French verb conjugations
Most French verbs follow one of three patterns, by how the infinitive ends: -er (parler), -ir (finir) and -re (vendre). Drop the ending and add the new one. The everyday past, the passé composé, isn't a new set of endings: it's avoir or être plus the past participle (j'ai parlé, je suis allé). That's why être and avoir are the two verbs to learn first.
- être conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb être: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- avoir conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb avoir: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with j'ai, il y a and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- aller conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb aller: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with je vais, je suis allé and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- faire conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb faire: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with il fait beau and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- pouvoir conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb pouvoir: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif and participles, with je peux, puis-je and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
How French verbs work
French verbs come in three groups: -er (parler, to speak), -ir (finir, to finish) and -re (vendre, to sell). The -er group is by far the biggest, and nearly all of it is regular. Chop off the ending and add these.
| Tense | -er (parler) | -ir (finir) | -re (vendre) |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | parle, parles, parle | finis, finis, finit | vends, vends, vend |
| imparfait | parlais, parlais, parlait | finissais, finissais, finissait | vendais, vendais, vendait |
| futur | parlerai, parleras, parlera | finirai, finiras, finira | vendrai, vendras, vendra |
| conditionnel | parlerais, parlerais, parlerait | finirais, finirais, finirait | vendrais, vendrais, vendrait |
| subjonctif | parle, parles, parle | finisse, finisses, finisse | vende, vendes, vende |
| past participle | parlé | fini | vendu |
| present participle | parlant | finissant | vendant |
A lot of those endings sound the same. Parle, parles and parlent are all said parl. French spelling keeps differences your ear can't hear, so reading helps a lot here.
The passé composé: avoir or être
The past you'll use most is two words: avoir or être in the present, then the past participle. Most verbs take avoir: j'ai mangé (I ate), elle a fini (she finished). About a dozen verbs of moving and changing state take être: je suis allé (I went), elle est née (she was born). With être, the participle agrees with the subject, so a woman writes je suis allée.
Which tense to use
- Présent — what's happening, what's true, what you do. Je parle français (I speak French).
- Passé composé — something that happened. J'ai parlé avec elle (I talked to her).
- Imparfait — how things were, what used to happen, the background of a story. Je parlais tous les jours (I used to talk every day).
- Futur — what will happen. In conversation aller + a verb often does the job: je vais parler (I'm going to talk).
- Conditionnel — what would happen, and asking politely: je voudrais un café (I'd like a coffee).
- Subjonctif — after il faut que, je veux que and other wishes and doubts. Il faut que tu viennes (you have to come).
- Passé simple — the past of novels and history books (il fut, elle eut). You'll read it, but you won't need to say it.
- Looking a word up once doesn't mean you'll remember it. The verb you look up today is gone by tomorrow. The one that keeps showing up in stuff you'd read anyway, right when you're about to forget it, is the one that sticks.
- No streaks, no guilt. Kin tracks one number: how many words you've got in reach today. It drops when you take a break and comes back when you do.
Questions
What are the most important French verbs to learn first?
Être (to be) and avoir (to have), because the passé composé is built on them. Then aller, faire, pouvoir, vouloir and dire, which are irregular and everywhere.
How do I know if a verb takes avoir or être in the passé composé?
Almost all take avoir. The ones that take être are a short list of verbs of coming, going and changing state (aller, venir, arriver, partir, naître, mourir and a few more), plus every reflexive verb: je me suis levé.
Do I need to learn the passé simple?
Only to read it. It's the past tense of books, and it's almost never spoken. Recognise il fut (he was) and il eut (he had) and you'll get through most novels.
Keep going
- être conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb être: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- avoir conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb avoir: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with j'ai, il y a and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- aller conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb aller: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with je vais, je suis allé and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.
- faire conjugationThe full conjugation of the French verb faire: présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, conditionnel, subjonctif, impératif and participles, with il fait beau and how to say each form. Free, no sign-up.