The verbs people use most are the ones most likely to be irregular, in French as in English (I am, you are, he is; I go, I went). Constant use keeps old, worn-down forms alive instead of letting them be smoothed into a regular pattern. That means you cannot avoid these verbs: être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go) and faire (to do, to make) alone appear in a huge share of everyday sentences. Fortunately, 'irregular' does not mean 'random'. Most of these verbs share small patterns — the same endings in je and tu, a stem that changes in the same places, an -ont or a -tes in predictable spots. Learn them as families, not as eighty-four separate forms.
The big four
| Subject | être (to be) | avoir (to have) | aller (to go) | faire (to do, make) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | suis | ai (j'ai) | vais | fais |
| tu | es | as | vas | fais |
| il / elle / on | est | a | va | fait |
| nous | sommes | avons | allons | faisons |
| vous | êtes | avez | allez | faites |
| ils / elles | sont | ont | vont | font |
Boot verbs: one stem inside, another outside
In venir, prendre and voir, the nous and vous forms share one stem (for venir and prendre, the stem of the infinitive: ven-, pren-; for voir, voy-), while the other four forms use a different stem. In a conjugation table, those four forms (je, tu, il down the left and ils at the bottom) make the shape of a boot. Notice the ils form in particular: it changes stem and often doubles a consonant (prennent, viennent).
| Subject | venir (to come) | prendre (to take) | voir (to see) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | viens | prends | vois |
| tu | viens | prends | vois |
| il / elle / on | vient | prend | voit |
| nous | venons | prenons | voyons |
| vous | venez | prenez | voyez |
| ils / elles | viennent | prennent | voient |
Verbs that take a second verb
| Subject | vouloir (to want) | pouvoir (to be able, can) | savoir (to know) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | veux | peux | sais |
| tu | veux | peux | sais |
| il / elle / on | veut | peut | sait |
| nous | voulons | pouvons | savons |
| vous | voulez | pouvez | savez |
| ils / elles | veulent | peuvent | savent |
These verbs, along with aller, are often followed by a second verb, and that second verb stays in the infinitive: Je veux jouer (I want to play), Tu peux venir? (Can you come?), Elle sait nager (She knows how to swim), Nous allons étudier (We are going to study). Only the first verb is conjugated. Savoir + infinitive is about a skill you have learned; pouvoir is about being able or allowed right now. Je ne sais pas nager means 'I never learned to swim'; Je ne peux pas nager aujourd'hui means 'I can't swim today' (the pool is closed, or you're injured).
The -is, -it group
| Subject | lire (to read) | dire (to say, tell) | écrire (to write) | mettre (to put, put on) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | lis | dis | écris (j'écris) | mets |
| tu | lis | dis | écris | mets |
| il / elle / on | lit | dit | écrit | met |
| nous | lisons | disons | écrivons | mettons |
| vous | lisez | dites | écrivez | mettez |
| ils / elles | lisent | disent | écrivent | mettent |
Translation: Zoé: What are you doing on Saturday? Karim: I'm going to the market with my sister. We're taking the bus at nine o'clock. Do you want to come? Zoé: I can't in the morning: I have a soccer game. But I'm free in the afternoon. Karim: Perfect! My cousins are coming too. They say the market is great. Zoé: OK. I'm texting my mom. Do you know where we're meeting? Karim: In front of the library, at one o'clock. What to notice: veux venir keeps the second verb in the infinitive; viennent and prenons show both stems of boot verbs; and Qu'est-ce que tu fais? uses faire where English says 'doing'.