# French Verb Conjugation — The Three Families, and Which Tenses to Learn First

> French verbs fall into three regular families by ending — **-er** (*parler*), **-ir** (*finir*) and **-re** (*vendre*) — plus a short list of irregulars. Learn the présent of *être*, *avoir*, *aller* and *faire* first: they are the most-used verbs and the helpers behind other tenses.

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Updated: 2026-09-07

## What “conjugating” actually means

A French verb changes its ending to show who is doing it and when. English does this too, barely — I walk but he walks — while French does it for all six persons. The infinitive is the dictionary form, the one ending in -er, -ir or -re, and conjugating means chopping that ending off and replacing it.

| Family | Model verb | How many |
|---|---|---|
| -er | parler — to speak | the overwhelming majority, and the family every new verb joins |
| -ir | finir — to finish | a large, well-behaved second group |
| -re | vendre — to sell | the smallest of the three |
| irregular | être, avoir, aller, faire | few, but the most-used words in the language |

**The useful irony** — The irregular verbs are irregular because they are used constantly — heavy use protects old forms from being tidied up. So the hardest verbs are also the ones you will meet soonest and repeat most, which is exactly what makes them stick.

## The -er family — the one that covers everything

Chop off -er and you are left with the stem parl-, which never moves. Add the endings -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je parle | I speak |
| tu parles | you speak |
| il / elle parle | he / she speaks |
| nous parlons | we speak |
| vous parlez | you speak |
| ils / elles parlent | they speak |

**Four of these six sound identical** — Parle, parles, parle and parlent are all pronounced exactly the same — “PARL”. The endings are silent. Only nous and vous add a sound. This is the single most encouraging fact about French verbs, and it means learning to say an -er verb is mostly learning one word.

A handful of -er verbs adjust their spelling to protect a sound — nous mangeons keeps an e so the g stays soft, j’achète takes an accent, j’appelle doubles its l. These are spelling adjustments, not different patterns.

## The -ir family — and the -iss- giveaway

Stem fin-, endings -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je finis | I finish |
| tu finis | you finish |
| il / elle finit | he / she finishes |
| nous finissons | we finish |
| vous finissez | you finish |
| ils / elles finissent | they finish |

**Not every -ir verb does this** — The -iss- in the plural is the marker of this family. Verbs like partir, sortir and dormir also end in -ir but behave differently — nous partons, not “partissons”. If you hear the -iss-, it is a finir verb.

## The -re family — where nothing is added at all

Stem vend-, endings -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je vends | I sell |
| tu vends | you sell |
| il / elle vend | he / she sells |
| nous vendons | we sell |
| vous vendez | you sell |
| ils / elles vendent | they sell |

**The il form is the bare stem** — Look at il vend: nothing is added. That empty ending is unique to this family and it feels wrong the first few times you write it. It is correct.

## The four irregulars worth memorising first

These four are the most-used verbs in French, and three of them do double duty as the machinery behind other tenses. Learning their présent is the highest-value hour in French grammar.

| Verb | Présent | Its second job |
|---|---|---|
| être — to be | suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont | helper for movement and reflexive verbs |
| avoir — to have | ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont | helper for almost every other past tense |
| aller — to go | vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont | builds the near future |
| faire — to do / make | fais, fais, fait, faisons, faites, font | the weather, sport and housework |

## Which tenses to learn, in what order

French has a great many tenses and you do not need most of them to hold a conversation. This is the order that gets you talking soonest.

| # | Tense | What it does | Worth it because |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | présent | I speak / I am speaking | French has no separate continuous tense, so this covers both |
| 2 | futur proche | I am going to speak | aller + infinitive; six forms buy you the whole future |
| 3 | passé composé | I spoke / I have spoken | the everyday past; helper + participle |
| 4 | imparfait | I used to speak / I was speaking | descriptions and background; one rule, one exception |
| 5 | futur simple | I will speak | tidier in writing; shares its stem with the next one |
| 6 | conditionnel | I would speak | politeness and hypotheticals |
| 7 | subjonctif | (that) I speak | after il faut que and expressions of feeling |

**Two tenses, one stem** — The futur simple and the conditionnel are built on exactly the same stem — the infinitive, or the verb's own irregular one. The futur takes avoir's présent endings and the conditionnel takes the imparfait's. Learn the stem once and you get both tenses, which is why they sit next to each other on the list.

The tenses beyond these — passé simple, plus-que-parfait, the literary ones — are worth meeting when you start reading. None of them is needed to speak.

## FAQ

### How many verb groups are there in French?

Three regular families, decided by the infinitive ending: -er (like parler), -ir (like finir) and -re (like vendre), plus a set of irregular verbs.

### Which French verbs should I learn first?

Être, avoir, aller and faire. They are the most-used verbs in the language, and three of them build other tenses.

### What are the -er verb endings in French?

-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. Four of the six are silent, so je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent all sound the same.

### What are the -ir and -re verb endings?

-ir verbs like finir take -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. -re verbs like vendre take -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent.

### Why do partir and dormir not follow the finir pattern?

Because they belong to a different -ir group that does not add -iss-. It is nous partons and nous dormons, not “partissons”. The -iss- is the giveaway for the finir family.

### What tense should I learn after the present?

The futur proche — aller plus an infinitive. Six forms of one verb let you talk about anything in the future, which is a far faster return than learning the futur simple.

### Do I need the subjunctive to speak French?

Not at first, but sooner than most courses suggest: il faut que is extremely common in speech and always takes it. Learning the subjunctive of être, avoir, aller and faire covers most real cases.

## Related guides

- Être conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/etre-conjugation
- Avoir conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/avoir-conjugation
- Imparfait vs passé composé: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/imparfait-vs-passe-compose
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides