by Olly RichardsIf you learnt French at school, there are probably a couple of things you remember that still give you occasional nightmares, like French irregular verbs.
Not only do verbs change form depending on who does the action and when it happened, but many of them don’t even follow the rules. These are the so-called irregular verbs, and mastering them is fundamental to being able to speak French.
At the beginning, learning them all can seem quite daunting, so to help you get started, here’s my guide to learning the 30 most important French irregular verbs.
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The ‘Regular’ French Verb Conjugations
Regular French verbs, those that follow the standard patterns, are traditionally divided into three groups known as ‘conjugations’.
And the conjugation of a regular verb is determined by the ending of the infinitive form (the ‘raw’ form you find in the dictionary).
The three conjugations in French are:
- -er verbs (like jouer (to play))
- -ir verbs (like finir (to finish))
- -re verbs (like attendre (to wait))
To make form a regular verb, you simply remove the ‘-er’, ‘-ir’ or ‘-re’ and add the appropriate ending to what’s left (the ‘stem’).
Quite a few verbs are completely regular and follow these rules without deviating. However, many are irregular to varying degrees, so let’s look at that now.
Different Types Of French Irregular Verbs
In French, some verbs follow most of the rules and are only irregular in one or two forms or just have a few slight spelling changes.
Other verbs have irregular stems but follow more or less predictable patterns. And then there are those that are completely irregular and need to be learnt by heart.
At first sight, what makes matters even more complicated is that many of the completely irregular verbs are also some of the most common, which means you have to learn the irregular forms before you can even start saying some very basic stuff.
However, in practice, this makes things easier because, as you’ll be using these verbs all the time right from the start, you’ll memorise them all very quickly and will soon be able to use them without even thinking about it.
So how should you go about learning and mastering French irregular verbs?
How To Remember French Irregular Verbs
In this post, I’m not going to simply give you a complete and comprehensive list of verb tables to memorise. That sounds like something the grammar villain would do!
I don’t think that would be particularly useful. And in any case, you can find those verb tables in just about any French grammar book that’s ever been published. Many apps also contain complete tables, of which WordReference is as good as any.
Rather, I’m going to give you some suggestions about which verbs to try to remember first to allow you to start speaking as quickly as possible. Then, once you start practising, the rest will all just fall into place naturally, particularly if you use the StoryLearning® method.
Importantly, many French verbs fall into groups, so by learning the model verb, you will also have learnt how to conjugate several others at the same time. So it’s a good idea to focus on these first.
Others are simply vital verbs to know because they are so common and also need to be learnt early on.
What follows is my subjective, unscientific list of verbs and groups of verbs to learn that I think will get you off to the best start.
Note that I’ll be sticking to the tenses that are most likely to be useful.
I won’t be talking about things like the ‘past anterior’ or the ‘imperfect subjunctive’. But bear in mind that rare, arcane tenses like these exist. And if you want to know how to conjugate them, you can check your grammar book.
So now let’s dive in and get started!
Avoir (To Have) & Être (To Be) The Two Most Important Verbs In French
Without doubt, the first two irregular French verbs you should commit to memory are avoir (to have) and être (to be).
Not only are they extremely useful in their own right, but you also need to know them to be able to form all the compound tenses of other verbs.
They are both completely irregular, so let’s have a look at them in detail:
#1 Avoir
Present tense
| j’ai | nous avons | |
| tu as | vous avez | |
| il/elle a | ils/elles ont |
Imperfect tense
| j’avais | nous avions | |
| tu avais | vous aviez | |
| il/elle avait | ils/elles avaient |
Future and conditional tense
Attach the future and conditional endings to the stem aur-
So, for example:
- j’aurai (future) and j’aurais (conditional) etc.
Present subjunctive
| j’aie | nous ayons | |
| tu aies | vous ayez | |
| il/elle ait | ils/elles aient |
Past participle
- eu
Present participle
- ayant
Imperative
- aie
- ayons
- ayez
#2 Être
Present tense
| je suis | nous sommes | |
| tu es | vous êtes | |
| il/elle est | ils/elles sont |
Imperfect tense
| j'étais | nous étions | |
| tu étais | vous étiez | |
| il/elle était | ils/elles étaient |
Future and conditional tense
Attach the future and conditional endings to the stem ser-
So, for example:
- je serai (future) and je serais (conditional) etc.
Present subjunctive
| je sois | nous soyons | |
| tu sois | vous soyez | |
| il/elle soit | ils/elles soient |
Past participle
- été
Present participle
- étant
Imperative
- sois
- soyons
- soyez
Other High-Frequency, High-Value Verbs To Learn
Here’s a list of verbs that you should concentrate on learning first since they will be most useful to you at the beginning.
Many also serve as models for other verbs, so by learning the model, you also learn the others at the same time.
#3 Faire (To Do), (To Make)
Another of the most important verbs in French is faire.
It covers the meaning of both “to do” and “to make” in English, it is the model for a number of other verbs, and it also appears in a wide range of idiomatic expressions.
Contrefaire (to counterfeit, to fake) follows the same pattern, as does défaire (to undo), satisfaire (to satisfy) and others.
Present tense
| je fais | nous faisons | |
| tu fais | vous faites | |
| il/elle fait | ils/elles font |
Imperfect
- je faisais etc.
Future
- je ferai etc.
Conditional
- je ferais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je fasse etc.
Past participle
- fait
Present participle
- faisant
Imperative
- fais
- faisons
- faites
#4 Aller (To Go)
An extremely useful verb to know because it is so common and also because it is used with the infinitive of other verbs to talk about the future, similar to “I’m going to do” in English.
It is completely irregular and takes être in compound tenses.
Present tense
| je vais | nous allons | |
| tu vas | vous allez | |
| il/elle va | ils/elles vont |
Imperfect
- j'allais etc.
Future
- j'irai etc.
Conditional
- je'irais etc.
Present subjunctive
- j‘aille etc.
Past participle
- allé
Present participle
- allant
Imperative
- va
- allons
- allez
#5Venir (To Come)
An important verb to know because it is so high frequency.
Other verbs that follow this pattern include revenir (to come back), advenir (to occur), circonvenir (to circumvent), convenir (to be suitable), intervenir (to intervene) and others.
Present tense
| je viens | nous venons | |
| tu viens | vous venez | |
| il/elle vient | ils/elles viennent |
Imperfect
- je venais etc.
Future
- je viendrai etc.
Conditional
- je viendrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je vienne etc.
Past participle
- venu
Present participle
- venant
Imperative
- viens
- venons
- venez
#6 Prendre (To Take)
A high-frequency verb as well as the model for other important irregular verbs like apprendre (to learn, to teach), comprendre (to understand) and others.
Present tense
| je prends | nous prenons | |
| tu prends | vous prenez | |
| il/elle prend | ils/elles prennent |
Imperfect
- je prenais etc.
Future
- je prendrai etc.
Conditional
- je prendrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je prenne etc.
Past participle
- pris
Present participle
- prenant
Imperative
- prends
- prenons
- prenez
#7 Mettre (To Put)
A very common verb and the model for several others, including admettre, (to let in, to admit) (but not “admit” in the sense of “confess”), commetre (to commit), compromettre (to compromise), émettre (to emit), omettre (to omit), permettre (to permit) and others.
Present tense
| je mets | nous mettons | |
| tu mets | vous mettez | |
| il/elle met | ils/elles mettent |
Imperfect
- je mettais etc.
Future
- je mettrai etc.
Conditional
- je mettrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je mette etc.
Past participle
- mis
Present participle
- mettant
Imperative
- mets
- mettons
- mettez
#8 Connaître (To Know (Somebody)
A vital verb to know. Reconnaître (to recognise) also conjugates according to the same pattern.
Present tense
| je connais | nous connaissons | |
| tu connais | vous connaissez | |
| il/elle connaît | ils/elles connaissent |
Imperfect
- je connaissais etc.
Future
- je connaîtrai etc.
Conditional
- je connaîtrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je connaisse etc.
Past participle
- connu
Present participle
- connaissant
Imperative
- connais
- connaissons
- connaissez
#9 Savoir (To Know (A Fact, How To Do Something))
Another of the most important verbs to know in French.
Present tense
| je sais | nous savons | |
| tu sais | vous savez | |
| il/elle sait | ils/elles savent |
Imperfect
- je savais etc.
Future
- je saurai etc.
Conditional
- je saurais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je sache etc.
Past participle
- su
Present participle
- savant
Imperative
- sache
- sachons
- sachez
#10 Devoir (Must, To Owe)
An important modal verb meaning “must” as well as the verb meaning “to owe”.
Present tense
| je dois | nous devons | |
| tu dois | vous devez | |
| il/elle doit | ils/elles doivent |
Imperfect
- je devais etc.
Future
- je devrai etc.
Conditional
- je devrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je doive etc.
Past participle
- du
Present participle
- devant
Imperative
- dois
- devons
- devez
#11 Pouvoir (To Be Able To)
Another extremely high-frequency modal verb that you need to learn early on.
Present tense
| je peux | nous pouvons | |
| tu peux | vous pouvez | |
| il/elle peut | ils/elles peuvent |
Imperfect
- je pouvais etc.
Future
- je pourrai etc.
Conditional
- je pourrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je puisse etc.
Past participle
- pu
Present participle
- pouvant
#12Vouloir (To Want)
Again, an important modal verb you’ll need to use often.
Present tense
| je veux | nous voulons | |
| tu veux | vous voullez | |
| il/elle veut | ils/elles veulent |
Imperfect
- je voulais etc.
Future
- je voudrai etc.
Conditional
- je voudrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je veuille etc.
Past participle
- voulu
Present participle
- voulant
Imperative
- veuille/veux
- veuillons/voulons
- veuillez/voulez
#13 Recevoir (To Receive)
An important verb in its own right but also the model for a large number of other verbs ending in -oir, so much so that some books even count this as a fourth conjugation.
Present tense
| je reçois | nous recevons | |
| tu reçois | vous recevez | |
| il/elle reçoit | ils/elles reçoivent |
Imperfect
- je recevais etc.
Future
- je recevrai etc.
Conditional
- je recevrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je reçoive etc.
Past participle
- reçu
Present participle
- recevant
Imperative
- reçois,
- recevons
- recevez
Note: the ‘ç’ is used in some forms of recevoir to conserve the correct pronunciation.
#14Voir (To See)
This verb is extremely useful. A number of derivatives such as revoir (to see again) follow the same pattern as voir and not that of recevoir.
Present tense
| je vois | nous voyons | |
| tu vois | vous voyez | |
| il/elle voit | ils/elles voient |
Imperfect
- je voyais etc.
Future
- je verrai etc.
Conditional
- je verrais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je voie etc.
Past participle
- vu
Present participle
- voyant
Imperative
- vois
- voyons
- voyez
#15 Dormir (To Sleep)
Dormir is slightly irregular and serves as a model for around 30 other verbs whose stem does not take the -iss- form like finir.
Present tense
| je dors | nous dormons | |
| tu dors | vous dormez | |
| il/elle dort | ils/elles dorment |
Imperfect
- je dormais etc.
Future
- je dormirai etc.
Conditional
- je dormirais etc.
Present subjunctive
- je dorme etc.
Past participle
- dormi
Present participle
- dormant
Imperative
- dors
- dormons
- dormez
Some Other Important Irregular Verbs To Prioritise
Here are a few more verbs that are important to learn, either because they’re high frequency or because they serve as the model for several other verbs – or both.
- #16 S’asseoir (to sit down)
An important verb to know.
- #17 Boire (to drink)
A verb some people may need to use quite often!
- #18 Construire (to construct)
The model for a number of other verbs, including conduire (to drive), déduire (to deduce), détruire (to destroy), induire (to induce), instruire (to instruct) and others.
- #19 Courir (to run)
A useful verb to know. Accourir (to run up), also follows the same pattern, as does concourir (to converge), and parcourir (to travel through), among others.
- #20 Croire (to believe)
A basic vocabulary item that you will use often.
- #21 Écrire (to write)
A high-frequency verb and the model for several others, including décrire (to describe), inscrire (to inscribe), prescrire (to prescribe), and others.
- #22 Falloir (to be necessary)
A word that is used by almost everyone every day. Only used impersonally in the third-person singular, il faut.
- #23 Lire (to read)
A high-frequency verb. Élire (to elect), follows the same pattern.
- #24 Mourir (to die)
A useful verb to know and one that doesn’t conjugate quite how you might expect.
- #25 Naître (to be born)
Another useful verb. Note that it isn’t used in quite the same way as in English.
- #26 Paraître (to seem)
A useful verb that is used impersonally.
- #27 Rire (to laugh)
A good verb to know and also the model for sourire (to smile).
- #28 Tenir (to hold)
An extremely common verb and the model for many others, including s’abstenir (to abstain from), appartenir (to belong), contenir (to contain), entretenir (to maintain), maintenir, (to maintain), obtenir (to obtain) and others.
Regular French Verbs With Minor Spelling Changes
Some verbs that are usually considered regular also undergo some changes to spelling or accents to preserve the correct pronunciation.
Here are two examples:
#29 Appeler (To Call)
This verb and many others (but not all) ending in -eler or -eter double the final consonant when it is followed by an -e in the present, future, conditional and present subjunctive. Jeter (to throw, throw away) also behaves in the same way.
| Present | Future | Conditional | Present Subjunctive |
| j’appelle | j’appellerai | j’appellerais | j’appelle |
| je jette | je jetterai | je jetterais | je jette |
Exceptions: acheter (to buy), geler (to freeze) and others.
#30 Lever (To Raise, Lift)
Verbs ending with -er that have an unstressed e in the syllable before the ending change the e to è. Lever can be taken as a model.
Other similar verbs include mener (to lead), semer (to sow), acheter (to buy), geler (to freeze) and others. Note also that the last two were exceptions to the rule above.
| Present | Future | Conditional | Present Subjunctive |
| je lève | je lèverai | je lèverais | je lève |
Other verbs with spelling changes exist, but I don’t have space to include them all here.
A Combination Of Focused Learning And Practice Is Key
With irregular verbs, there’s much to be said for the old-fashioned method of reciting verb tables – up to a point.
However, simply using them as much as possible will also help to fix them in your long-term memory, right where you need them. Again, if you use the StoryLearning® method and read books in French, these verbs will quickly become second nature.
As you master more and more, you will begin to find that the whole thing starts to feel far more intuitive and that you can often correctly guess irregular forms that you didn’t know before.
Eventually, you will start naturally conjugating irregular verbs that you never consciously learned – and that is exactly where you want to be!
