Devenir Verb Conjugation: Each Tense Explained With Translations And Examples

In case you are looking for devenir verb conjugation, keep in mind that Devenir is one of those French verbs that appears simple at first glance but quickly becomes essential as you progress. It is one of DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs. It expresses change, transformation, and progression—ideas that show up constantly in real conversations.

This guide walks through every tense and mood of devenir, explains how each one is used, and provides translations and examples that reflect how English actually works.

Let’s begin with what makes devenir special.

What You Need To Know Before Conjugating Devenir

Devenir means to become. It is an irregular verb that belongs to the same family as venir. Like venir, it uses être in compound tenses, and its past participle devenu agrees in gender and number. Once you understand these rules, the patterns are predictable.

Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is used to describe facts, real changes, habits, and events presented as certain.

Present Tense (Présent)

The present tense is used to describe what someone is becoming now, what happens regularly, or what is generally true. In English, this often translates as “become” or “am/is/are becoming.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	deviens	I become / I am becoming
Tu	deviens	you become / you are becoming
Il / Elle / On	devient	he / she becomes
Nous	devenons	we become / we are becoming
Vous	devenez	you become / you are becoming
Ils / Elles	deviennent	they become / they are becoming

Examples:

• Je deviens plus confiant. → I’m becoming more confident.
• Elle devient médecin. → She becomes a doctor.
• Ils deviennent impatients. → They are becoming impatient.

Now that the present tense is clear, let’s look at how French talks about change in the past.

Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)

The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing change in the past, repeated situations, or background context. In English, it often translates as “was becoming” or “used to become.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	devenais	I was becoming / I used to become
Tu	devenais	you were becoming
Il / Elle / On	devenait	he / she was becoming
Nous	devenions	we were becoming
Vous	deveniez	you were becoming
Ils / Elles	devenaient	they were becoming

Examples:

• Je devenais fatigué avec le temps. → I was becoming tired over time.
• Elle devenait plus sérieuse. → She was becoming more serious.
• Ils devenaient amis. → They were becoming friends.

To express a completed transformation in the past, French uses a different tense.

Passé Composé

The passé composé is used for completed changes or transformations. Since devenir uses être, the past participle devenu must agree. In English, this translates as “became” or “have become.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	suis devenu(e)	I became / I have become
Tu	es devenu(e)	you became
Il / Elle / On	est devenu(e)	he / she became
Nous	sommes devenu(e)s	we became
Vous	êtes devenu(e)(s)	you became
Ils / Elles	sont devenu(e)s	they became

Examples:

• Elle est devenue célèbre. → She became famous.
• Nous sommes devenus plus forts. → We became stronger.
• Il est devenu professeur. → He became a teacher.

When one transformation happened before another past event, French uses the plus-que-parfait.

Plus-Que-Parfait

The plus-que-parfait shows that a change had already occurred before another past action. In English, it usually translates as “had become.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	étais devenu(e)	I had become
Tu	étais devenu(e)	you had become
Il / Elle / On	était devenu(e)	he / she had become
Nous	étions devenu(e)s	we had become
Vous	étiez devenu(e)(s)	you had become
Ils / Elles	étaient devenu(e)s	they had become

Examples:

• Il était devenu impatient. → He had become impatient.
• Elle était devenue indépendante. → She had become independent.
• Nous étions devenus amis. → We had become friends.

French also has literary tenses that matter mainly for reading.

Passé Simple (Rare – Literary)

The passé simple is not used in everyday speech. You will mainly encounter it in novels and formal writing, where it replaces the passé composé.

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	devins	I became
Tu	devins	you became
Il / Elle / On	devint	he / she became
Nous	devînmes	we became
Vous	devîntes	you became
Ils / Elles	devinrent	they became

Examples:

• Il devint roi. → He became king.
• Elle devint célèbre. → She became famous.
• Ils devinrent ennemis. → They became enemies.

To talk about future change, French moves to the future tense.

Simple Future (Futur Simple)

The future tense is used to describe what someone will become. Devenir uses the stem deviendr-, the same stem used in the conditional.

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	deviendrai	I will become
Tu	deviendras	you will become
Il / Elle / On	deviendra	he / she will become
Nous	deviendrons	we will become
Vous	deviendrez	you will become
Ils / Elles	deviendront	they will become

Examples:

• Je deviendrai meilleur. → I will become better.
• Elle deviendra médecin. → She will become a doctor.
• Ils deviendront parents. → They will become parents.

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive expresses necessity, desire, doubt, emotion, or judgment, especially when talking about expected or hoped-for change.

Present Subjunctive

English usually avoids a direct subjunctive and instead uses “for someone to become” or “that someone should become.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Que je	devienne	for me to become / that I should become
Que tu	deviennes	for you to become / that you should become
Qu’il / elle / on	devienne	for him/her to become / that he/she should become
Que nous	devenions	for us to become / that we should become
Que vous	deveniez	for you to become / that you should become
Qu’ils / elles	deviennent	for them to become / that they should become

Examples:

• Il faut que je devienne plus patient. → I need to become more patient.
• Je veux qu’elle devienne forte. → I want her to become strong.
• Bien qu’ils deviennent célèbres… → Although they become famous…

Past Subjunctive

The past subjunctive is used when the change happened before the main verb. In English, this usually becomes “to have become.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Que je	sois devenu(e)	for me to have become
Que tu	sois devenu(e)	for you to have become
Qu’il / elle / on	soit devenu(e)	for him/her to have become
Que nous	soyons devenu(e)s	for us to have become
Que vous	soyez devenu(e)(s)	for you to have become
Qu’ils / elles	soient devenu(e)s	for them to have become

Examples:

• Je regrette qu’il soit devenu si froid. → I regret that he became so cold.
• Bien qu’elle soit devenue célèbre… → Although she became famous…
• Je suis heureux qu’ils soient devenus amis. → I’m happy they became friends.

Conditional Mood

The conditional is used for hypothetical transformations, polite opinions, or imagined outcomes.

Present Conditional

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	deviendrais	I would become
Tu	deviendrais	you would become
Il / Elle / On	deviendrait	he / she would become
Nous	deviendrions	we would become
Vous	deviendriez	you would become
Ils / Elles	deviendraient	they would become

Examples:

• Je deviendrais plus confiant. → I would become more confident.
• Elle deviendrait célèbre. → She would become famous.
• Nous deviendrions meilleurs. → We would become better.

Imperative Mood

The imperative is used to encourage or command change. It focuses on action and intention rather than time.

Present Imperative

Form	Conjugation	English Translation
(Tu)	deviens	become
(Nous)	devenons	let’s become
(Vous)	devenez	become (formal/plural)

Examples:

• Deviens plus patient. → Become more patient.
• Devenons meilleurs. → Let’s become better.
• Devenez responsables. → Become responsible.

Final Takeaway

The devenir verb conjugation is about expressing change clearly and naturally. Once you connect each tense to its real meaning and English equivalent, devenir becomes one of the most powerful verbs you can use to describe growth, transformation, and progress in French.