Conjugating French verbs

How to conjugate the French verbs

Verbs describe actions, such as to run, to eat or to wash.
All the French verbs are divided into three groups depending on the last two letters of the word.

French verb groups

The 3 French verbs groups

  • Group 1 : Regular verbs ending with "er", except Aller
  • Group 2 : Regular verbs ending with "ir"
  • Group 3 : Verbs with irregular conjugation ending with "re", "ir", "oir" and "aller".

The verb will also change depending on its use in time, such as the past, present or future.

Click on the verb in the table below to view all the conjugations of the tenses (past, future etc).

Common examples
Group 1 : er Group 2 : ir Group 3 : re
Aboyer : to bark
Acheter : to buy
Admirer : to admire
Aimer : to love
Arriver : to arrive
Assister : to help
Chanter : to sing
Commencer : to begin
Demander : to ask
Emmener : to take
Gagner : to win
Jeter : to throw
Jouer : to play
Laisser : to leave
Laver : to wash
Lever : to lift
Manger : to eat
Marcher : to walk
Parler : to speak
Téléphoner: to telephone
Tomber : to fall
Toucher : to touch
Travailler : to work
Traverser : to cross
Trouver : to find
Visiter : to visit
Voyager : to travel
 accomplir : to accomplish
Choisir : to choose
convertir : to convert
Courir : to run
Finir : to finish
Mourir : to die
nourrir : to nourish
punir : to punish
Remplir : to fill
Obéir : to obey
Viellir : to age
 aller : to go
apparaître : to appear
Apprendre : to learn
atteindre : to attain
Attendre : to wait
battre
boire
ceindre
combattre
comprendre
condescendre
conduire
connaître
Construire : to construct
coudre
cuire
descendre
détruire
dire
écrire
élire
émettre
entendre
faire
feindre
fendre
inclure
joindre
Lire : to read
Mordre : to bite
naître
omettre
peindre
perdre
permettre
plaindre
plaire
prendre
rabattre
renaître
rendre
reproduire
résoudre
restreindre
reteindre
retendre
retordre
retraduire
retranscrire
retransmettre
revivre
rire
séduire
sortir : to leave, to go out
Servir : to serve
soumettre
soustraire
suffire
suivre
surfaire
surprendre
survivre
suspendre
taire
teindre
tendre
tondre
Tenir : to hold
tordre
traduire
Valoir : to be worth
Vendre : to sell
Venir : to come
Vivre : to live
Voir : to see
Vouloir : to want

Understanding the verbs avoir and être

You can also use the verb translator and find the word in French or English.

Tenses

The tenses used in French to place a verb in time:

  • Présent : The present
  • Passé simple : The preterite or simple past
  • Passé compose : The past tense / narration tense
  • Passé antérieur : The past perfect
  • Imparfait : The present subjunctive
  • Futur simple : The future tense
  • Plus que parfait : The past subjunctive
  • Futur Anteriéur : Future perfect (an action that will have been completed before a certain point in the future)
  • Subjonctif présent
  • Subjonctif passé
  • Subjonctif imparfait
  • Subjonctif perfect
  • Conditional present
  • Conditional passé 1
  • Conditional passé 2

Also... >> Learning French, >> Dictionary