Verb Groups & the Present Tense
Every French verb belongs to one of three groups, and the group tells you how to conjugate it. Learn these patterns and you can conjugate thousands of verbs.
1st Group Verbs (-er)-er
The largest and most regular group. Around 90% of French verbs end in -er. Drop the -er and add the endings below.
I speak
parl
you speak
parl
he/she speaks
parl
we speak
par-LOHN
you speak
par-LAY
they speak
parl
2nd Group Verbs (-ir)-ir
Regular -ir verbs that insert -iss- in the plural forms. Recognise them by the nous form ending in -issons.
I finish
fee-NEE
you finish
fee-NEE
he/she finishes
fee-NEE
we finish
fee-nee-SOHN
you finish
fee-nee-SAY
they finish
fee-NEES
3rd Group Verbs (irregular)-re / -ir / -oir
The irregular group: -re, -oir and the -ir verbs that do not take -iss-. These must be learned individually.
I sell
vahn
you sell
vahn
he/she sells
vahn
we sell
vahn-DOHN
you sell
vahn-DAY
they sell
vahnd