Rester Verb Conjugation: Every Tense Explained With Translations & Examples

If Rester Verb Conjugation keeps tripping you up, it’s usually because English and French don’t express “staying” the same way across tenses. DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs. This guide breaks down every form of rester, explains how each tense is actually used, and gives clear translations with real-life examples. Rester is a core French verb used to express staying, remaining, continuity, and unchanged situations. This guide explains every tense and mood clearly, with natural translations and real-life examples.

Let’s start with what makes rester unique.

What You Need To Know Before Conjugating Rester

Rester means to stay, to remain, or to keep being. It is a regular -er verb in form, but it always uses être in compound tenses because it describes a state, not an action done to an object. The past participle resté must agree in gender and number.

This rule never changes.

Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is used to state facts, habits, real situations, and observable states.

Present Tense (Présent)

The present tense describes situations happening now, repeated states, or general truths. In English, rester often translates as “stay,” “remain,” or “am/is/are staying.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	reste	I stay / I am staying
Tu	restes	you stay / you are staying
Il / Elle / On	reste	he / she stays
Nous	restons	we stay / we are staying
Vous	restez	you stay / you are staying
Ils / Elles	restent	they stay / they are staying

Examples:

• Je reste ici. → I’m staying here.
• Elle reste calme. → She stays calm.
• Ils restent à la maison. → They are staying at home.

To describe ongoing or habitual states in the past, French uses the imperfect.

Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)

The imperfect tense is used for ongoing states, repeated habits, or background situations in the past. In English, it usually translates as “was staying” or “used to stay.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	restais	I was staying / I used to stay
Tu	restais	you were staying
Il / Elle / On	restait	he / she was staying
Nous	restions	we were staying
Vous	restiez	you were staying
Ils / Elles	restaient	they were staying

Examples:

• Je restais souvent ici. → I used to stay here.
• Elle restait silencieuse. → She was staying quiet.
• Nous restions longtemps. → We were staying for a long time.

To express a completed state in the past, French uses the passé composé.

Passé Composé (Always Être)

The passé composé is used to describe a completed or defined period of staying. Rester always uses être, and the past participle agrees with the subject. In English, it usually becomes “stayed” or “have stayed.”

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

Examples:

• Je suis resté à la maison. → I stayed at home.
• Elle est restée tard. → She stayed late.
• Ils sont restés ensemble. → They stayed together.

To show that someone had already stayed before another past event, French uses another tense.

Plus-Que-Parfait

The plus-que-parfait expresses a state that had already happened before another past action. In English, it usually translates as “had stayed.”

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

Examples:

• J’étais resté plus longtemps. → I had stayed longer.
• Elle était restée seule. → She had stayed alone.
• Nous étions restés ici. → We had stayed here.

Some tenses are mainly used in written or literary French.

Passé Simple (Rare – Literary)

The passé simple of rester appears mainly in novels and historical writing, not in spoken French.

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	restai	I stayed
Tu	restas	you stayed
Il / Elle / On	resta	he / she stayed
Nous	restâmes	we stayed
Vous	restâtes	you stayed
Ils / Elles	restèrent	they stayed

Examples:

• Il resta immobile. → He stayed still.
• Elle resta silencieuse. → She remained silent.
• Ils restèrent longtemps. → They stayed a long time.

French also uses the future tense to talk about staying later.

Simple Future (Futur Simple)

The future tense describes actions or states that will happen later, including staying somewhere or remaining in a situation.

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	resterai	I will stay
Tu	resteras	you will stay
Il / Elle / On	restera	he / she will stay
Nous	resterons	we will stay
Vous	resterez	you will stay
Ils / Elles	resteront	they will stay

Examples:

• Je resterai ici. → I will stay here.
• Elle restera calme. → She will remain calm.
• Nous resterons ensemble. → We will stay together.

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive is used to express necessity, emotion, doubt, or judgment related to staying or remaining.

Present Subjunctive

In English, this usually translates as “for someone to stay” or “that someone should stay.”

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Que je	reste	for me to stay / that I should stay
Que tu	restes	for you to stay
Qu’il / elle / on	reste	for him/her to stay
Que nous	restions	for us to stay
Que vous	restiez	for you to stay
Qu’ils / elles	restent	for them to stay

Examples:

• Il faut que je reste. → I need to stay.
• Je veux qu’elle reste. → I want her to stay.
• Bien qu’ils restent tard… → Although they stay late…

Past Subjunctive

Used when the state of staying happened before the main verb. In English, this often becomes “to have stayed.”

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

Examples:

• Je regrette qu’il soit resté. → I regret that he stayed.
• Bien qu’elle soit restée… → Although she stayed…
• Je suis content qu’ils soient restés. → I’m glad they stayed.

Conditional Mood

The conditional expresses hypothetical situations, polite suggestions, or imagined outcomes involving staying.

Present Conditional

Subject	Conjugation	English Translation
Je	resterais	I would stay
Tu	resterais	you would stay
Il / Elle / On	resterait	he / she would stay
Nous	resterions	we would stay
Vous	resteriez	you would stay
Ils / Elles	resteraient	they would stay

Examples:

• Je resterais plus longtemps. → I would stay longer.
• Elle resterait ici. → She would stay here.
• Nous resterions ensemble. → We would stay together.

Imperative Mood

The imperative is used to give instructions, encouragement, or advice, often related to staying in place.

Present Imperative

Form	Conjugation	English Translation
(Tu)	reste	stay
(Nous)	restons	let’s stay
(Vous)	restez	stay (formal/plural)

Examples:

• Reste ici. → Stay here.
• Restons calmes. → Let’s stay calm.
• Restez avec nous. → Stay with us.

Final Takeaway

The Rester Verb Conjugation is simpler than many movement verbs because it always uses être and focuses on states rather than actions. Once you master its agreement and tense usage, rester becomes one of the most reliable and useful verbs in everyday French.