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French verb conjugation
The 33 most useful verbs in seven tenses and moods: tables with audio, what to know, examples and practice. Pick a verb to open its page with every form.
- 33 verbs
- 7 tenses and moods
- Audio
- Examples
- Practice
Verbs
From the key verbs (être, avoir, aller, faire) to the irregular verbs of the 3rd group. Each has its own page with every tense.
Showing 33 of 33
Key verbs
You can’t do without them: être and avoir form the passé composé, aller the near future.
Modal verbs
Can, want, must, know — an infinitive follows them.
1st group: -er
The largest and most regular group, including verbs with spelling changes and reflexive verbs.
- parlerto speakje parle · j’ai parlé
- aimerto love, to likej’aime · j’ai aimé
- mangerto eatje mange · j’ai mangé
- commencerto begin, to startje commence · j’ai commencé
- acheterto buyj’achète · j’ai acheté
- s’appelerto be called (my name is…)je m’appelle · je me suis appelé(e)
- se leverto get upje me lève · je me suis levé(e)
2nd group: -ir
Verbs in -ir with -iss- in the plural: nous finissons.
3rd group
Irregular verbs: the stems of each have to be learnt.
- venirto comeje viens · je suis venu(e)
- prendreto takeje prends · j’ai pris
- comprendreto understandje comprends · j’ai compris
- direto say, to tellje dis · j’ai dit
- voirto seeje vois · j’ai vu
- mettreto putje mets · j’ai mis
- partirto leaveje pars · je suis parti(e)
- sortirto go outje sors · je suis sorti(e)
- connaîtreto know (a person, a place)je connais · j’ai connu
- croireto believe, to thinkje crois · j’ai cru
- lireto readje lis · j’ai lu
- écrireto writej’écris · j’ai écrit
- boireto drinkje bois · j’ai bu
- ouvrirto openj’ouvre · j’ai ouvert
- vivreto liveje vis · j’ai vécu
- attendreto waitj’attends · j’ai attendu
Nothing found. Try the infinitive or the translation.
Tenses and moods
Seven forms that will take you to B1. The names are in French, as in textbooks; the example is parler.
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Présent
Present
What happens now or regularly: je parle français.
How it’s formed: Stem + the group’s endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent for -er verbs.
Passé composé
Perfect (completed past)
What happened and is over: hier, j’ai vu un film. The main past tense of speech.
How it’s formed: Avoir or être in the présent + the participle.
Imparfait
Imperfect (ongoing past)
Description, habit or background in the past: quand j’étais petit, je jouais au foot.
How it’s formed: The nous stem of the présent without -ons + -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Except être: j’étais.
Futur simple
Future
What will be: demain, il fera beau. In speech aller + infinitive often replaces it.
How it’s formed: The infinitive (without the -e of -re) + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. Irregular stems: ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-…
Conditionnel présent
Conditional
Polite requests and imagined situations: je voudrais un café ; si j’avais le temps, je voyagerais.
How it’s formed: The futur stem + the imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
Subjonctif présent
Subjunctive
After wishes, necessity and feelings: il faut que tu viennes. Always after que.
How it’s formed: The ils stem of the présent without -ent + -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent.
Impératif
Imperative
Requests, advice, orders: viens ! écoutez !
How it’s formed: The tu, nous and vous forms of the présent without the pronoun; -er verbs drop the -s of tu: parle !
Practice
A verb, a person and a tense — choose the right form. 10 questions on every verb in the guide.
Choose the form
FAQ
Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.
How many tenses are there in French?
Grammars list more than 20 forms, but everyday speech needs about eight: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur simple, futur proche (aller + infinitive), conditionnel, subjonctif présent and impératif. That is enough up to B1.
What are the French verb groups?
The 1st group is the -er verbs (parler): the largest and regular. The 2nd is -ir verbs with -iss- in the plural (finir — nous finissons). The 3rd is everything else, the irregular verbs (être, prendre, voir): the smallest group, but the most used.
When does the passé composé take être, and when avoir?
Most verbs take avoir (j’ai mangé). Être goes with all reflexive verbs (je me suis levé) and about 15 verbs of motion and change of state: aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, entrer, rester, naître, mourir… With être the participle agrees with the subject: elle est allée.
How can I learn conjugation quickly?
Start with être, avoir, aller and faire — they’re in every other sentence. Then learn the model of each group with its endings, and the irregular verbs a few a day, saying them aloud. The practice on this page will help it stick.
What’s next
French irregular verbs
The présent, passé composé and futur of irregular verbs in one table — with search and practice.
Open the table50 most common French words
The 50 most common French words with audio, examples and exercises.
See the wordsFrench level test
Grammar, vocabulary and reading from A1 to C1 — and your level of French.
Take the test
Grammar for this topic
Rules in plain words — with tables, examples and a quiz in every topic.
The présent tense
Je parle, nous finissons, vous faites — the endings of the three verb groups and the key irregulars.
Level A1Passé composé or imparfait
Two past tenses: what happened — and what it was like, what was going on.
Level A2–B1Futur proche and futur simple
Two ways to talk about the future: je vais partir and je partirai.
Level A1–A2The subjonctif: il faut que…
Il faut que tu viennes, je veux qu’il soit là — how to form the subjunctive and which words trigger it.
Level B1
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