Faire exprès (de) = To do something on purpose (French Expressions with faire)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2022-12-18

66 questions

Doing something on purpose in French

Look at these sentences:

Il l'a fait exprès !He did it on purpose!

Mon petit frère a fait exprès de casser ma poupée.My little brother broke my doll on purpose.

J'ai fait exprès de renverser mon verre.I spilled my drink on purpose.

Elle fait exprès d'être en retard.She is late on purpose.

To say you do something on purpose in French, you use the expression "faire exprès (de)".

Note that it never means "to do something quick/express"

"Faire exprès de" + infinitive = To (do something) on purpose

Remember that as a (+ avoir) verb in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), the past participle of faire doesn't agree with the subject of the verb:

Nous avons fait exprès de casser ce vase.We broke that vase on purpose.

Elles ne l'ont pas fait exprès !They didn't do it on purpose!

See Conjugate faire in the present tense in French (Le Présent) and Conjugate faire (+ avoir) in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)

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Idiotismes avec faire

Examples and resources

Avec tous les indices subtils qui croisent ton chemin depuis 3 semaines,
il faut vraiment le faire exprès !With all the subtle hints crossing your path over the last 3 weeks,
you'd really have to do it on purpose!

Tu as fait exprès de renverser le chaudron de bonbons !You knocked over the cauldron of sweets on purpose!