French conjugation
French verbs are traditionally sorted into three groups. The 1st group is every -er verb except aller (parler) and covers about 90% of French verbs. The 2nd group is regular -ir verbs that add -iss- in the plural (finir → nous finissons). The 3rd group holds everything else: -re verbs, -oir verbs and irregular -ir verbs like partir.
French verb endings chart
Spoken French hides many endings: je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent all sound identical. That is why the written endings on the yellow tiles matter so much for spelling, and why the subject pronoun is never dropped in French.
Être or avoir?
Compound tenses like the passé composé use avoir for most verbs, but être for a small set of movement and change-of-state verbs (aller, venir, partir, naître, mourir…) and for all reflexive verbs. With être, the participle agrees with the subject: elle est allée.
Spelling-change -er verbs
Some 1st-group verbs change spelling to keep their sound: manger → nous mangeons, commencer → nous commençons, acheter → j’achète, appeler → j’appelle. They are still regular in pronunciation.
The subjunctive shortcut
For most verbs, take the ils form of the present, drop -ent, and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. Ils finissent → que je finisse.
The 283 most common French verbs
Ordered by how often they appear in everyday French. Each links to a full table with every tense.
- 1êtreto be
- 2avoirto have
- 3faireto do/make
- 4direto say/tell
- 5pouvoirto be able to/can
- 6allerto go
- 7voirto see
- 8savoirto know (facts/how to)
- 9vouloirto want
- 10venirto come
- 11falloirto be necessary
- 12devoirto have to/must
- 13croireto believe
- 14trouverto find
- 15donnerto give
- 16parlerto speak/talk
- 17prendreto take
- 18mettreto put/place
- 19passerto pass/spend (time)
- 20penserto think
- 21comprendreto understand
- 22resterto stay/remain
- 23demanderto ask (for)
- 24tenirto hold
- 25semblerto seem
- 26laisserto leave/let
- 27arriverto arrive
- 28entendreto hear
- 29porterto wear/carry
- 30regarderto watch/look at
- 31sentirto feel/smell
- 32montrerto show
- 33attendreto wait for
- 34répondreto answer
- 35connaîtreto know (be familiar with)
- 36appelerto call
- 37sortirto go out
- 38chercherto look for
- 39vivreto live
- 40suivreto follow
- 41essayerto try
- 42leverto lift/raise
- 43partirto leave/depart
- 44écrireto write
- 45ouvrirto open
- 46aimerto like/love
- 47arrêterto stop/arrest
- 48revenirto come back
- 49rendreto give back/return
- 50poserto put/place
- 51tomberto fall
- 52perdreto lose
- 53garderto keep, watch over
- 54retournerto return, go back
- 55obtenirto obtain, get
- 56existerto exist
- 57marcherto walk
- 58continuerto continue
- 59reconnaîtreto recognize
- 60expliquerto explain
- 61déciderto decide
- 62appartenirto belong (to)
- 63souvenirto remember (se souvenir)
- 64permettreto allow, permit
- 65dormirto sleep
- 66courirto run
- 67lireto read
- 68boireto drink
- 69mangerto eat
- 70ajouterto add
- 71jouerto play
- 72gagnerto win, earn
- 73présenterto present, introduce
- 74quitterto leave
- 75indiquerto indicate, show
- 76oublierto forget
- 77produireto produce
- 78poursuivreto pursue, continue
- 79choisirto choose
- 80réussirto succeed
- 81finirto finish
- 82construireto build, construct
- 83recevoirto receive
- 84reprendreto resume, take back
- 85asseoirto seat, sit down
- 86rappelerto call back, remind
- 87annoncerto announce
- 88envoyerto send
- 89accepterto accept
- 90souhaiterto wish, hope
- 91proposerto propose, suggest
- 92conduireto drive, lead
- 93chanterto sing
- 94employerto use, employ
- 95développerto develop
- 96établirto establish
- 97préparerto prepare
- 98remarquerto notice
- 99couvrirto cover
- 100approcherto approach
- 101tirerto pull; to shoot
- 102éviterto avoid
- 103offrirto offer; to give
- 104remettreto postpone; to hand over
- 105confierto confide; to entrust
- 106refuserto refuse
- 107cacherto hide
- 108descendreto go down; to descend
- 109signifierto mean; to signify
- 110frapperto hit; to knock
- 111tournerto turn
- 112dépendreto depend
- 113formerto form; to train
- 114figurerto appear; to figure (in)
- 115habiterto live; to inhabit
- 116mourirto die
- 117naîtreto be born
- 118assurerto assure; to insure
- 119accompagnerto accompany
- 120compterto count; to intend
- 121placerto place; to put
- 122saisirto seize; to grasp
- 123monterto go up; to climb
- 124installerto install; to set up
- 125menerto lead
- 126jeterto throw
- 127couperto cut
- 128toucherto touch
- 129souffrirto suffer
- 130répéterto repeat
- 131cesserto stop, cease
- 132agirto act
- 133ressemblerto resemble
- 134rireto laugh
- 135pleurerto cry
- 136craindreto fear
- 137subirto undergo, endure
- 138exprimerto express
- 139ignorerto not know, be unaware of
- 140imaginerto imagine
- 141nommerto name, appoint
- 142exigerto demand, require
- 143intéresserto interest
- 144fermerto close
- 145profiterto benefit, take advantage
- 146organiserto organize
- 147provoquerto provoke, cause
- 148utiliserto use
- 149retirerto withdraw, remove
- 150dirigerto direct, manage
- 151insisterto insist
- 152situerto locate, situate
- 153évoquerto evoke, mention
- 154précéderto precede
- 155adresserto address (to)
- 156publierto publish
- 157rejoindreto join, meet up with
- 158évaluerto evaluate, assess
- 159résisterto resist
- 160fixerto fix, set, stare at
- 161viserto aim (at)
- 162gênerto bother, embarrass
- 163révélerto reveal
- 164dessinerto draw
- 165multiplierto multiply
- 166rangerto tidy, put away
- 167risquerto risk
- 168engagerto hire, commit
- 169baisserto lower, decrease
- 170repousserto push back, postpone
- 171renforcerto reinforce, strengthen
- 172accueillirto welcome
- 173surprendreto surprise
- 174consisterto consist (of)
- 175mêlerto mix, mingle
- 176consacrerto devote, dedicate
- 177succéderto succeed, follow
- 178débuterto begin, start
- 179éclaterto burst, break out
- 180acheverto complete, finish
- 181confirmerto confirm
- 182répandreto spread, scatter
- 183soulignerto underline, emphasize
- 184prierto pray, ask
- 185justifierto justify
- 186autoriserto authorize, allow
- 187libérerto free, liberate
- 188renoncerto give up, renounce
- 189décrireto describe
- 190éleverto raise, bring up
- 191convenirto suit, agree
- 192survivreto survive
- 193détruireto destroy
- 194combattreto fight, combat
- 195traduireto translate
- 196traiterto treat, deal with
- 197nierto deny
- 198céderto yield, give in
- 199étendreto extend, spread out
- 200remplacerto replace
- 201améliorerto improve
- 202diminuerto decrease
- 203augmenterto increase
- 204dominerto dominate
- 205surveillerto watch over
- 206défendreto defend / forbid
- 207favoriserto favor
- 208stimulerto stimulate
- 209encouragerto encourage
- 210féliciterto congratulate
- 211remercierto thank
- 212saluerto greet
- 213blâmerto blame
- 214gronderto scold
- 215punirto punish
- 216pardonnerto forgive
- 217mériterto deserve
- 218convaincreto convince
- 219persuaderto persuade
- 220douterto doubt
- 221hésiterto hesitate
- 222supposerto suppose
- 223devinerto guess
- 224prévoirto foresee, plan
- 225prétendreto claim
- 226affirmerto affirm, state
- 227insinuerto insinuate, hint
- 228mentirto lie
- 229avouerto admit, confess
- 230dévoilerto reveal, unveil
- 231divulguerto disclose, leak
- 232planifierto plan
- 233exécuterto execute, carry out
- 234réaliserto achieve, realize
- 235accomplirto accomplish
- 236terminerto finish, end
- 237débattreto debate
- 238discuterto discuss
- 239négocierto negotiate
- 240réclamerto demand, claim
- 241revendiquerto claim, assert
- 242voterto vote
- 243élireto elect
- 244gouvernerto govern, rule
- 245administrerto administer, manage
- 246légiférerto legislate
- 247appliquerto apply, enforce
- 248respecterto respect
- 249violerto violate, breach
- 250condamnerto condemn, sentence
- 251jugerto judge
- 252accuserto accuse
- 253plaiderto plead
- 254signerto sign
- 255contracterto take out (loan/debt)
- 256emprunterto borrow
- 257prêterto lend
- 258rembourserto repay, reimburse
- 259dépenserto spend (money)
- 260économiserto save (money)
- 261investirto invest
- 262vendreto sell
- 263acheterto buy
- 264livrerto deliver
- 265payerto pay
- 266facturerto invoice, charge
- 267commanderto order
- 268fournirto supply, provide
- 269fabriquerto manufacture, make
- 270consommerto consume
- 271importerto import
- 272exporterto export
- 273transporterto transport
- 274voyagerto travel
- 275visiterto visit (a place)
- 276explorerto explore
- 277découvrirto discover
- 278inventerto invent
- 279créerto create
- 280fonderto found
- 281bâtirto build
- 282détenirto hold, detain
- 283posséderto possess, own
Not in the list? Conjugate any French verb. Our engine knows thousands more.
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French conjugation FAQ
How many tenses are there in French?
French grammar lists around 20 tenses and moods, but four literary tenses (passé simple, passé antérieur and the two imperfect subjunctives) are only read, not spoken. Everyday French relies on the présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur simple, futur proche (aller + infinitive), conditionnel and subjonctif présent.
What is the most common French verb?
Être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two most frequent French verbs. They are also the auxiliaries used to build every compound tense, so learn them first.
Why are some French verbs called irregular if they follow a pattern?
Many 3rd-group verbs follow small patterns of their own (prendre, apprendre, comprendre all conjugate alike), but they do not follow the big -er or -ir patterns, so they are grouped as irregular.