Faire Meaning in French: How and When To Use It

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Is faire the most versatile French word? It just might be! The word faire (to do/to make) is an irregular verb commonly used throughout the French language. Although faire is one of the most common French verbs, it can be challenging to master because it has so many different meanings. Faire can be used in idiomatic expressions to talk about the weather, going shopping, recreational activities, causes of other actions, and more. 

Most common faire meanings in English: to do/to make

There are multiple translations of the verb faire depending on the context, although the two most common and direct translations are “to do,” such as faire les devoirs (to do homework) and “to make,” as in faire le lit (to make the bed). To follow French grammar rules, keep the verb in the infinitive form when it follows a conjugated verb. 

• Qu’est-ce que vous aimez faire ? = What do you like to do?
• J’aimerais faire une réservation. = I would like to make a reservation. 
• Qu’est-ce qu’on va faire demain ? = What are we going to do tomorrow? 
• Qu’est-ce qu’on doit faire aujourd’hui ? = What do we have to do today? 
• Est-ce que tu peux m’apprendre à faire un gâteau ? = Can you teach me to make a cake? 

Conjugation of faire in the present tense

The present tense of faire tells you what usually happens or what is happening. To use faire in a present-tense sentence, you’ll need the correct forms. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always follow the pattern of regular -RE verbs in French. 

Since faire is an irregular verb, you’ll need to memorize this conjugation, but you’ll encounter these forms often in meaningful contexts such as Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method. 

• Je fais des costumes pour mes clients. = I make suits for my clients. 
• Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? = What are you doing? 
• Nous faisons une tarte. = We are making a pie. 
• Elles font un don de vêtements. = They are making a donation of clothes. 

How to use faire in the past tense 

In the passé composé (simple past), the French past tense used for specific completed events in the past, the past participle is fait. 

• J’ai fait la vaisselle. = I did the dishes. 
• D’accord, j’ai fait votre réservation. Merci d’avoir appelé. = Ok, I have made your reservation. Thank you for calling.
• Je suis désolé. J’ai fait une erreur. = I’m sorry. I made a mistake. 

Often, the imparfait (imperfect) is the way weather is expressed in the past tense in French, as it’s the more descriptive past tense that refers to background information. This form is il faisait. It’s also the third-person form to say what a person was doing in the past, or what they did repeatedly.

• Il faisait trop froid pour faire de la plongée, alors nous sommes plutôt allés pêcher. = It was too cold to go diving, so we went fishing instead. 
• Il a trouvé une grotte quand il faisait de la randonnée dans les bois. = He found a cave when he was hiking in the woods.

Faire + infinitive 

The causative construction of faire followed by an infinitive verb ending in -ER, -IR, or -RE means “to have something done” or “to cause something to happen.” You’ll see this construction often when discussing cooking and preparing food in French. 

• Je fais cuire des pâtes. = I am cooking this pasta. (I am causing it to cook.)
• Il a fait tomber sa glace. = He dropped his ice cream. (He caused it to fall.)
• J’ai fait griller cette viande pour le dîner. = I had this meat grilled for dinner.

Faire meanings with sports and activities

There are many sports and recreational activities that use faire where we wouldn’t necessarily translate it that way in English. It might translate to “to go,” “to ride,” or be combined with a variety of nouns for activities and sports where English has a specific verb instead. This list can help you fast-track your learning, so you can talk about free-time activities. 

Using faire with weather expressions

The impersonal expression il fait is one interesting way that the French language expresses weather. The literal translation is “it’s doing/making,” but we wouldn’t translate it that directly in English. Conversations about the weather are essential phrases to make basic conversation, so learn all the ones that use faire. 

Other faire meanings and expressions

Another 12 translations are represented in this list of common faire meanings. Faire is a common verb in idiomatic expressions or verb combinations. For instance, English has borrowed savoir-faire, meaning “to know how to do,” or “competence,” and laissez-faire, meaning “to let do” or “to allow with a hands-off approach.”

You’ll certainly add to this list if you are able to faire attention (pay attention) to the wide variety of uses of faire in French.