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Essential French Grammar – Regular and Irregular Verbs

In French, verbs are organized into groups or "conjugations" according to the endings of their infinitives. It's very important to know which conjugation a verb belongs to. By knowing the conjugation of the verb, you know how to configure the verb.  

The first two conjugations are said to be 'regular,' because all the verbs in those groups are conjugated in the same way. The irregular verbs belong to the third group, and do not follow normal rules. This makes them harder to master.

Regular verbs

The first conjugation

All the verbs ending in –er belong to this group, except for aller and envoyer, which are irregular and thus belong to the third conjugation. The verbs of the first group all behave like aimer.

The second conjugation

The verbs in this group all end in –ir, and have a common characteristic. The affix –iss is inserted in the plural forms of the present and the imperfect tenses, like in nous finissons and vous rougissiez. Jaunir, grossir, abolir, bénir, éblouir, maigrir, agrandir, refroidir, enfouir and choisir. Many other verbs that end in –ir also belong to this group. Their present, future, and imperfect tenses are shown in the chart below.

Irregular verbs

Être and avoir, two of the most irregular verbs, are also the most important of all. They are used all the time and are used to form compound tenses. They do not belong to the third conjugation, and are called "auxiliaries".

This is how the present tense is formed in these verbs:  

Verbs that end in –ir form their plurals in the present tense without  –iss  and therfore behave like –er verbs.  Example: ouvrir. J'ouvre à nous ouvrons. The verbs courir, dormir, cueillir, mentir, ouvrir, and partir are also in this group.

Verbs ending in –oir: devoir, falloir, pleuvoir, recevoir, valoir, vouloir, devoir, or asseoir.

Verbs ending in –re: apprendre, rendre, coudre, faire, plaire, conclure, dire, écrire, connaître, suivre, rompre, vivre, etc.

The verbs aller and envoyer: Look at how these verbs are different from the first group, when conjugated in the present tense: