Last updated on March 10th, 2024 at 01:54 pm
One of the most difficult topic students find when they learn French is how to conjugate French verbs.
Groups of verbs in French
First of all, lets try to separate the problems. French verbs can be split into 3 groups:
– the first group: verbs that end with –er in the infinitive. They follow the pattern of parler for example. They are regular!
– the second group: verbs that end with –ir in the infinitive. They follow the pattern of finir for example. They are also regular!
–the third group: verbs that are not part of the first group or the second group, they follow very different patterns. As you may understand, they are irregular verbs!
Most popular French verbs
First group:
parler
manger
travailler
penser
aimer
regarder
chanter
écouter
jouer
cuisiner
Second group:
finir
réussir
rajeunir
vieillir
jaunir
rougir
(many verbs from this group come from adjectives and colors)
Third group:
être
avoir
faire
aller
pouvoir
vouloir
prendre
lire
devoir
savoir
Conjugate French verbs: modes and tenses
When you conjugage a verb in French, there are 3 points to consider:
- what mode – indicatif, subjonctif, conditionnel, impératif –
- what tense (le temps) – présent, passé composé, imparfait, etc.
- what pronoun (la personne): je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles
For example:
Il faut (présent de l’indicatif, troisième personne du singulier) que j’aille (subjoncfif présent, première personne du singulier) au supermarché.
Si nous étions (imparfait de l’indicatif, première personne du pluriel) riches, nous achèterions (conditionnel présent, première personne du pluriel) de belles voitures.
Resources to learn how to conjugate French verbs
I usually recommend this website –https://leconjugueur.lefigaro.fr/ – to learn and review third group verbs. (You should be able to conjugate first group and second group verbs without any problem.)
Whatever your level, French conjugation is a difficult topic. Make sure you know by heart the most common ones.
Good luck!
