The three verb groups

French verbs are traditionally divided into three groups based on the infinitive and conjugation pattern:

The first group is by far the largest (~90% of verbs) and is almost entirely regular - apart from spelling adjustments in the stem (-ger, -cer verbs), -er verbs follow a single pattern. The second group is smaller but also highly regular. The third group is where most irregularity lives.

Critical caveat: the "second group" label specifically means -ir verbs that take the -iss- infix in the plural present (e.g. finissons, finissez, finissent). Many -ir verbs (partir, sortir, dormir, venir) belong to the irregular third group, not the second group, despite the -ir ending.

The six persons

French conjugates verbs in six persons:

Pattern point: French does NOT drop subject pronouns the way Spanish or Italian do. Je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles are essentially always written (with elisions like "j'" before vowels).

Present tense (present de l'indicatif)

The present tense covers current ongoing actions, habitual actions, and near-future actions. The endings:

First group (-er, e.g. parler)

Second group (-ir with -iss-, e.g. finir)

Third group (irregular, varies)

Examples covered later in the irregular verbs section.

Pattern points:

• For -er verbs, the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms are pronounced identically (parle, parles, parle, parlent all sound like "parl"). The spelling differs but the pronunciation does not - a major French phonological feature.
• For -ir verbs (second group), the je, tu, and il/elle/on forms also sound identical (fini).

Passe compose - the workhorse past tense

The passe compose is the everyday French past tense for completed actions. It is a compound tense:

auxiliary verb (avoir or etre, present tense) + past participle

Past participle formation

• -er verbs: replace -er with -e (parler → parle).
• -ir verbs (2nd group): replace -ir with -i (finir → fini).
• -re verbs (regular): replace -re with -u (vendre → vendu).
• Many irregular verbs have irregular past participles (etre → ete, avoir → eu, faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu).

Avoir-conjugated verbs

Most verbs use avoir as auxiliary:

• J'ai parle - I spoke / I have spoken.
• Tu as fini - You finished / you have finished.
• Nous avons vendu - We sold / we have sold.

Etre-conjugated verbs

A specific set of intransitive movement verbs ("Dr Mrs Vandertramp" mnemonic) use etre as auxiliary, AND the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject:

• Je suis alle (masculine) / Je suis allee (feminine) - I went.
• Nous sommes alles / Nous sommes allees - We went.
• Elles sont parties - They (feminine) left.

The Vandertramp set: aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, naitre, mourir, rester, retourner, tomber, revenir, rentrer, retourner, devenir, passer (in some uses), and their compounds.

All reflexive verbs also take etre as auxiliary.

Imparfait - past ongoing or habitual

The imparfait expresses past ongoing, habitual, or background actions ("I used to live," "she was speaking").

Formed from the nous form of the present indicative (drop -ons), then add the endings:

Pattern points:

• The imparfait is extremely regular - only one verb (etre) has an irregular imparfait stem (et-).
• The je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms sound identical (parlais, parlais, parlait, parlaient all pronounced "parle").

Passe compose vs imparfait

The major past-tense distinction for French learners:

• Passe compose = completed, bounded action. "I lived in Paris for 3 years" (boundary stated) = j'ai vecu.
• Imparfait = ongoing, habitual, or background past. "I lived in Paris when I was young" (no boundary, background context) = j'habitais.

Useful tests:

• Can you replace it with "used to" in English? → imparfait.
• Is there a specific endpoint mentioned? → passe compose.
• Is the verb describing a state, weather, or background? → imparfait.
• Is the verb describing a discrete event? → passe compose.

The two tenses often co-occur in narrative: imparfait for background ("il pleuvait" - it was raining), passe compose for events ("soudain, il est tombe" - suddenly, he fell).

Future tense (futur simple)

The future tense expresses future actions. Endings are added to the full infinitive (with -re verbs dropping the final -e):

Pattern points:

• All three groups share identical future endings.
• The endings derive from the present tense of avoir (ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont).
• Some irregular verbs have irregular futur stems (etre → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, venir → viendr-, voir → verr-, savoir → saur-, pouvoir → pourr-, vouloir → voudr-).

Note on usage: Like Spanish, French often replaces the simple future with aller + infinitive ("Je vais parler" - I'm going to speak) in spoken language. The simple future remains common in writing and for emphasis.

Conditionnel

The conditional expresses hypothetical or polite actions ("I would speak," "she would eat"). Same stem as the future, same endings as the imparfait:

Critical for polite requests: je voudrais (I would like), pourriez-vous (could you).

Subjonctif

The subjunctive expresses doubt, emotion, possibility, desire, and other non-factual contexts.

Present subjunctive formation

Formed from the ils/elles form of the present indicative (drop -ent), then add the subjunctive endings:

Pattern points:

• The je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms sound identical (and the same as their present indicative counterparts for -er verbs).
• The nous and vous forms are identical to the imparfait.
• Several verbs have irregular subjunctive stems (etre → soi-, avoir → ai-, aller → aill-, faire → fass-, savoir → sach-, pouvoir → puiss-, vouloir → veuill-).

When to use the subjunctive

• After expressions of doubt: Je ne pense pas qu'il vienne (I don't think he's coming).
• After expressions of emotion: Je suis content que tu sois la (I'm glad you're here).
• After expressions of desire/will: Je veux que tu viennes (I want you to come).
• After impersonal expressions: Il faut que tu etudies (You must study).
• After certain conjunctions: bien que, pour que, avant que, sans que.

The French subjunctive deep-dive covers the full usage rules.

Imparfait du subjonctif

Largely a literary tense in modern French. Most speakers replace it with the present subjunctive. Used in formal writing.

Imperative (imperatif)

Used for commands. The three imperative forms:

Tu form (informal singular)

• For -er verbs: present indicative tu form WITHOUT the final -s (parle, mange, NOT parles, manges).
• For -ir and -re verbs: present indicative tu form (finis, vends).

Nous form (let's command)

• Same as present indicative nous form (parlons, finissons, vendons).

Vous form (formal/plural)

• Same as present indicative vous form (parlez, finissez, vendez).

Examples:

• Parle! - Speak! (informal).
• Parlez! - Speak! (formal or plural).
• Allons-y! - Let's go!
• Ne parle pas! - Don't speak!

The most important irregular verbs

French has many irregular verbs but the workhorses are these:

Etre (to be)

Avoir (to have)

Aller (to go)

Faire (to do/make)

Venir (to come)

Pouvoir (to be able)

Other high-frequency irregulars worth memorising: dire (to say), vouloir (to want), savoir (to know), voir (to see), prendre (to take), mettre (to put), devoir (must), lire (to read), ecrire (to write).

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs take reflexive pronouns:

Example with se laver (to wash oneself):

• Je me lave - I wash myself.
• Tu te laves - You wash yourself.
• Nous nous lavons - We wash ourselves.

All reflexive verbs take etre in the passe compose, with past participle agreement:

• Je me suis lave(e) - I washed myself.

Spelling-change verbs in -er

Several subclasses of -er verbs have minor spelling shifts to preserve pronunciation:

• -ger verbs (manger): add -e- before -ons (nous mangeons not "mangons") to keep soft g.
• -cer verbs (commencer): change c to c with cedilla before -ons (nous commencons) to keep soft c.
• -eler / -eter verbs: double the consonant before silent endings (j'appelle, je jette), with a few exceptions.
• -yer verbs: change y to i before silent endings (je paie, je nettoie).

How to actually internalise French conjugation

Three practical recommendations:

1. Master the present tense of etre, avoir, aller, faire first. These four verbs do most of the conjugation work in spoken French (etre and avoir as auxiliaries, aller as the "going to" future, faire in countless idioms). Completely memorising them is the highest-leverage first step.
2. Drill the passe compose vs imparfait distinction. The two-past-tense system is the biggest hurdle for French learners after the early stages. Real fluency requires hearing thousands of examples until choice becomes intuitive.
3. Accept that pronunciation flattens the conjugation. Many French verb forms sound identical (the je, tu, il, ils forms of -er verbs all sound the same). Learning to listen for context rather than ending sounds is essential. The spelling distinction matters for writing but not for speaking.

Cross-references

• The French for adult learners pillar covers the wider French learning approach.
• The French grammar cheatsheet covers the A1-B1 grammar overview.
• The intermediate (B1-B2) grammar page covers the next-level structures.
• The advanced (C1-C2) grammar page covers complex structures.
• The French subjunctive deep-dive covers subjunctive usage in detail.
• The Spanish vs French subjunctive comparison covers how the two systems diverge.
• The common mistakes for English speakers in French article covers the most frequent conjugation errors.