Picture scene
Monter or grimper? Explore a French hillside village
Go up stairs, climb a tree and carry a suitcase upstairs. Explore eight places and objects, then test monter, grimper and the past tense.
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In short
Monter is the broad verb for going up: monter au deuxième étage. Grimper means climbing and makes the ascent more vivid: grimper à un arbre. Both can describe stairs or a steep path; grimper can suggest effort, speed or steepness.
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Follow the route from the station to the hilltop
Find:
Read the whole phrase
| French | English |
|---|---|
| monter au deuxième étage | go up to the second floor |
| monter les escaliers | go up the stairs |
| monter une valise | take a suitcase upstairs |
| monter dans le train | get on the train |
| grimper à un arbre | climb a tree |
| grimper sur un rocher | climb onto a rock |
You can grimper les escaliers using your feet. The verb also works with a route: le chemin grimpe. With prices, both les prix montent and les prix grimpent describe an increase; the second sounds more vivid.
Who went up, and what was carried?
Léa est montée au premier étage.
Léa went up to the first floor.
Léa a monté la valise au premier étage.
Léa took the suitcase up to the first floor.
These two constructions use different auxiliaries. Going up to a floor takes être: elle est montée. Taking an object up takes avoir: elle a monté la valise. The extra -e in the first sentence agrees with Léa.