A complete guide to French verb conjugation

Once you’ve learned the essentials and how to say “thank you” in French, you’re ready to take on the basics of French verbs. Verbs allow you to put together sentences, which means they are an essential step in moving from memorizing phrases to having fluid, real-life conversations. 

To use a verb in a sentence, you’ll need to learn how to conjugate it to match the subject and the time at which the action is taking place. French is known for having many tenses—over 21 different tenses in total—but there’s no need to be intimidated. 

In this post, we’ll help you master the four main tenses you’ll need to feel comfortable in conversation, which include: 

• le présent (present tense) 
• l’imparfait (imperfect tense) 
• le passé composé (“compound past,” equivalent to simple past or the present perfect in English) 
• le futur (future tense)

Plus, we’ll give you examples of when to use each tense and how to apply them to common verbs! After you learn the conjugation rules, you’ll be ready to use any French verb that comes your way!

Table of Contents

• Most common verbs in French
• Regular vs irregular verbs
• How to conjugate “-ER” verbs
• How to conjugate “-IR” verbs
• How to conjugate irregular verbs
• Irregular verbs: être, avoir, aller, and faire
• A faster way to learn French

Most common verbs in French

Want to feel confident carrying conversations in French? Master the most common verbs, and you’ll not only be able to broaden your speaking abilities, you’ll also be able to understand more of the phrases that come your way. 

There are a number of verbs that you’ll find across every conversation in French. We’ve narrowed the list down to these 20 verbs. Remember that each of these verbs is in its unconjugated or infinitive form!  Try applying the conjugation rules below to these verbs. 

French	English
Être (auxiliary)	To be
Avoir (auxiliary)	To have
Faire	To do, to make
Aller	To go
Dire	To say
Voir	To see
Savoir	To know
Venir	To come
Vouloir	To want
Pouvoir	To be able to / Can
Devoir	To have to / Must
Regarder	To watch
Suivre	To follow
Parler	To speak, to talk
Prendre	To take
Croire	To believe, to think
Aimer	To love, to like
Finir	To finish, to end
Penser	To think
Trouver	To find

Regular vs irregular verbs in French

In French there are two types of verbs, regular and irregular. Regular verbs follow predictable conjugation patterns. To conjugate verbs that end in “-ER” and “-IR” for example, you will drop the ending and replace it with one that agrees with the sentence subject. These conjugated endings will be the same for all verbs that have the same type of ending. 

Irregular verbs fall outside of these conjugation patterns. These verbs follow a similar structure where the ending is dropped and changed to agree with the subject, but the specific endings have small nuances depending on the verb. All “-RE” ending verbs are considered irregular, as well as a few “-ER” and “-IR” verbs. These irregular “-ER” and “-IR” verbs can make conjugation tricky, but with time and practice you’ll be comfortable using them!

To organize these conjugation patterns, verbs in French are broken into three groups : premier groupe (first group), deuxième groupe (second group) and troisième groupe (third group). These groups put verbs with the most common verb endings in the infinitive form together.

The first group includes all the verbs ending in “–ER” in the infinitive form. Note that aller (to go) is an irregular verb—the only irregular “-ER” verb in French—and does not fall in the first group even though it ends in “–ER.”

The second group includes all the verbs ending in -IR in the infinitive form. If the verb has a present participle ending in -issant in French (like finir, finissant = To finish, finishing), then this verb is part of the second group.

The third group includes all irregular verbs that: 

• end in -IR but that do not follow the -issant rule (like partir = to leave) 
• end in -OIR (vouloir = to want, pouvoir = to be able to / can) 
• end in -RE (suivre = to follow), plus 
• the only irregular verb ending in “-ER”, aller (to go) 

To help you understand each verb group groups and their conjugation patterns, we’ll break down the conjugation of four distinct tenses in French:  

• le présent (present tense): for routine actions and current actions. 
• l’imparfait (imperfect tense): used to describe an incomplete or ongoing action or state of being.
• le passé composé (past tense): used to describe actions that occurred in the past. 
• le futur (future tense): to talk about future plans or intentions, as well as to make predictions about what may occur in the future.

1. How to conjugate French -ER verbs

Verbs in le premier groupe (the first group) end in -ER. Let’s use the example of parler (to speak, to talk) and see how the endings change depending on the tense.

Parler – to speak, to talk

	Present speak / am speaking	Imperfect was / were speaking	Compound Past spoke	Future will speak
Je I	parle	parlais	ai parlé	parlerai
Tu You, informal	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

2. How to conjugate French -IR verbs

Verbs in le deuxième groupe (the second group) end in -IR. Let’s use the example of finir (to finish) and see how the endings change depending on the tense.

Finir – to finish

	Present finish	Imperfect was / were finishing	Compound Past finished	Future will finish
Je I	finis	finissais	ai fini	finirai
Tu You, informal	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

3. How to conjugate irregular verbs

All remaining verbs that do not follow the -IR and -ER patterns are considered irregular verbs and fall into le troisième groupe (the third group). Verbs with -OIR endings like voir (to see), -IR verbs that do not follow the -issant rule like partir (to leave), -RE verbs like prendre (to take), and the verb aller (to go) all fall into the category of irregular verbs.

While -OIR and -RE verbs will generally follow similar conjugation patterns, irregular verbs each have their own unique pattern that you’ll begin to memorize as you learn and practice.

Conjugating irregular French -IR verbs

Let’s use the example of partir (to leave) and see how the ending of non -issant pattern -IR verbs change depending on the tense. 

You may notice that unlike the regular -IR verb finir the passé composé tense of partir has gendered and plural conjugations. This means that an “e” or an “s” is added to the verb to agree with the gender and quantity of the sentence subject.

Partir – to leave

	Present leave	Imperfect was / were leaving	Compound Past left	Future will leave
Je I	pars	partais	suis parti(e)	partirai
Tu You, informal	pars	partais	es parti(e)	partiras
Il, Elle He, She	part	partait	est parti(e)	partira
Nous We	partons	partions	sommes partis,(ies)	partirons
Vous You, formal	partez	partiez	êtes parti(s),(ie), (ies)	partirez
Ils, Elles They	partent	partaient	sont partis,(ies)	partiront

Conjugating irregular French -RE verbs

Let’s use the example of croire (to think / to believe) and see how the ending of -RE verbs change depending on the tense. 

While verbs like prendre (to take) and suivre (to follow) also end in -RE, they have slight differences in their conjugation patterns compared to other -RE verbs. The verb croire on the other hand, has a conjugation pattern that is similar to many other -RE verbs.

Croire – to believe, to think

	Present believe / think	Imperfect was believing / was thinking	Compound Past believed / thought	Future will believe / will think
Je I	crois	croyais	ai cru	croirai
Tu You, informal	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 example of vouloir (to want) and voir (to see) to understand how the ending of -OIR verbs change depending on the tense. 

Vouloir – to want

	Present want	Imperfect wanted	Compound Past wanted / have wanted	Future will want
Je I	veux	voulais	ai voulu	voudrai
Tu You, informal	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

	Present see	Imperfect was seeing	Compound Past saw	Future will see
Je I	vois	voyais	ai vu	verrai
Tu You, informal	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

Irregular verbs: être, avoir, aller, and faire

Now, let’s take a look at verbs that conjugate like no other. The words être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and faire (to make) are the most common verbs in the French language. 

You’ll use these verbs to say things like “allons-y!” (let’s go!) and “Il fait chaud aujourd’hui” (It’s hot today). Each has its own unique verb conjugation that is unlike any others in the French language.

Être – to be

	Present am / is / are	Imperfect was / were	Compound Past have / has been	Future will be
Je I	suis	étais	ai été	serai
Tu You, informal	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

Simple phrases using être are very common as you begin learning French. Sentences like “I am tired” or “He is tall” all use the verb être.

• Je suis fatigué. = I am tired.
• Il est grand. = He is tall.

Être can also be used to indicate possession. The combination of the infinitive form of être and the word à or “to” create the phrase “to belong to.”

• être à = to belong to
• Cette voiture est à moi. = This car belongs to me.

Avoir – to have

	Present have	Imperfect had	Compound Past have had	Future will have
Je I	ai	avais	ai eu	aurai
Tu You, informal	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

Although the verb “to be” is used in English to refer to certain physical conditions, in French you combine avoir (to have) with a noun to describe certain conditions. For example, you aren’t “being” your age, you “have” your age:

• avoir…. ans = to be …. years old
• J’ai vingt ans. = I am 20 years old.

Avoir can also be used to describe your physical state, such as how cold or hungry you are.

• J’ai chaud. = I am hot.
• J’ai froid. = I am cold.
• J’ai faim. = I am hungry.
• J’ai soif. = I am thirsty.

Other popular avoir phrases include “to be lucky” – avoir de la chance – and “to need” – avoir besoin de. 

• J’ai de la chance. = I am lucky.
• J’ai besoin de toi. = I need you.

Grammar note: All verbs in the passé composé (past) tense require two verbs to create the tense. In all the examples we’ve seen so far, the past tense has been a combination of the word avoir and the verb being conjugated. Most French verbs will use avoir in the past tense, but there are seventeen verbs, including aller, that will use être to create the past tense.

Aller – to go

	Present go / are going	Imperfect was / were going	Compound Past went	Future will go
Je I	vais	allais	suis allé(e)	irai
Tu You, informal	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 another verb you will use a lot in French. Phrases like “allons-y” (let’s go) or “Comment allez-vous” (how are you doing) are commonly used in conversation. In fact, the question “how are you doing” is also answered using aller (to go).

• Comment allez-vous? = How are you doing?
• Je vais bien. = I am fine, I feel fine.

Faire – to do, to make

	Present do / doing / make /  making	Imperfect was making / was doing	Compound Past did / made	Future will do / will make
Je I	fais	faisais	ai fait	ferai
Tu You, informal	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 an extremely versatile verb in the French language. When faire is used before a noun, it can create a command such as “pay attention” or alter the meaning of the noun to be more specific. For example, connaissance on its own means “to know,” as in to know someone, but faire le connaissance de means to meet for the first time.

• faire attention à = to pay attention to
• Fais attention aux règles de grammaire en français. = Pay attention to the grammar rules in French.

• faire le connaissance de = to meet, as in to meet for the first time
• Je ferai la connaissance de ma belle-soeur demain. = I will meet my sister-in-law for the first time tomorrow.

Faire is also used to describe the weather and sports, as in:

• Quel temps fait-il ? = What’s the weather like?

• Il fait beau. = The weather is nice.
• Il fait du ski. = He goes skiing.

Grammar note: When two verbs are used in succession, like in “faire attention à” the first verb is conjugated and the second remains in the infinitive. For example:

• Je veux aller au cinéma. = I want to go to the movies.
• J’aime regarder la télévision. = I like to watch television.

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