A whole information to French verb conjugation

When you’ve discovered the necessities and tips on how to say “thanks” in French, you’re able to tackle the fundamentals of French verbs. Verbs can help you put collectively sentences, which implies they’re a necessary step in transferring from memorizing phrases to having fluid, real-life conversations. 

To make use of a verb in a sentence, you’ll must learn to conjugate it to match the topic and the time at which the motion is happening. French is thought for having many tenses—over 21 totally different tenses in whole—however there’s no have to be intimidated. 

On this put up, we’ll show you how to grasp the 4 primary tenses you’ll must really feel comfy in dialog, which embody: 

• le présent (current tense) 
• l’imparfait (imperfect tense) 
• le passé composé (“compound previous,” equal to easy previous or the current good in English) 
• le futur (future tense)

Plus, we’ll offer you examples of when to make use of every tense and tips on how to apply them to frequent verbs! After you be taught the conjugation guidelines, you’ll be prepared to make use of any French verb that comes your approach!

Desk of Contents

Most typical verbs in French

Wish to really feel assured carrying conversations in French? Grasp the commonest verbs, and also you’ll not solely be capable of broaden your talking skills, you’ll additionally be capable of perceive extra of the phrases that come your approach. 

There are a selection of verbs that you simply’ll discover throughout each dialog in French. We’ve narrowed the listing down to those 20 verbs. Keep in mind that every of those verbs is in its unconjugated or infinitive type!  Strive making use of the conjugation guidelines beneath to those verbs. 

Common vs irregular verbs in French

In French there are two sorts of verbs, common and irregular. Common verbs observe predictable conjugation patterns. To conjugate verbs that finish in “-ER” and “-IR” for instance, you’ll drop the ending and substitute it with one which agrees with the sentence topic. These conjugated endings would be the similar for all verbs which have the identical kind of ending. 

Irregular verbs fall outdoors of those conjugation patterns. These verbs observe the same construction the place the ending is dropped and adjusted 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 a couple of “-ER” and “-IR” verbs. These irregular “-ER” and “-IR” verbs could make conjugation difficult, however with time and observe you’ll be comfy 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 commonest verb endings within the infinitive type collectively.

The primary group contains all of the verbs ending in “–ER” within the infinitive type. Word that aller (to go) is an irregular verb—the one irregular “-ER” verb in French—and doesn’t fall within the first group regardless that 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 observe the -issant rule (like partir = to go away) 
• finish in -OIR (vouloir = to need, pouvoir = to have the ability to / can) 
• finish in -RE (suivre = to observe), plus 
• the one irregular verb ending in “-ER”, 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 might happen sooner or later.

1. Easy methods 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

2. Easy methods 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

3. Easy methods to conjugate irregular verbs

All remaining verbs that don’t observe 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 observe the -issant rule like partir (to go away), -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 typically observe related conjugation patterns, irregular verbs every have their very own distinctive sample that you simply’ll start to memorize as you be taught and observe.

Conjugating irregular French -IR verbs

Let’s use the instance of partir (to go away) and see how the ending of non -issant sample -IR verbs change relying on the tense. 

It’s possible you’ll discover that not like the common -IR verb finir the passé composé tense of partir has gendered and plural conjugations. Which means that an “e” or an “s” is added to the verb to agree with the gender and amount of the sentence topic.

Partir – to go away

Conjugating irregular French -RE verbs

Let’s use the instance of croire (to suppose / to consider) and see how the ending of -RE verbs change relying on the tense. 

Whereas verbs like prendre (to take) and suivre (to observe) additionally finish in -RE, they’ve slight variations of their conjugation patterns in comparison with different -RE verbs. The verb croire however, has a conjugation sample that’s much like many different -RE verbs.

Croire – to consider, to suppose

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

Voir – to see

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 commonest 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 in the present day). Every has its personal distinctive verb conjugation that’s not like any others within the French language.

Être – to be

Easy phrases utilizing être are quite common as you start studying French. Sentences like “I’m drained” or “He’s tall” all use the verb être.

• Je suis fatigué. = I’m drained.
• Il est grand. = He’s tall.

Être will also 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 automotive belongs to me.

Avoir – to have

Though the verb “to be” is utilized in English to confer with sure bodily circumstances, in French you mix avoir (to have) with a noun to explain sure circumstances. For instance, you aren’t “being” your age, you “have” your age:

• avoir…. ans = to be …. years previous
• J’ai vingt ans. = I’m 20 years previous.

Avoir will also be used to explain your bodily state, resembling how chilly or hungry you’re.

• 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 in style avoir phrases embody “to be fortunate” – avoir de la probability – and “to wish” – avoir besoin de. 

• J’ai de la probability. = I’m fortunate.
• J’ai besoin de toi. = I want you.

Grammar be aware: All verbs within the passé composé (previous) tense require two verbs to create the tense. In all of the examples we’ve seen up to now, 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 may use être to create the previous tense.

Aller – to go

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. In truth, the query “how are you doing” can also be answered utilizing aller (to go).

• Remark allez-vous? = How are you doing?
• Je vais bien. = I’m wonderful, I really feel wonderful.

Faire – to do, to make

Faire is an especially versatile verb within the French language. When faire is used earlier than a noun, it may possibly create a command resembling “concentrate” 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 also 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 good.
• Il fait du ski. = He goes snowboarding.

Grammar be aware: 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 need to go to the films.
• J’aime regarder la télévision. = I like to look at tv.

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