French Verb Conjugations

When I was learning French I struggled a bit with the verb conjugations – especially the irregular verbs. However, studying them can be much easier with the right resources at hand.

Here I’ve put together a complete audio lesson with tables covering all the useful verbs. All of the verbs on this page have MP3 files. Just click on the words, listen and repeat! Note: Make sure the page is finished loading in your browser for the audio to work. (*See Notes Below)

Regular ER verbs are verbs that end in ER in the infinitive (or mother) form (meaning ‘to love’ rather than ‘love’. My example here is ‘aimer’, to love.

Present j'aime I love tu aimes you love il aime he loves nous aimons we love vous aimez you love ils aiment they love	Past j'ai aimé I loved tu as aimé you loved il a aimé he loved nous avons aimé we loved vous avez aimé they loved ils ont aimé they love	Imperfect j'aimais I used to love tu aimais you used to love il aimait he used to love nous aimions we used to love vous aimiez you used to love ils aimaient they used to love
Conditional j'aimerais I would love tu aimerais you would love il aimerait he would love nous aimerions we would love vous aimeriez you would love ils aimeraient they would love	Future j'aimerai I will love tu aimeras you will love il aimera he will love nous aimerons we will love vous aimerez you will love ils aimeront they will love	Subjunctive que j'aime that I love que tu aimes that you love qu'il aime that he love que nous aimions that we love que vous aimiez that you love qu'ils aiment that they love

These are called “regular” verbs because they always follow the same conjugation pattern. Look at the letters after “aim” and look for the pattern. They are the easiest to conjugate and are used a lot in French.

Here is a list of common regular ER verbs that you will hear in everyday language. They’re all conjugated the same as aimer.

adorer to adore	chanter to sing	commencer to start/begin
demander to ask for	dépenser to spend	détesterto hate
écouter to listen	étudier to study	fermer to close
habiter to live	jouer to play	laver to wash
montrer to show	nager to swim	parler to speak/talk
penser to think	porter to wear/carry	présenter to introduce
rencontrer to meet	rester to stay	rêver to dream
skier to ski	téléphoner to call/telephone	travailler to work
chanter to sing	visiter to visit	voler to fly/steel
danser to dance	donner to give	goûter to taste
manger to eat	passer to pass/spend time	regarder to watch/look at
sembler to seem	trouver to find

Regular IR Verbs

Regular IR verbs are verbs that end in IR. These are verbs that end in IR and always follow the same conjugation pattern. My example verb is “finir”, to finish. Look at the endings after “fin” and look for the patterns.

Present je finis I finish tu finis you finish il finit he finishes nous finissons we finish vous finissez you finish ils finissent they finish	Past j'ai fini I finished tu as fini you finished il a fini he finished nous avons fini we finished vous avez fini you finished ils ont fini they finished	Imperfect je finissais I used to finish tu finissais you used to finish il finissait he used to finish nous finissions we used to finish vous finissiez you used to finish ils finissaient they used to finish
Conditional je finirais I would finish tu finirais you would finish il finirait he would finish nous finirions we would finish vous finiriez you would finish ils finiraient they would finish	Future je finirai I will finish tu finiras you will finish il finira he will finish nous finirons we will finish vous finirez you will finish ils finiront they will finish	Subjunctive que je finisse that I finish que tu finisses that you finish qu'il finisse that he finish que nous finissions that we finish que vous finissiez that you finish qu'ils finissent that they finish

Common Regular IR Verbs

accomplir accomplish	avertir to warn	bâtir to build
bénir to bless	choisir to chose	embellir to make beautiful
envahir to invade	établir to establish	étourdir to stun
grandir to grow up	grossir to get fat	guérir to cure
maigrir to lose weight	nourrir to feed, nourish	obéir to obey
punir to punish	réfléchir to reflect, think	remplir to fill
réunir to reunite	réfléchir to reflect, think	réussir to succeed
rougir to blush, turn red	vieillir to grow old, age

Regular RE Verbs

Conjugation Patterns for Regular RE Verbs

Present (Vendre = to Sell) je vends I sell tu vends you sell il vend he sells nous vendons we sell vous vendez you sell ils vendent they sell	Past j'ai vendu I sold tu as vendu you sold il a vendu he sold nous avons vendu we sold vous avez vendu you sold ils ont vendu they sold	Imperfect je vendais I used to sell tu vendais you used to sell il vendait he used to sell nous vendions we used to sell vous vendiez you used to sell ils vendaient they used to sell
Conditional je vendrais I would sell tu vendrais you would sell il vendrait he would sell nous vendrions we would sell vous vendriez you would sell ils vendraient they would sell	Future je vendrai I will sell tu vendras you will sell il vendra he will sell nous vendrons we will sell vous vendrez you will sell ils vendront they will sell	Subjunctive que je vende that I sell que tu vendes that you sell qu'il vende that he sells que nous vendions that we sell que vous vendiez that you sell qu'ils vendent they they sell

List of Common Regular RE Verbs

attendre to wait	défendre to defend	dépendre to depend on
descendre to descend, go down	entendre to hear	éntendre to spread out, stretch
fendre to split	fondre to melt	pendre to hang, susptend
perdre to lose	pondre to lay an egg	prétendre to claim
rendre to render, give back	répandre to spread	répondre to answer, respond
tendre to tighten	vendre to sell

Irregular Verbs

In this section I’ll introduce the conjugations of the five most common irregular verbs you’ll hear in French. These are “irregular” verbs because they do not follow the standard conjugation patterns of regular verbs. The verbs I teach here are: to be (être), to have (avoir), to make or do (faire), to go (aller) and to come (venir).

Irregular Verb: être (to be)

Present - être (to be) je suis I am tu es you are il est he is nous sommes we are vous êtes you are ils sont they are	Past j'ai été I was tu as été you were il a été he was nous avons été we were vous avez été you were ils ont été they were	Imperfect j'étais I used to be tu étais you used to be il était he used to be nous étions we used to be vous étiez you used to be ils étaient they used to be
Conditional je serais I would be tu serais you would be il serait he would be nous serions we would be vous seriez you would be ils seraient they would be	Future je serai I will be tu seras you will be il sera he will be nous serons we will be vous serez you will be ils seront they will be	Subjunctive que je sois that I be que tu sois that you be qu'il soit that he be que nous soyons that we be que vous soyez that you be qu'ils soient that they be

Irregular Verb: avoir (to have)

Present - avoir (to have) j'ai I have tu as you have il a he has nous avons we have vous avez you have ils ont they have	Past j'ai eu I had tu as eu you had il a eu he had nous avons eu we had vous avez eu you had ils ont eu they had	Imperfect j'avais I used to have tu avais you used to have il avait he used to have nous avions we used to have vous aviez you used to have ils avaient they used to have
Conditional j'aurais I would have tu aurais you would have il aurait he would have nous aurions we would have vous auriez you would have ils auraient they would have	Future j'aurai I will have tu auras you will have il aura he will have nous aurons we will have vous aurez you will have ils auront they will have	Subjunctive que j'aie that I have que tu aies that you have qu'il ait that he has que nous ayons that they have que vous ayez that you have qu'ils aient that they have

Irregular Verb: Faire (to make or do)

Present je fais I do tu fais you do il fait he does nous faisons we do vous faîtes you do ils font they do	Past j'ai fait I did tu as fait you did il a fait he did nous avons fait we did vous avez fait you did ils ont fait they did	Imperfect je faisais I used to do tu faisais you used to do il faisait he used to do nous faisions we used to do vous faisiez you used to do ils faisaient they used to do
Conditional je ferais I would do tu ferais you would do il ferait he would do nous ferions we would do vous feriez you would do ils feraient they would do	Future je ferai I would do tu feras you would do il fera he would do nous ferons we would do vous ferez you would do ils feront they would do	Subjunctive que je fasse that I do que tu fasses that you do qu'il fasse that he do que nous fassions that we do que vous fassiez that you do qu'ils fassent that they do

Irregular Verb: Aller (to go)

Present je vais I go tu vas you go il va he goes nous allons we go vous allez you go ils vont they go	Past je suis allé I went tu es allé you went il est allé he went nous sommes allés we went vous êtes allés you went ils sont allés they went	Imperfect j'allais I used to go tu allais you used to go il allait he used to go nous allions we used to go vous alliez you used to go ils allaient they used to go
Conditional j'irais I would go tu irais you would go il irait he would go nous irions we would go vous iriez you would go ils iraient they would go	Future j'irai I will go tu iras you will go il ira he will go nous irons we will go vous irez you will go ils iront they will go	Subjunctive que j'aille that I go que tu ailles that you go qu'il aille that he go que nous allions that we go que vous alliez that you go qu'ils aillent that they go

Irregular Verb: Venir (to come)

Present je viens I come tu viens you come il vient he come nous venons we come vous venez you come ils viennent they come	Past je suis venu I came tu es venu you came il est venu he came nous sommes venus we came vous êtes venus you came ils sont venus they came	Imperfect je venais I used to come tu venais you used to come il venait he used to come nous venions we used to come vous veniez you used to come ils venaient they used to come
Conditional je viendrais I would come tu viendrais you would come il viendrait he would come nous viendrions we would come vous viendriez you would come ils viendraient they would come	Future je viendrai I will come tu viendras you will come il viendra he will come nous viendrons we will come vous viendrez you will come ils viendront they will come	Subjunctive que je vienne that I come que tu viennes that you come qu'il vienne that he come que nous venions that we come que vous veniez that you come qu'ils viennent that they come

* Notes: 1. This lesson will cover the following tenses which are used the most frequently in everyday speech: Present (le présent), past tense (passé composé), imperfect tense (l’imparfait), conditional (le conditionel), future (le futur) and subjunctive mood (le subjunctif). For definitions of these tenses click here. Other tenses such as the passé simple (used in literature) are nice to know but not necessary at the beginner level.

2. For simplicity in these charts I use “il” for the third-person singular and left out “elle” (she) and the commonly-used “on” (one). Also, for the third-person plural I use ils (they, group of men only or men and women) and leave out “elles” (group of women only).

Félicitations!

Congratulations and Félicitations! You’ve reached the end of this lesson on French verb conjugations! I hope you’ve found it helpful!

More French Lessons:

1. French Verb Guide
2. Avoir Verb Song
3. French Verbs