Verb
Indicative tenses: présent
It is present tense. Formation:
1st group (verbs in -er : parler):
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
parle |
parlons |
| 2 |
parles |
parlez |
| 3 |
parle |
parlent |
Minor changes to the stem of verbs of the 1st group:
In 1,2 and 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural:
- verbs ending in the infinitive in -eler double l: appeler: appelle, appelles, appellent
exceptions: celer, ciseler, congeler, geler, peler, déceler, démanteler, écarteler, marteler, modeler, turn e into è: cèle, cèles, cèlent
- verbs ending in the infinitive to -eter also double t: jeter: jette, jettes, jette
exceptions: acheter, corseter, crocheter, fureter, haleter, racheter change e into è: achète, achètes, achètent
- verbs ending in -oyer, -uyer change y into i in these forms: nettoyer: nettoie, nettoies, nettoient
- verbs to -ayer can (but do not have to) change y w i: so e.g. for payer the correct forms are: paye and paie, payes and paies, payent and paient
- verbs ending in e + single consonant + er (-eder, -eger, -emer, -eler, -ener, -eser, -erer, -ever etc.) turn e into è: semer: sème , sèmes, sèment
- finally verbs ending in -éder, -éger, -émer, -éler, -éner, -érer, -éser, -ézer, -éver turn é into è: révéler: révèle, révèles, révèlent .
Changes only in the 1st person plural:
- verbs ending in -cer, -ger have the form: -çons, -geons: placer: plaçons, nager: nageons.
2nd group (verbs in -ir: finir):
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
finis |
finissons |
| 2 |
finis |
finissez |
| 3 |
finit |
finissent |
In the 3rd group it is formed irregularly (3rd group : verbs in -re, -oir, aller, envoyer, renvoyer, venir, tenir and some other verbs in -ir).
Helpful rules for the verbs of the 3rd group :
The 1st person plural is formed by changing the ending of the infinitive into -ons (être - sommes, dire - disons, faire - faisons, some other verbs in -re named below are exceptions)
The 2nd person plural is formed by changing the ending of the 1st person plural into -ez (exceptions : être - sommes - êtes, dire - disons - dites, faire - faisons - faites are exceptions)
If the 1st person singular ends in -s or -x, the 2nd person singular is identical (exceptions : être, aller).
In such cases, the 3rd person is formed with 3 changes : -ds > -d, -ts > -t, -s > -t, -x > -t.
Most frequent verbs of the 3rd group :
Verb être :
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
suis |
sommes |
| 2 |
es |
êtes |
| 3 |
est |
sont |
Verb avoir :
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
ai |
avons |
| 2 |
as |
avez |
| 3 |
a |
ont |
Verb aller :
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
vais |
allons |
| 2 |
vas |
allez |
| 3 |
va |
vont |
More irregular verbs :
Verbs in -re:
verbs in -re behave diffently in singular and plural
Singular:
The general rule is : -ttre changes in the 1st person to -ts, -dre to -ds, -vre to -s, -re to -s.
Exceptions are verbs in -eindre, -aindre, -oudre, -aître :
in -eindre, -aindre, absoudre : -dre changes to -s (teindre - teins, peindre - peins, craindre - crains, absoudre - absous).
-ître changes into -is (naître - nais, connaître - connais, croître - crois).
The 2nd person singular is identical, the 3rd person singular is formed from the 1st person : -ds > -d, -ts > -t, -s > -t.
Plural:
In the 1st person plural -re of the infinitive changes into -ons.
Exceptions : dire - disons, faire - faisons, coudre - cousons.
The other exceptions are verbs which were exceptions in the 1st person singular :
naître - naissons, connaître - connaissons, teindre - teignons, peindre - peignons, absoudre - absolvons.
In the 2nd person plural -ons of the 1st person changes to -ez (exceptions : dire, faire).
In the 3rd person plural -ons of the 1st person changes into -ent (exceptions : faire - faisons - font, prendre - prenons - prennent).
Verb faire:
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
fais |
faisons |
| 2 |
fais |
faites |
| 3 |
fait |
font |
Verb dire:
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
dis |
disons |
| 2 |
dis |
dites |
| 3 |
dit |
disent |
Verb mettre:
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
mets |
mettons |
| 2 |
mets |
mettez |
| 3 |
met |
mettent |
Verb prendre (similarly comprendre):
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
prends |
prenons |
| 2 |
prends |
prenez |
| 3 |
prend |
prennent |
Verb rendre (very many verbs are conjugated like this, e.g. attendre, entendre, répondre):
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
rends |
rendons |
| 2 |
rends |
rendez |
| 3 |
rend |
rendent |
Verb vivre :
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
vis |
vivons |
| 2 |
vis |
vivez |
| 3 |
vit |
vivent |
Verbs in -oir:
1st person singular: Verbs in -cevoir change it into -çois, -eoir into -ois (apercevoir, asseoir).
Other verbs : devoir - dois, savoir - sais, pouvoir - peux, mouvoir - meux, valoir - vaux, voir (and some forms with prefixes) - vois. This -s or -x stays in the 2nd person, and changes into -r in the 3rd.
1st person plural is formed according to the general rule (-oir changes into -ons), but with exceptions : verbs in -seoir have -soyons, and voir changes into voyons. The 2nd person plural is regular.
Formation of the 3rd person plural is complicated : some verbs change the vowel. These are : devoir - doivent, pouvoir - peuvent, mouvoir - meuvent and verbs in -cevoir : apercevoir - aperçoivent.
The rest is regular, -ons of the 1st person changes into -ent (but -oyons changes to -oient).
Verb devoir:
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
dois |
devons |
| 2 |
dois |
devez |
| 3 |
doit |
doivent |
Verb pouvoir:
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
peux / puis |
pouvons |
| 2 |
peux |
pouvez |
| 3 |
peut |
peuvent |
Verb savoir:
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
sais |
savons |
| 2 |
sais |
savez |
| 3 |
sait |
savent |
Verb voir (similarly croire - je crois):
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
vois |
voyons |
| 2 |
vois |
voyez |
| 3 |
voit |
voient |
Verbs in -ir belonging to the 3rd group: tenir, venir, partir, sentir, mentir, vêtir, dormir, servir, courir, mourir, fuir, gésir, repentir , ouvrir, couvrir, offrir, souffrir, cueillir, saillir (tressaillir), bouillir, faillir, verbs in -quérir.
1st person singular :
Some verbs change -ir into -s and change the vowel : tenir - tiens, venir - viens, mourir - meurs, verbs in -quérir : acquérir - acquiers. The rare verb gésir has an irregular form : gis.
The verbs in -rir (except courir) and -llir change -ir into -e (not -s).
Other verbs change -tir, -mir, -vir into -s. Verbs : couris - cours, fuir - fuis.
Formation of 2nd and 3rd person is regular according to the rules above. The only exception is gésir (3rd person is gît).
1st person - change -ir into -ons. Again, the exceptions : gésir - gisons, fuir - fuyons.
The verbs which changed the vowel in the singular, change it also in 3rd person plural : tenir - tiennent, venir - viennent, mourir - meurent, acquérir - acquièrent. The rest of forms is regular.
Verb venir (similarly e.g. tenir) :
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
viens |
venons |
| 2 |
viens |
venez |
| 3 |
vient |
viennent |
Verb partir (similarly for example: sortir, sentir, mentir)
| |
singulier |
pluriel |
| 1 |
pars |
partons |
| 2 |
pars |
partez |
| 3 |
part |
partent |