A Full Information to French Verb Conjugation: Common and Irregular Verbs
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Studying French verb conjugation is perhaps one of the vital necessary elements of studying French. Verbs provide help to put sentences collectively, which implies they’re an important step in transferring from memorizing phrases to having fluid, real-life conversations. As you sort out studying the frequent French elements of speech, then studying how one can conjugate French verbs shall be an necessary step.
Rosetta Stone is one of the best methodology to speed up your comprehension and confidence for studying French. You’ll learn to converse French the identical approach you probably did as a baby, by way of photos and repetition quite than rote memorization. It makes studying French verb conjugation a lot simpler, since there are 21 verb tenses in French—however there’s no must be intimidated. We’ll provide help to grasp the 4 foremost tenses you’ll have to really feel snug in dialog.
Common vs. irregular verbs in French
In French there are two varieties of verbs, common and irregular. Common verbs comply with predictable conjugation patterns. To conjugate verbs that finish in -ER and -IR for instance, you’ll drop the ending and change it with one which agrees with the sentence topic. These conjugated endings would be the identical for all verbs which have the identical kind of ending.
Irregular verbs fall outdoors of those conjugation patterns. These verbs comply with an identical construction the place the ending is dropped and altered to agree with the topic, however the particular endings have small nuances relying on the verb. All -RE ending verbs are thought of irregular, in addition to just a few -ER and -IR verbs. These irregular -ER and -IR verbs could make conjugation difficult, however with time and apply you’ll be snug utilizing them!
To arrange these conjugation patterns, verbs in French are damaged into three teams: premier groupe (first group), deuxième groupe (second group) and troisième groupe (third group). These teams put verbs with the most typical verb endings within the infinitive type collectively.
The primary group contains all of the verbs ending in –ER within the infinitive type. Be aware that aller (to go) is an irregular verb—the one irregular -ER verb in French—and doesn’t fall within the first group although it ends in –ER.
The second group contains all of the verbs ending in -IR within the infinitive type. If the verb has a gift participle ending in -issant in French (like finir, finissant = To complete, ending), then this verb is a part of the second group.
The third group contains all irregular verbs that:
- finish in -IR however that don’t comply with the -issant rule (like partir = to depart)
- finish in -OIR (vouloir = to need, pouvoir = to have the ability to / can)
- finish in -RE (suivre = to comply with), plus
- the one irregular verb ending in -ER is aller (to go)
That will help you perceive every verb group teams and their conjugation patterns, we’ll break down the conjugation of 4 distinct tenses in French:
- le présent (current tense): for routine actions and present actions.
- l’imparfait (imperfect tense): used to explain an incomplete or ongoing motion or state of being.
- le passé composé (previous tense): used to explain actions that occurred up to now.
- le futur (future tense): to speak about future plans or intentions, in addition to to make predictions about what could happen sooner or later.
Learn how to conjugate French -ER verbs
Verbs in le premier groupe (the primary group) finish in -ER. Let’s use the instance of parler (to talk / to speak) and see how the endings change relying on the tense.
Parler – to talk, to speak
| Current converse / am talking | Imperfect was / had been talking | Compound Previous spoke | Future will converse | |
| Je I | parle | parlais | ai parlé | parlerai |
| Tu You, casual | parles | parlais | as parlé | parleras |
| Il, Elle He, She | parle | parlait | a parlé | parlera |
| Nous We | parlons | parlions | avons parlé | parlerons |
| Vous You, formal | parlez | parliez | avez parlé | parlerez |
| Ils, Elles They | parlent | parlaient | ont parlé | parleront |
Learn how to conjugate French -IR verbs
Verbs in le deuxième groupe (the second group) finish in -IR. Let’s use the instance of finir (to complete) and see how the endings change relying on the tense.
Finir – to complete
| Current end | Imperfect was / had been ending | Compound Previous completed | Future will end | |
| Je I | finis | finissais | ai fini | finirai |
| Tu You, casual | finis | finissais | as fini | finiras |
| Il, Elle He, She | finit | finissait | a fini | finira |
| Nous We | finissons | finissions | avons fini | finirons |
| Vous You, formal | finissez | finissiez | avez fini | finirez |
| Ils, Elles They | finissent | finissaient | ont fini | finiront |
Learn how to conjugate irregular verbs
All remaining verbs that don’t comply with the -IR and -ER patterns are thought of irregular verbs and fall into le troisième groupe (the third group). Verbs with -OIR endings like voir (to see), -IR verbs that don’t comply with the -ISSANT rule like partir (to depart), -RE verbs like prendre (to take), and the verb aller (to go) all fall into the class of irregular verbs.
Whereas -OIR and -RE verbs will usually comply with related conjugation patterns, irregular verbs every have their very own distinctive sample that you simply’ll start to memorize as you be taught and apply.
Conjugating irregular French -IR verbs
Let’s use the instance of partir (to depart) and see how the ending of non -ISSANT sample -IR verbs change relying on the tense.
You might discover that in contrast to the common -IR verb finir, the passé composé tense of partir has gendered and plural conjugations. Because of this an “e” or an “s” is added to the verb to agree with the gender and amount of the sentence topic.
Partir – to depart
| Current go away | Imperfect was / had been leaving | Compound Previous left | Future will go away | |
| Je I | pars | halfais | suis halfi(e) | halfirai |
| Tu You, casual | pars | halfais | es halfi(e) | halfiras |
| Il, Elle He, She | part | halfait | est halfi(e) | halfira |
| Nous We | halfons | halfions | sommes halfis,(ies) | halfirons |
| Vous You, formal | halfez | halfiez | êtes halfi(s),(ie), (ies) | halfirez |
| Ils, Elles They | halfent | halfaient | sont halfis,(ies) | halfiront |
Conjugating irregular French -RE verbs
Let’s use the instance of croire (to assume / to consider) and see how the ending of -RE verbs change relying on the tense.
Whereas verbs like prendre (to take) and suivre (to comply with) additionally finish in -RE, they’ve slight variations of their conjugation patterns in comparison with different -RE verbs. The verb croire alternatively, has a conjugation sample that’s just like many different -RE verbs.
Croire – to consider, to assume
| Current consider / assume | Imperfect was believing / was considering | Compound Previous believed / thought | Future will consider / will assume | |
| Je I | crois | croyais | ai cru | croirai |
| Tu You, casual | crois | croyais | as cru | croiras |
| Il, Elle He, She | croit | croyait | a cru | croira |
| Nous We | croyons | croyions | avons cru | croirons |
| Vous You, formal | croyez | croyiez | avez cru | croirez |
| Ils, Elles They | croient | croyaient | ont cru | croiront |
Conjugating irregular French -OIR verbs
Let’s use the instance of vouloir (to need) and voir (to see) to grasp how the ending of -OIR verbs change relying on the tense.
Vouloir – to need
| Current need | Imperfect wished | Compound Previous wished / have wished | Future will need | |
| Je I | veux | voulais | ai voulu | voudrai |
| Tu You, casual | veux | voulais | as voulu | voudras |
| Il, Elle He, She | veut | voulait | a voulu | voudra |
| Nous We | voulons | voulions | avons voulu | voudrons |
| Vous You, formal | voulez | vouliez | avez voulu | voudrez |
| Ils, Elles They | veulent | voulaient | ont voulu | voudront |
Voir – to see
| Current see | Imperfect was seeing | Compound Previous noticed | Future will see | |
| Je I | vois | voyais | ai vu | verrai |
| Tu You, casual | vois | voyais | as vu | verras |
| Il, Elle He, She | voit | voyait | a vu | verra |
| Nous We | voyons | voyions | avons vu | verrons |
| Vous You, formal | voyez | voyiez | avez vu | verrez |
| Ils, Elles They | voient | voyaient | ont vu | verront |
Conjugating irregular verbs: être, avoir, aller, and faire
Now, let’s check out verbs that conjugate like no different. The phrases être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and faire (to make) are the most typical verbs within the French language.
You’ll use these verbs to say issues like allons-y! (let’s go!) and Il fait chaud aujourd’hui (It’s sizzling at the moment). Every has its personal distinctive verb conjugation that’s in contrast to any others within the French language.
Être – to be
| Current am / is / are | Imperfect was / had been | Compound Previous have / has been | Future shall be | |
| Je I | suis | étais | ai été | serai |
| Tu You, casual | es | étais | as été | seras |
| Il, Elle He, She | est | était | a été | sera |
| Nous We | sommes | étions | avons été | serons |
| Vous You, formal | êtes | étiez | avez été | serez |
| Ils, Elles They | sont | étaient | ont été | seront |
Easy phrases utilizing être are quite common as you start studying French. Sentences like “I’m drained” or “He’s brief” all use the verb être.
- Je suis fatigué. = I’m drained.
- Il est petit. = He’s tall.
Être can be used to point possession. The mixture of the infinitive type of être and the phrase à or “to” create the phrase “to belong to.”
- être à = to belong to
- Cette voiture est à moi. = This automobile belongs to me.
Avoir – to have
| Current have | Imperfect had | Compound Previous have had | Future can have | |
| Je I | ai | avais | ai eu | aurai |
| Tu You, casual | as | avais | as eu | auras |
| Il, Elle He, She | a | avait | a eu | aura |
| Nous We | avons | avions | avons eu | aurons |
| Vous You, formal | avez | aviez | avez eu | aurez |
| Ils, Elles They | ont | avaient | ont eu | auront |
Though the verb “to be” is utilized in English to confer with sure bodily situations, in French you mix avoir (to have) with a noun to explain sure situations. For instance, you aren’t “being” your age, you “have” your age:
- avoir…. ans = to be …. years outdated
- J’ai vingt ans. = I’m 20 years outdated.
Avoir can be used to explain your bodily state, resembling how chilly or hungry you might be.
- J’ai chaud. = I’m sizzling.
- J’ai froid. = I’m chilly.
- J’ai faim. = I’m hungry.
- J’ai soif. = I’m thirsty.
Different fashionable avoir phrases embrace “to be fortunate” – avoir de la likelihood – and “to wish” – avoir besoin de.
- J’ai de la likelihood. = I’m fortunate.
- J’ai besoin de toi. = I would like you.
All verbs within the passé composé (previous) tense require two verbs to create the tense. In all of the examples we’ve seen to this point, the previous tense has been a mix of the phrase avoir and the verb being conjugated. Most French verbs will use avoir up to now tense, however there are seventeen verbs, together with aller, that can use être to create the previous tense.
Aller – to go
| Current go / are going | Imperfect was / had been going | Compound Previous went | Future will go | |
| Je I | vais | allais | suis allé(e) | irai |
| Tu You, casual | vas | allais | es allé(e) | iras |
| Il, Elle He, She | va | allait | est allé(e) | ira |
| Nous We | allons | allions | sommes allés,(ées) | irons |
| Vous You, formal | allez | alliez | êtes allé,(s),(ée), (ées) | irez |
| Ils, Elles They | vont | allaient | sont allés, (ées) | iront |
Aller is one other verb you’ll use loads in French. Phrases like allons-y (let’s go) or Remark allez-vous (How are you doing) are generally utilized in dialog. Actually, the query “how are you doing” can be answered utilizing aller (to go).
- Remark allez-vous? = How are you doing?
- Je vais bien. = I’m fantastic, I really feel fantastic.
Faire – to do, to make
| Current do / doing / make / making | Imperfect was making / was doing | Compound Previous did / made | Future will do / will make | |
| Je I | fais | faisais | ai fait | ferai |
| Tu You, casual | fais | faisais | as fait | feras |
| Il, Elle He, She | fait | faisait | a fait | fera |
| Nous We | faisons | faisions | avons fait | ferons |
| Vous You, formal | faites | faisiez | avez fait | ferez |
| Ils, Elles They | font | faisaient | ont fait | feront |
Faire is a particularly versatile verb within the French language. When faire is used earlier than a noun, it could possibly create a command resembling “listen” or alter the that means of the noun to be extra particular. For instance, connaissance by itself means “to know,” as in to know somebody, however faire le connaissance de means to satisfy for the primary time.
- faire consideration à = to concentrate to
- Fais consideration aux règles de grammaire en français. = Take note of the grammar guidelines in French.
- faire le connaissance de = to satisfy, as in to satisfy for the primary time
- Je ferai la connaissance de ma belle-soeur demain. = I’ll meet my sister-in-law for the primary time tomorrow.
Faire can be used to explain the climate and sports activities, as in:
- Quel temps fait-il ? = What’s the climate like?
- Il fait beau. = The climate is sweet.
- Il fait du ski. = He goes snowboarding.
Grammar word: When two verbs are utilized in succession, like in faire consideration à the primary verb is conjugated and the second stays within the infinitive. For instance:
- Je veux aller au cinéma. = I wish to go to the films.
- J’aime regarder la télévision. = I like to look at tv.
Most typical verbs in French
Wish to really feel assured having conversations in French? Grasp the most typical verbs, and also you’ll not solely have the ability to broaden your talking skills, you’ll additionally have the ability to perceive extra of the French phrases you’ll most likely use.
There are a variety of frequent French verbs that you simply’ll use incessantly, so we added them to this chart. Do not forget that every of those verbs is in its unconjugated or infinitive type. Strive making use of the conjugation guidelines you simply realized to those verbs!
| French | English |
| aimer | to like / to love |
| aller | to go |
| avoir (auxiliary) | to have |
| croire | to consider / to assume |
| devoir | to must / should |
| dire | to say |
| être (auxiliary) | to be |
| faire | to do / to make |
| finir | to complete / to finish |
| parler | to talk / to discuss |
| penser | to assume |
| pouvoir | to have the ability to / can |
| prendre | to take |
| regarder | to look at |
| suivre | to comply with |
| svoir | to know |
| trouver | to seek out |
| venir | to return |
| voir | to see |
| vouloir | to need |
Transcend French verb conjugation with Rosetta Stone
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