Focus on French Verbs: attendre

The French verb attendre most often means "to wait" or "to wait for." You can use it when you are waiting for a person, an event, transportation, or something else to happen.

One important difference from English is that French normally uses attendre + noun where English uses "wait for." Attendre can also mean to expect, and several constructions with prepositions give the verb additional meanings.

Conjugation

Attendre is a regular -re verb and follows the common conjugation pattern of verbs such as vendre and perdre.

See attendre for all tenses and forms.

Common patterns and prepositions

Attendre takes a direct object with no preposition where English uses "wait for." Do not add pour. Other constructions use que or de.

Pronominal form: s'attendre

S'attendre is the pronominal form of attendre. It means to expect or anticipate a particular kind of outcome — not simply to wait for someone or something to arrive.

See s'attendre for all tenses and forms.

The basic pattern is:

s'attendre à + noun

S'attendre à* describes what you believe is likely to happen. Attendre + *direct object describes what you are waiting for or expecting to arrive.

Useful phrases:

• ne pas s'y attendre — not to expect it
• s'attendre au pire — to expect the worst
• à quoi s'attendre ? — what to expect?

Do not add à to plain attendre. The preposition belongs to s'attendre à, not to attendre on its own.

Attendre + noun: waiting for someone or something

When you wait for a person or thing, attendre takes a direct object:

The basic pattern is:

attendre + noun

This differs from English, which normally requires for:

No French equivalent of for is needed.

Attendre without an object

Attendre can also be used without stating what someone is waiting for:

The imperative forms Attends ! and Attendez ! are especially common.

Depending on context, Attends ! can also be used conversationally when someone wants another person to pause before continuing.

Attendre que + subjunctive

When you are waiting for something to happen, French commonly uses:

attendre que + subjunctive

The event being waited for appears in a subjunctive clause:

The verb after attendre que takes the subjunctive.

This construction is useful when the thing you are waiting for is an event expressed as a complete clause rather than a noun.

Compare:

Attendre: to expect

Attendre can also mean to expect, especially when you anticipate that someone or something will arrive or occur:

Context usually tells you whether attendre means "wait for" or "expect." The two meanings are closely related: in both cases, something is anticipated but has not yet arrived or happened.

Attendre de + infinitive

In some contexts, attendre de + infinitive can mean to wait before doing something:

This construction is less basic than attendre + noun or attendre que + subjunctive, but it is useful when the same person is waiting before taking an action.

Attendre de quelqu'un quelque chose

Attendre quelque chose de quelqu'un means to expect something from someone:

Here, de introduces the person or thing from which something is expected.

attendre + something + de + someone

This meaning is about expectations or requirements rather than simply waiting.

Common expressions with attendre

Several common expressions use attendre:

• attendre quelqu'un — to wait for someone
• attendre quelque chose — to wait for or expect something
• attendre que + subjunctive — to wait for something to happen
• attendre quelque chose de quelqu'un — to expect something from someone
• ne plus pouvoir attendre — to be unable to wait any longer
• se faire attendre — to keep people waiting, be slow to arrive

You will also frequently hear:

This means that something does not need immediate attention.

Another common expression is:

Depending on context, it can also suggest that the speaker is eager for something to happen.

Common errors

Don't use pour after attendre

English uses wait for, but ordinary French uses a direct object:

Not attendre pour le train.

Don't add à to attendre when you mean s'attendre à

See Pronominal form: s'attendre. Plain attendre does not take à before its object.

Use the subjunctive after attendre que

When attendre introduces a clause with que, the following verb takes the subjunctive:

This construction is attendre que + subjunctive.

Don't assume attendre always means "wait"

Context can make expect the better English translation. The French construction remains attendre + direct object.

Attendre vs espérer

Attendre and espérer can both refer to something in the future, but they express different ideas.

Attendre means that you are waiting for or expecting something:

Espérer expresses hope or a desired outcome:

Waiting for something does not necessarily mean that you hope it will happen, and hoping for something does not necessarily mean that you are literally waiting for it.

Attendre vs patienter

Patienter means to wait or to be patient while waiting:

Unlike attendre, patienter does not normally take the person or thing being waited for as a direct object.

Compare:

Patienter is especially common in instructions, announcements, and situations where someone is asked to wait.

Related verbs

The most important distinction to learn first is that attendre takes a direct object. Once attendre le bus and attendre quelqu'un feel natural, constructions such as attendre que + subjunctive and attendre quelque chose de quelqu'un are easier to add.

From learning to practice

French drops the English for with attendre: a friend might text J'attends le bus or Je t'attends devant le cinéma — no extra preposition. At a counter or in a waiting room, Il faut attendre and On attend encore un peu come up often.

When the question is what kind of outcome you anticipate, use s'attendre à: Je m'attends à un retard, not J'attends à un retard. Resist adding pour to attendre and à to plain attendre out of habit.