Regular verbs

Three infinitive verb endings: -er,  -ir, -re

While the English infinitive is “to” followed by a verb, the French infinitive is a single word with one of three infinitive endings (–er, –ir, or –re). These can then be further divided into regular and irregular verbs.

Most French verbs are  conjugated by removing the infinitive ending to find the stem (e.g. parler > parl-) and then adding the appropriate ending, which is determined by a combination of 5 elements: number, person, tense, mood and voice. 

Group 1 -er 

This is the largest category of regular French verbs. To conjugate them in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending (-er), then add one of the following verb endings:

Other regular verbs from Group 1: aimer (to love), écouter (to listen to), discuter (to discuss), adorer (to adore), préférer (to prefer),  voyager (to travel), arriver (to arrive), chanter (to sing), chercher (to look for), commencer (to start), danser (to dance), demander (to ask for), donner (to give) , gagner (to win), jouer (to play), manger (to eat), marcher (to walk), monter (to climb / to go up), nager (to swim), partager (to share), penser (to think), travailler (to work), trouver (to find), visiter (to visit)

Group 2: -ir

There are several hundred regular French verbs that end in –ir. To conjugate them in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending (-ir), then add one of the following verb endings:

Other regular verbs from Group 2: accomplir (to accomplish), agir (to act), avertir (to warn), bâtir (to build), convertir (to convert), définir (to define), établir (to establish), guérir (to heal), investir (to invest), nourrir (to nourish), obéir (to obey), punir (to punish), réfléchir (to think), remplir (to fill), réussir (to succeed), rougir (to blush), saisir (to seize), vieillir (to age)

Group 3: -re

There are several dozen regular French verbs that end in –re. To conjugate them, remove the infinitive ending and then add one of the following verb endings:

Other regular verbs from Group 3: attendre (to wait), confondre (to confuse), correspondre (to correspond), défendre (to defend) , dépendre (to depend), descendre (to descend, to go down), entendre (to hear), étendre (to stretch), mordre (to bite), perdre (to lose), prétendre (to pretend), rendre (to return / to give back), etc. 

Irregular verbs

Many common verbs in French, both main verbs and auxiliary verbs, have an irregular conjugation. In fact, the 10 most common verbs in French are all  irregular: être (to be), avoir (to have), faire (to do), dire (to say), aller (to go), voir (to see), savoir (to know), pouvoir (to be able to/ can), vouloir (to want), devoir (must, to have to). These must be learned by heart. 

Main verbs:

Faire: je fais, tu fais, il/elle/on fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils/elles font

Dire: je dis, tu dis, il/elle/on dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils/elles disent 

Aller: je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va, nous allons, vous allez, il /elles vont

Voir: je vois, tu vois, il/elle/on voit, nous voyons, vous voyez, ils/elles voient

Savoir: je sais, tu sais, il/elle/on sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils/elles savent

I exercise with Michelle.

Je fais du sport avec Michelle.

What did she say?

Elle a dit quoi?

Are you doing well?

Vous allez bien?

I see the Eiffel Tower!

Je vois La Tour Eiffel! 

I don’t know where he is.

Je ne sais pas où il est. 

Auxiliary verbs:

There are other auxiliary-like verbs, other than  être and avoir: pouvoir (to be able to), devoir (must, need), vouloir (to want).The following verbs are the equivalent of “modal verbs” in English, and are often used with another verb in the infinitive:

Pouvoir: je peux, tu peux, il/elle/on peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils/elles peuvent

Devoir: je dois, tu dois, il/elle/on doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils/elles doivent

Vouloir: je veux, tu veux, il/elle/on veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils/elles veulent

We can eat at the restaurant / out.

On peut manger au restaurant.

Jeremy needs to do his homework.

Jérémy doit faire ses devoirs.

They want a double room.

Ils veulent une chambre double.

Reflexive verbs

In French, many verbs are reflexive verbs. Reflexive verbs are defined by the “ s’ ” at the beginning of the verb, indicating that the subject of the verb is performing the action on him/her/itself, rather than on someone or something else. The majority of reflexive verbs have to do with one’s body, clothing, relationships, or state of mind.  

To form a reflexive verb, place the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the verb (and after the pronoun):

• me / m’ (for je)
• te / t’  (for tu)
• se / s’ (for il/elle/on)
• nous (for nous)
• vous (for vous)
• se / s’ (for ils/ elles)

Common reflexive verbs: s’habiller (to get dressed), se laver (to wash), se lever (to get up), se réveiller (to wake up), se sentir  (to feel), se brosser (to brush), se raser (to shave), se coucher (to go to bed), se doucher (to have a shower) , s’appeler (to call oneself  / be named), se dépêcher (to hurry), s’endormir (to fall asleep), s’enerver (to get annoyed), se fâcher (to get angry), se promener (to go for a walk)

Imperative

The imperative (l’ impératif) form of the verb is used to give orders or instructions to one person or a group of people.

To form an imperative sentence, drop the subject pronoun and use the present tense form of the verb. 

Mange ton sandwich!

Eat  (sing.)  your sandwich!

Faites vos devoirs!

Do (plural) your homework!

N’achetez pas de bonbons!

Don’t buy (plural) any sweets!

 

With regular -er verbs also the ending -s is dropped:

• Tu manges ta pizza. -> Mange ta pizza!
• Tu n’oublies pas d’acheter du lait. > N’oublie pas d’acheter du lait!

 

The imperative forms of être are irregular:

Sois rapide!

Be (sing.) fast!

Soyez prudents!

Be (plural) careful!

 

Other verbs with irregular conjugations in the imperative:

• Avoir -> Aie/Ayez de la patience!
• Vouloir -> Veuillez patienter, s’il vous plait.
• Savoir -> Sache-le/Sachez-le!