In today’s lesson we’ll have a look at the verb gagner. This verb poses some issues as it has two meanings: “to win” and “to earn” (as in money). Keep reading and listen to the example sentences with the pronunciation.
gagner
to win / to earn
Gagner – to win, to earn
Gagner (to win, to earn) is a regular ER verb. This means that its endings are the same as all other regular ER verbs when conjugated in the present tense.
Je gagne I win (earn)
Tu gagnes You win (singular, informal)
Il, elle, on gagne He, she, one wins
Nous gagnons We win
Vous gagnez You win (plural, formal)
Ils, elles gagnent They win
Example sentences with gagner
For our first three example sentences, gagner means “to win”. Later down page we’ll look at the secondary meaning (to earn).
Notre équipe joue vraiment bien et on gagne le match !
Our team played really well and won the game!
Le parti politique a gagné aux élections et maintenant le pays est en désordre !
The political party won the election and now the country is a mess!
This sentence is in the futur simple, a commonly used French future tense.
Si je gagne au loto j’achetèrai une maison près d’une station de ski.
If I win the lottery I’ll buy a house near a ski resort.
For these two example sentences, gagner sa vie means “to earn a living” or “to make a living”.
Je gagne ma vie en donnant des cours de français.
I earn a living giving French classes.
Louise travaille tout le temps et gagne bien sa vie.
Louise works all the time and makes a good living.
Conclusion
Et voilà ! Now you know how to use the verb gagner (to win, to earn) in French. Now check our our post covering the slang verb bosser (to work)!
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