French uses several verbs to say “to wear”

September 2010 Grammar Corner: French verbs to say “to wear”
Think French Grammar Corner is brought to you by Camille Chevalier-Karfis.
Camille has been
teaching adults in private and group classes for over 15 years. After years of observing her students
struggle with existing teaching methods, Camille developed her own French method geared towards
adult speakers. To complement this unique teaching approach, Camille has written two audio books
and has created more than 60 hours of French audio training material. All of Camille’s audio books,
podcasts, audio lessons can be found on her site www.FrenchToday.com. Camille is also available
for private lessons worldwide via phone or Skype.
French uses several verbs to say “to wear”
S’habiller, mettre un pantalon, porter un pantalon, être en pantalon ...
all these expressions can be quite confusing. This should clear things up.
1 - S’habiller and se déshabiller
These verbs describe act of getting dressed and undressed. They are usually not
followed by a direct object (like a piece of clothing).
Example: Le matin, je m’habille. Le soir, je me déshabille.
In the morning I get dressed. In the evening, I undress.
You can however say “ce soir, je m’habille EN pantalon” (tonight, I’ll wear pants) but
the focus here is that you are wearing pants and not a skirt, so you won’t talk about
the precise pair of pants you are going to be wearing.
For this notion, we also use the expression “être en”.
Example: Ce soir, je suis en pantalon. Je m’habille en pantalon.
Tonight, I’m wearing pants.
An idiomatique use of the verb s’habiller means “to dress up”.
Example: Est-ce que je dois m’habiller pour aller chez Anne ?
Should I dress up to go to Ann’s?
Think French - September 2010
2 - Porter and Mettre
To describe what you are wearing, use the verbs porter (to wear) or mettre (to put on).
Example: Ce soir, je porte un pantalon noir et un pull rose.
Tonight, I’ll wear a black pair of pants and a pink sweater.
Example: Demain, je vais mettre une robe bleue.
Tomorrow, I’ll wear a blue dress.
3 - Other related verbs:
Other verbs commonly used with clothes are : enlever (to take off), retirer (to take
off), enfiler (to slip in), essayer (to try on), se changer (to change clothes), rester en...
pyjama (to stay in... my pyjamas)
4 – Common expressions
Note these common expressions that can be a bit confusing:
“Comment tu t’habilles ce soir?”
What are you going to wear tonight?
“Qu’est-ce que tu mets demain?”
What are you going to wear tomorrow?
“Elle portait quoi ?”
What was she wearing?
“Je ne me change pas, je reste en jean”
I won’t change outfit, I’ll keep wearing my jeans.
5 - Idioms:
Il est sur son trente-et-un.
He is dressed very chic.
Je n’ai rien à me mettre.
I have nothing to wear.
Don’t forget to practice your pronunciation with these
grammar phrases and this month’s Repeat After Me!