Verbs are the engine of French. The good news: most verbs follow predictable patterns. Start with the present tense and the three main groups.
The three groups
- -er verbs (parler, manger, aimer): the largest group, very regular.
- -ir verbs (finir, choisir): regular, with an -iss- in the plural.
- -re verbs (vendre, attendre): regular, with their own endings.
Present tense patterns
| parler (to speak) | finir (to finish) | vendre (to sell) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parle | finis | vends |
| tu | parles | finis | vends |
| il / elle | parle | finit | vend |
| nous | parlons | finissons | vendons |
| vous | parlez | finissez | vendez |
| ils / elles | parlent | finissent | vendent |
The four verbs to learn by heart
| être (to be) | avoir (to have) | |
|---|---|---|
| je | suis | ai |
| tu | es | as |
| il / elle | est | a |
| nous | sommes | avons |
| vous | êtes | avez |
| ils / elles | sont | ont |
Two more essentials: aller (to go: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont) and faire (to do/make: je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font).
Tip: in speech, the endings -e, -es and -ent of -er verbs are silent, so “il parle” and “ils parlent” sound the same.
Practice
Write five sentences about your day using je + a verb from each group, for example “Je parle français” or “Je finis mon travail.”