle is fermé, and it does a great deal of work as an adjective: le magasin est fermé.
Fermer in context
Présent
La boulangerie ferme à treize heures le dimanche. The bakery closes at one on Sundays.
Imparfait
Quand nous habitions au village, l'épicerie fermait à midi. When we lived in the village, the grocer's used to close at midday.
Passé composé
J'ai fermé toutes les fenêtres avant de partir. I closed all the windows before leaving.
Futur simple
Ils fermeront la route pendant les travaux. They'll close the road while the work is going on.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que tu fermes la porte à clé en partant. You need to lock the door on your way out.
Common mistakes with fermer
Writing the infinitive where the participle belongs
✗ Le musée est fermer le lundi.
✓ Le musée est fermé le lundi. — The museum is closed on Mondays.
Fermer and fermé are pronounced identically, so this one survives entirely in writing. After être you need the past participle, fermé, which agrees: la boutique est fermée, les bureaux sont fermés. Use the -er spelling only after another verb or a preposition, as in je vais fermer or avant de fermer.
Using the conditional ending for the future
✗ Je fermerais la boutique à 18 h demain.
✓ Je fermerai la boutique à 18 h demain. — I'll close the shop at six tomorrow.
Je fermerai is a plan and je fermerais is a hypothesis, and the whole difference is one letter. If the sentence has a definite time in it, like demain, you almost always want the future -ai. Keep -ais for si clauses and polite conditionals.
Using fermer for switching off a light
✗ Ferme la lumière avant de sortir.
✓ Éteins la lumière avant de sortir. — Turn the light off before you go out.
In standard European French you close things that have an opening and you extinguish things that are lit, so lights, screens and radios take éteindre and allumer. Fermer la lumière is normal in Quebec French and heard in Belgium, but in France it sounds like a translation error.
Expressions with fermer
fermer à clé
to lock
fermer les yeux sur quelque chose
to turn a blind eye to something
fermer boutique
to shut up shop, to close down for good
ne pas fermer l'œil
not to sleep a wink
fermer la marche
to bring up the rear
Frequently asked questions
Is fermer a regular verb?
Yes, it is a regular first-group -er verb with no stem change anywhere: je ferme, nous fermons, past participle fermé, future je fermerai. It takes avoir in compound tenses. If you can conjugate parler you already know fermer.
What is the difference between fermer and fermé?
Fermer is the infinitive, the action; fermé is the past participle, used in compound tenses and as an adjective. They sound the same, so the test is what comes before: after être or as a description you need fermé (c'est fermé), while after another verb you need fermer (il va fermer).
How do you say “the shop is closed” in French?
Le magasin est fermé, using the participle as an adjective, with agreement if the noun is feminine or plural: la banque est fermée. If you mean it closes at a certain time rather than that it is shut now, use the verb: le magasin ferme à 19 h.
What is the difference between fermer and éteindre?
Fermer applies to things with an opening or a lid, and to businesses: fermer la porte, fermer un compte, fermer un dossier. Éteindre applies to anything lit or running on power: éteindre la lumière, éteindre son ordinateur, éteindre un feu. Its opposite is allumer.
How do you pronounce il ferme and ils ferment?
Identically. The -ent ending of the third person plural is silent in every -er verb, so both come out as roughly “fairm.” Nothing in speech distinguishes them, which is why French speakers rely on the pronoun. The participle fermé, by contrast, ends in a clear ay sound.