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French conjugation is the variation in the endings of French verbs ( inflections) depending on the person (I, you, we, etc), tense (present, future, etc.) and mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, etc.). Most verbs are regular and can be entirely determined by their infinitive form (ex. parler), however irregular verbs require the knowledge of more than just the infinitive form, known as the principal parts, of which there are seven in French. With the knowledge of these seven principal parts of a verb, one can conjugate almost all French verbs. However, a handful of verbs, including être, are highly irregular and the seven principal parts are not sufficient to conjugate the verb fully.

French verbs are conventionally divided into three conjugations (conjugaisons) with the following grouping:

  • 1st group: verbs ending in -er (except aller and its derivates)
  • 2nd group: verbs ending in -ir, with the present participle ending in -issant
  • 3rd group: verbs ending in -re (with the exception of irregular verbs)
    • 1st section: verbs ending in -ir, with the present participle ending in -ant
    • 2nd section: verbs ending in -oir
    • 3rd section: verbs ending in -re
    • aller and its derivates

The first two groups follow a regular conjugation, whereas the third group is more complex. The third group is considered a closed-class conjugation form, [1] meaning that most new verbs introduced to the French language are of the first group (téléviser, atomiser, radiographier), with the remaining ones being of the second group (alunir).

The verb aller and its derivates are the only verbs ending in -er belonging to the third group.

Verb forms

The verb forms of French are the finite forms which are combinations of grammatical moods in various tenses and the non-finite forms. The moods are: indicative (indicatif), subjunctive (subjonctif), conditional (conditionnel) and imperative (impératif). There are simple (one-word) tenses and those constructed with an auxiliary verb. It is the simple tenses that are subject to conjugation rules, since in the others it is the auxiliary verb that is conjugated as a simple verb. The finite forms are:

  • Indicative
    • Present (présent) which is simple
    • Present perfect ( passé composé): literally "compound past", formed with an auxiliary verb in the present
    • Imperfect (imparfait), simple
    • Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait): literally "more than perfect", formed with an auxiliary verb in the imperfect
    • Simple past ( passé simple) Conventionally used only in written language (especially in literature) or in extremely formal speech.
    • Past perfect (passé antérieur): formed with an auxiliary verb in the simple past. It is somewhat rare.
    • Simple future (futur simple)
    • Future perfect (futur antérieur): formed with an auxiliary verb in the simple future
  • Subjunctive
    • Present, simple
    • Past (passé): formed with an auxiliary verb in the subjunctive present
    • Imperfect, simple. Somewhat rare.
    • Pluperfect: formed with an auxiliary verb in the subjunctive imperfect. Somewhat rare.
  • Imperative
    • Present, simple
    • Past: formed with an auxiliary verb in the present imperative. Very rarely used in contemporary French.
  • Conditional
    • Present
    • Past (form 1): formed with an auxiliary verb in the present conditional
    • Past (form 2): formed with an auxiliary verb in the imperfect subjunctive. Rarely used.

The non-finite forms are:

  • Past participle
  • Present participle
  • Gerundive: (constructed by preceding the present participle with the preposition en)

Both participles may be used as adjectives in which case they are inflected as adjectives. Used as an adjective the present participle is known as the verbal adjective. There are some cases where a form similar but not identical to the present participle is used for the verbal adjective.

Auxiliary verbs

There are two auxiliary verbs in French: avoir (to have) and être (to be), used to conjugate compound tenses according to these rules:

Compound tenses are conjugated with an auxiliary followed by the past participle, ex: j'ai fait (I did), je suis tombé (I fell). When être is used, the participle is inflected according to the gender and number of the subject. The participle is inflected with the use of the verb avoir according to the direct object, but only if the direct object precedes the participle, ex:

  • il a marché, elle a marché, nous avons marché (he walked, she walked, we walked)
  • il est tombé, elle est tombée, nous sommes tombés, elles sont tombées (he fell, she fell, we fell, they (fem.) fell)
  • Il a acheté une voiture. Voilà la voiture qu'il a achetée. (He bought a car. Here is the car he bought)

As stand-alone verbs, the conjugation of the two auxiliaries is listed in the appendix at the end of the article.

First group verbs (-er verbs)

French verbs ending in -er, which constitute the largest class, inflect somewhat differently from other verbs. Between the stem and the inflectional endings that are common across most verbs, there may be a vowel, which in the case of the -er verbs is a silent -e- (in the simple present singular), or -ai (in the past participle and the je form of the simple past), and -a- (in the rest of simple past singular and in the past subjunctive). In addition, the orthographic -t found in the -ir and -re verbs in the singular of the simple present and past is not found in this conjugation, so that the final consonants are , -s, rather than -s, -s, -t.

Infinitive: parl-er "to speak"
 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present
je parl-e parl-ai parl-ais parler-ai parl-e parl-ass-e parler-ais
tu parl-es parl-as parler-as parl-es parl-ass-es parl-e
il/elle parl-e parl-a parl-ait parler-a parl-e parl-ât parler-ait
nous parl-ons parl-âmes parl-ions parler-ons parl-ions parl-ass-ions parler-ions parl-ons
vous parl-ez parl-âtes parl-iez parler-ez parl-iez parl-ass-iez parler-iez parl-ez
ils/elles parl-ent parl-èrent parl-aient parler-ont parl-ent parl-ass-ent parler-aient

Present participle: parl-ant
Past participle: parl-é
Auxiliary verb: avoir (arriver, entrer, monter, passer, rester, rentrer, retourner, and tomber use être)

Exceptional contexts:

  • When the first-person singular present tense form of the indicative or subjunctive is found in inversion, the writer must change the final e to either é (traditional usage) or è (rectified modern usage), in order to link the two words : « Parlè-je ? », , "Am I speaking?" (This is a very rare construction, however.)
  • When the second-person singular form of the imperative is followed by its object y or en, a final s is added: « Parles-en ! », , "Talk about it!"

Exceptional verbs:

  • The verb aller, though it ends in -er is completely irregular and belongs to the third group.
  • In -cer verbs, the c becomes a ç before endings that start with a or o, to indicate that it is still pronounced /s/ (je déplac-e - nous déplaç-ons); similarly, in -ger verbs, the g becomes ge before such endings, to indicate that it is pronounced /ʒ/ (je mang-e - nous mange-ons).
  • In -oyer and -uyer verbs, the y becomes an i before endings that start with a silent e (nous envoy-ons - j'envoi-e); in -ayer verbs, the writer may or may not change the y to an i before such endings (je pa-ye - je pa-ie). Additionally, the future and conditional forms of envoyer start with enverr- rather than envoyer-; and similarly with renvoyer.
  • In -é.er verbs, the é becomes an è before silent endings, and optionally in the future and conditional tenses.
  • In -e.er verbs other than most -eler and -eter verbs, the e becomes an è before endings that start with a silent e (including the future and conditional endings). For example: peler (to peel) -> je p-èle (present) / je p-èlerai (futur) / je p-èlerais (conditional).
  • In most -eler and -eter verbs, the writer must either change the e to an è before endings that start with a silent e, or change the l or t to ll or tt. In the rest of these verbs, only one or the other form is allowed. For example: appeler (to call) -> j'appel-le (present) / j'appel-lerai (futur) / j'appel-lerais (conditional).
  • The verbal adjective of following verbs is irregular: adhérer - adhérent; coïncider - coïncident; confluer - confluent; affluer - affluent; converger - convergent; déterger - détergent; différer - différent; exceller - excellent; diverger - divergent; négliger - négligent; précéder - précédent; violer - violent; influer - influent; communiquer - communicant; suffoquer - suffocant; provoquer - provocant; naviguer - navigant; déléguer - délégant; fatiguer - fatigant; intriguer - intrigant.

Second group verbs (-ir verbs / present participle ending in -issant)

The -ir verbs differ from the -er verbs in the following points:

  • The vowel of the inflections is always -i-, for example -isse in the past subjunctive rather than the -asse of the -er verbs.
  • A few of the singular inflections themselves change, though this is purely orthographic and does not affect the pronunciation: in the simple present and past, these are -s, -s, -t rather than -Ø, -s, -Ø. (The change in pronunciation is due to the change of vowel from e, ai, a to -i-.)
  • In the simple present, imperfect, the present subjunctive, and the present participle, a suffix -iss- appears between the root and the inflectional endings. In the simple present singular, this suffix has disappeared and the endings are -is, -is, -it.
Infinitive : choisir "to choose"
 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple Past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
je chois-is chois-iss-ais choisir-ai chois-iss-e choisir-ais
tu choisir-as chois-iss-es chois-is
il/elle chois-it chois-iss-ait choisir-a chois-iss-e chois-ît choisir-ait
nous chois-iss-ons chois-îmes chois-iss-ions choisir-ons chois-iss-ions choisir-ions chois-iss-ons
vous chois-iss-ez chois-îtes chois-iss-iez choisir-ez chois-iss-iez choisir-iez chois-iss-ez
ils/elles chois-iss-ent chois-irent chois-iss-aient choisir-ont chois-iss-ent choisir-aient

Present participle: chois-iss-ant
Past participle: chois-i
Auxiliary verb: avoir (partir uses être)

Third group (irregular) verbs

Most verbs of the third group end in -re. A few end in -ir and three end in -er. Most can be described with seven principal parts. No verbs has separate stems for all seven parts; instead, they tend to "inherit" the same stem as another part. Note that the endings for these verbs are basically the same as for regular -ir verbs; in fact, regular -ir verbs can be fit into this scheme by treating the -iss- variants as different principal parts.

Principal part How to get the stem "Inherited" (regular) value of stem Key
infinitive Remove ending -er, -ir, -oir, -re INF
First singular present indicative Remove ending -s, -e Infinitive stem (INF) 1S
First plural present indicative Remove ending -ons Infinitive stem (INF) 1P
Third plural present indicative Remove ending -ent First plural present stem (1P) 3P
(First singular) future Remove ending -ai Full infinitive (minus any -e) FUT
(Masculine singular) past participle Full word Infinitive stem (INF), plus -i (plus -u if ends -re) PP
(First singular) simple past Remove ending -s, -ai Past participle (PP) (minus any -s or -t) PAST

The following table shows how the conjugation of an irregular verb is constructed from its principal parts. Note that a few verbs construct the present indicative (especially the singular) differently.

Paradigm for most irregular verbs (7 principal parts)
 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
je 1S+s PAST+s 1P+ais FUT+ai 3P+e PAST+sse FUT+ais
tu FUT+as 3P+es PAST+sses 1S+s / 1S+t2
il/elle 1S+t1 PAST+t 1P+ait FUT+a 3P+e PAST+ˆt FUT+ait
nous 1P+ons PAST+ˆmes 1P+ions FUT+ons 1P+ions PAST+ssions FUT+ions 1P+ons
vous 1P+ez PAST+ˆtes 1P+iez FUT+ez 1P+iez PAST+ssiez FUT+iez 1P+ez
ils/elles 3P+ent PAST+rent 1P+aient FUT+ont 3P+ent PAST+ssent FUT+aient

1 The -t is regularly dropped when directly following a d or t (e.g. il vend "he sells", not *il vendt).
2 +t if ends with vowel, else +s.
Present participle: 1P-ant
Past participle: PP

The following table gives principal parts for a number of irregular verbs. There are a number of fair-sized groups of verbs that are conjugated alike; these are listed first. There are some additional irregularities in the present indicative, which are listed below. Nearly all irregularities affect the singular, and are purely issues of spelling. (Stems that are irregular in the sense of being unpredictable by the above rules are given in boldface.)

Table of principal parts of irregular (and -ir) French verbs (7 principal parts)
INF Meaning FUT Present Indicative PP PAST
1S 1P 3P
chois-ir 4 to choose choisir-ai choisi-s choisiss-ons choisiss-ent choisi choisi-s 5
haïr to hate haïr-ai hai-s / haï-s1 haïss-ons haïss-ent haï haï-s 5
part-ir 4 to leave partir-ai par-s part-ons part-ent parti parti-s 5
vêt-ir 4 to dress vêtir-ai vêt-s, vêt2 vêt-ons vêt-ent vêtu vêti-s 5
requér-ir to require, demand requerr-ai requier-s requér-ons requièr-ent requis requi-s
ven-ir 4 to come viendr-ai vien-s ven-ons vienn-ent venu vin-s 5
mour-ir to die mourr-ai meur-s mour-ons meur-ent mort mouru-s
cour-ir to run courr-ai cour-s cour-ons cour-ent couru couru-s
ouvr-ir 4 to open ouvrir-ai ouvr-e, ouvr-es, ouvr-e ouvr-ons ouvr-ent ouvert ouvri-s 5
cueill-ir to gather cueiller-ai cueill-e, cueill-es, cueill-e cueill-ons cueill-ent cueilli cueilli-s 5
asse-oir to sit assiér-ai; assoir-ai assied-s, assied;2 assoi-s assey-ons; assoy-ons assey-ent; assoi-ent assis assi-s 5
envoy-er 4 to send enverr-ai envoi-e3 envoy-ons3 envoi-ent3 envoyé envoy-ai 5
voir 4 to see verr-ai voi-s voy-ons voi-ent3 vu vi-s
recev-oir 4 to receive recevr-ai reçoi-s recev-ons reçoiv-ent reçu reçu-s
dev-oir to owe, must devr-ai doi-s dev-ons doiv-ent du-s
mouv-oir to move mouvr-ai meu-s mouv-ons meuv-ent mu-s
émouv-oir 4 to move, affect émouvr-ai émeu-s émouv-ons émeuv-ent ému ému-s
choir 4 to fall choir-ai; cherr-ai choi-s choy-ons choi-ent3 chu chu-s
pleuv-oir to rain pleuvr-a pleu-t (stem) pleuv- (stem) pleuv- plu plu-t 5
vend-re 4 to sell vendr-ai vend-s, vend2 vend-ons vend-ent vendu vendi-s 5
batt-re to beat battr-ai bat-s, bat2 batt-ons batt-ent battu batti-s 5
romp-re to break rompr-ai romp-s romp-ons romp-ent rompu rompi-s 5
vainc-re 4 to conquer vaincr-ai vainc-s, vainc vainqu-ons vainqu-ent vaincu vainqui-s 5
craind-re 4 to fear craindr-ai crain-s craign-ons craign-ent craint craign-is
condui-re 4 to lead conduir-ai condui-s conduis-ons conduis-ent conduit conduisi-s
trai-re 4 to milk trair-ai trai-s tray-ons3 trai-ent3 trai-t tray-ai 5
prend-re 4 to take prendr-ai prend-s, prend2 pren-ons prenn-ent pris pri-s
mett-re 4 to put mettr-ai met-s, met2 mett-ons mett-ent mis mi-s
écri-re 4 to write écrir-ai écri-s écriv-ons écriv-ent écrit écrivi-s
boi-re to drink boir-ai boi-s buv-ons boiv-ent bu bu-s
di-re 4 to say, tell dir-ai di-s dis-ons, dites dis-ent dit di-s
li-re to read lir-ai li-s lis-ons lis-ent lu lu-s
suffi-re 4 to suffice suffir-ai suffi-s suffis-ons suffis-ent suffi suffi-s
plai-re 4 to please plair-ai plai-s, plaît plais-ons plais-ent plu plu-s 5
croi-re to believe croir-ai croi-s croy-ons3 croi-ent3 cru cru-s
brui-re to make a low noise bruir-ai brui-t (stem) bruiss- bruiss-ent brui brui-t
maudi-re to curse maudir-ai maudi-t maudiss-ons maudiss-ent maudit maudi-t 5
ri-re 4 to laugh rir-ai ri-s ri-ons ri-ent ri ri-s
conclu-re 4 to conclude conclur-ai conclu-s conclu-ons conclu-ent conclu conclu-s
viv-re 4 to live vivr-ai vi-s viv-ons viv-ent vécu vécu-s
suiv-re 4 to follow suivr-ai sui-s suiv-ons suiv-ent suivi suivi-s
connaît-re 4 to know connaîtr-ai connai-s, connaît connaiss-ons connaiss-ent connu connu-s 5
naît-re to be born naîtr-ai nai-s, naît naiss-ons naiss-ent naqui-s 5
coud-re to sew coudr-ai coud-s, coud2 cous-ons cous-ent cousu cousi-s
moud-re to grind, mill moudr-ai moud-s, moud2 moul-ons moul-ent moulu moulu-s
résoud-re to solve, resolve résoudr-ai résou-s résolv-ons résolv-ent résolu résolu-s
absoud-re to solve, absolve absoudr-ai absou-s absolv-ons absolv-ent absous, absoute absolu-s 5
clo-re to close clor-ai clo-s, clôt clos-ons clos-ent clos 5

1 Only in Quebec French.
2 The ending -t is regularly dropped when directly following a d or t (e.g. il vend "he sells", not *il vendt).
3 Alternation of "-ai-" and -oi- before consonant or unstressed e, "-ay-" and -oy- before other vowels is automatic in all verbs.
4 See following table for similar verbs.
5 See following table for notes.

choisir Note: How a regular -ir verb would be represented by its principal parts

There are about 300 verbs in -ir

haïr Note: The same as a regular -ir verb but in Sing. pres. indic. the diaeresis drops out
partir Note: Sing. pres. indic. stem drops last consonant of basic stem: je pars, dors, mens, sors, sens, sers /ʒ(ə) paʁ, dɔʁ, mɑ̃, sɔʁ, sɑ̃, sɛʁ/

Similarly conjugated verbs: se départir "divest", repartir "leave again", dormir "sleep", s'endormir "fall asleep", se rendormir "fall back asleep", mentir "lie (tell lies)", démentir "contradict", sentir "feel", consentir "agree", pressentir "foresee", ressentir "feel", servir "serve", desservir "clear away", resservir "serve again", sortir "go out", ressortir "come back"

vêtir Note: The same as partir, except for the past participle

Similar: dévêtir "undress", revêtir "cover"

venir Note simple past plural vînmes, vîntes, vinrent /vɛ̃m, vɛ̃t, vɛ̃ʁ/

Similar: revenir "return", devenir "become", se souvenir "remember", parvenir "reach", prévenir "tell beforehand"; tenir "hold", retenir "memorize", contretenir "talk", soutenir "sustain", maintenir "maintain", appartenir "belong", etc.

ouvrir Note: Sing. pres. indic. uses endings -e -es -e, as with -er verbs

Similar: couvrir "cover", découvrir "discover", offrir "offer", souffrir "suffer"

cueillir Note: Like ouvrir except the future; sing. pres. indic. uses endings -e -es -e, as with -er verbs
asseoir Notice that there are two sets of conjugations.
envoyer Note: 1st group verb

Similar: renvoyer "resend"

voir Similar: revoir "see again", prévoir "foresee"
recevoir Similar: Other verbs in -cevoir, e.g. apercevoir "perceive", concevoir "conceive", décevoir "disappoint"
devoir Note: Very similar to recevoir, but adds a circumflex to du to distinguish it from the partitive article du - due, dus and dues remain unchanged
mouvoir Adds a circumflex to mu to distinguish it from the Greek letter mu (μ) - mue, mus and mues remain unchanged
émouvoir Similar: promouvoir "promote"
choir Missing the indicative imperfect and the subjunctive mood (except by chût, in singular 3rd person imperfect subjunctive)

Similar: échoir "befall"

pleuvoir Impersonal (3rd-singular only)
vendre So-called "regular -re" verbs; all end in -dre, but not -indre

Similar: attendre "wait", défendre "defend", descendre "go down", entendre "hear", étendre "extend", fondre "melt", pendre "hang", perdre "lose", prétendre "pretend", rendre "return, give back", répandre "spill", répondre "respond", etc.

battre Close to vendre
rompre Very close to vendre
vaincre Essentially same as vendre, except for c/qu variation

Similar: convaincre "convince"

craindre Similar: All verbs in -aindre, -eindre, -oindre, e.g. contraindre "compel", plaindre "complain"; atteindre "reach", ceindre "gird", empreindre "stamp", éteindre "turn off", étreindre "hug", feindre "pretend", geindre "whine", peindre "paint", restreindre "restrict", teindre "dye"; joindre "join", oindre "anoint", poindre "dawn", rejoindre "rejoin"
conduire Similar: All verbs in -uire e.g. construire "build", cuire "cook", détruire "destroy", instruire "instruct", réduire "reduce", produire "produce", traduire "translate", etc.
traire PS is conjugated as in 1st group verbs.

Similar: contraire "contract", extraire "extract", soustraire "subtract", retraire "withdraw"

prendre Similar: comprendre "understand", apprendre "study", reprendre "take again", etc.
mettre Similar: promettre "promise", permettre "permit", compromettre "compromise, damage", soumettre "submit, subdue", transmettre "transmit"
écrire Similar: décrire "describe", inscrire "inscribe"
suffire Similar: confire "pickle", circoncire "circumcise", frire "fry"
plaire Note the 3rd sg. plaît

Similar: déplaire "displease"

bruire Rare outside of third person, conjugated like choisir (regular -ir verbs)
maudire Very close to bruire
rire Similar: sourire "smile"
conclure Similar: Other verbs in -clure
vivre Similar: revivre "come alive again", survivre "survive"
suivre Similar: poursuivre "pursue"
connaître note the 3rd sg. connaît

Similar: reconnaître "recognize", paraître "seem", apparaître "appear", reparaître "reappear", disparaître "disappear"

naître Note the 3rd sg. naît
absoudre The same as résoudre, except for the past participle. Note the masculine absous and feminine absoute
clore Missing the subjunctive and indicative imperfect, as well as the simple past tense. Note the 3rd sg. clôt

Example

Infinitive: recevoir "to receive"
INF: recev-
1S: reçoi-
1P: recev-
3P: reçoiv-
FUT: recevr-
PP: reçu-
PAST: reçu-

 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple Past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
je reçoi-s reçu-s recev-ais recevr-ai reçoiv-e reçu-sse recevr-ais
tu recevr-as reçoiv-es reçu-sses reçoi-s
il/elle reçoi-t reçu-t recev-ait recevr-a reçoiv-e reçû-t recevr-ait
nous recev-ons reçû-mes recev-ions recevr-ons recev-ions reçu-ssions recevr-ions recev-ons
vous recev-ez reçû-tes recev-iez recevr-ez recev-iez reçu-ssiez recevr-iez recev-ez
ils/elles reçoiv-ent reçu-rent recev-aient recevr-ont reçoiv-ent reçu-ssent recevr-aient

Present participle: recev-ant
Past participle: reçu

Verbs with irregular subjunctive stem

There are nine verbs which have an irregular subjunctive stem. These verbs are generally the most irregular verbs in French. With them the 3P stem plays no role and the 1S stem is little use in inferring the present indicative inflections. Many of them construct the present indicative (especially the singular) in an idiosyncratic fashion. The verb aller also constructs its past participle and simple past differently, according to the endings for -er verbs.

A feature with these verbs is the competition between the SUBJ stem and the 1P stem to control the first and second plural present subjunctive, the imperative and the present participle, in ways that vary from verb to verb.

The paradigm taking into account the subjunctive stem is shown in the following table. The keys 1S etc are as for the 7 principal part irregular verbs. In addition SUBJ stands for first person singular present subjunctive stem.

Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
je 1S+s PAST+s 1P+ais FUT+ai SUBJ+e PAST+sse FUT+ais
tu FUT+as SUBJ+es PAST+sses 1S+s / 1S+t1 or SUBJ+e
il/elle 1S+t PAST+t 1P+ait FUT+a SUBJ+e PAST+ˆt FUT+ait
nous 1P+ons PAST+ˆmes 1P+ions FUT+ons SUBJ+ions or 1P+ions PAST+ssions FUT+ions 1P+ons or SUBJ+ons
vous 1P+ez PAST+ˆtes 1P+iez FUT+ez SUBJ+iez or 1P+iez PAST+ssiez FUT+iez 1P+ez or SUBJ+ez
ils/elles 3P+ent PAST+rent 1P+aient FUT+ont SUBJ+ent PAST+ssent FUT+aient

1 +t if ends with vowel, else +s
Present participle: 1P-ant or SUBJ-ant
Past participle: PP(e)(s)

The following table gives the principal parts of the nine verbs. Stems that are irregular in the sense of being unpredictable by the above rules are shown in boldface. The column headed 1/2 Plural tells whether the subjunctive 1st and 2nd person plural follow the subjunctive stem or the 1P indicative stem. Likewise the Imperative column and the Present Participle column. Still there are irregularites where the inflections depart from the paradigm. These cases are indicated with an asterisk and the exceptional inflections are listed separately.

Table of the highly irregular French verbs
INF Meaning FUT 1P Present Subjunctive Imperative Present Participle PP PAST
SUBJ 1/2 Plural
pouv-oir be able, can pourr-ai pouv-ons puiss-e SUBJ+... 1P+... 1P+ant2 pu pu-s
sav-oir know saur-ai sav-ons sach-e SUBJ+... SUBJ+... SUBJ+ant su su-s
voul-oir want voudr-ai voul-ons veuill-e 1P+... SUBJ+... 1P+ant voulu voulu-s
val-oir be worth vaudr-ai val-ons vaill-e 1P+... 1P+...* 1P+ant valu valu-s
fall-oir be necessary faudr-a (stem) fall- faill-e fallu fallu-t 2
fai-re1 do fer-ai fais-ons* fass-e SUBJ+... 1P+... 1P+ant fait fi-s
av-oir have aur-ai av-ons ai-e SUBJ+...* SUBJ+... SUBJ+ant eu eu-s
êt-re be ser-ai (stem) ét- (stem) soi- SUBJ+...* SUBJ+...* 1P+ant été fu-s
all-er go ir-ai all-ons aill-e 1P+... 1P+...* 1P+ant allé all-ai

* See following table for exceptions.

Exceptions
pouvoir Indicative present je peux, tu peux, il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent
savoir Indicative present je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils savent
vouloir Indicative present je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent
valoir Indicative present je vaux, tu vaux, il vaut, nous valons, vous valez, ils valent
valoir Imperative vaux! valons! valez!
falloir Indicative present il faut
faire Indicative present je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font
faire Imperative fais! faisons! faites!
avoir Indicative present j' ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont
avoir Subjunctive j'aie, tu aies, il aie, nous ayons, vous ayez, ils aient
avoir Imperative aie! ayons! ayez!
être Indicative present je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont
être Subjunctive je sois, tu sois, il soit; nous soyons, vous soyez, ils soient
être Imperative sois! soyons! soyez!
aller Indicative present je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont 3
aller Imperative va! allons! allez! 2

1 See following table for similar verbs.
2 See following table for notes.
3 In Classical French and even in certain dialects (like in Cajun and some Quebec dialects) je vas is used.

pouvoir alternate 1st sing. puis required in questions, use elsewhere is mannered; note that old pres. part. puiss-ant is attested as an adjective "powerful"
falloir Impersonal (3rd-singular only)
faire Similarly conjugated verbs: défaire, refaire, satisfaire
aller 2nd. sg. imperat. va, but vas-y "go there"

Appendix. Conjugation of Avoir, Être and Aller

Avoir

This verb has different stems for different tenses. These are imperfect av- ; present subjunctive ai- future and conditional aur-; simple past and past subjunctive e-. Although the stem changes, the inflections of these tenses are as a regular -oir verb.

In the present, not only are there stem changes, but the inflections are irregular as well:

Avoir "to have"
 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple Past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
j' ai eus avais aurai aie eusse aurais
tu as auras aies eusses aie1
il/elle/on a eut avait aura ait eût aurait
nous avons eûmes avions aurons ayons eussions aurions ayons1
vous avez eûtes aviez aurez ayez eussiez auriez ayez1
ils/elles ont eurent avaient auront aient eussent auraient

1 Notice that the imperative form uses the subjunctive conjugation.

Non-finite forms:

  • Infinitive: avoir
  • Present participle: ayant
  • Past participle: eu

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Être

This verb has different stems for different tenses. These are all pronounced differently: imperfect ét-; present subjunctive soi-; future and conditional ser-; simple past and past subjunctive in f-. The inflections of these tenses are as a regular -oir verb (that is, as an -re verb but with the vowel u /y/ in the f- forms). For example, subjunctive soyons, soyez is pronounced with the y sound of other -re and -oir verbs.

In the simple present, not only are there stem changes, but the inflections are irregular as well:

Être "to be"
 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
je suis fus étais serai sois fusse serais
tu es seras fusses sois1
il/elle/on est fut était sera soit fût serait
nous sommes fûmes étions serons soyons fussions serions soyons1
vous êtes fûtes étiez serez soyez fussiez seriez soyez1
ils/elles sont furent étaient seront soient fussent seraient

1 The imperative form uses the subjunctive conjugation.

The non-finite forms use the stem êt- /ɛt/ (before a consonant)/ét- /et/ (before a vowel):

  • Infinitive: être
  • Present participle: étant
  • Past participle: été

Auxiliary verb: avoir

Aller

The verb aller means "to go" and is sufficiently irregular that it merits listing its conjugation in full. It is the only verb with the first group ending "er" to have an irregular conjugation. It belongs to none of the three sections of the third group, and is often categorized on its own. The verb has different stems for different tenses. These are all pronounced differently: past all- /al/ (simple past, imperfect, past subjunctive); present subjunctive aill-; conditional and future ir-. The inflections of these tenses are completely regular, and pronounced as in any other -er verb. However, in the simple present, not only are there stem changes, but the inflections are irregular as well:

Aller "to go"
 
Indicative Subjunctive Conditional Imperative
Present Simple past Imperfect Future Present Imperfect Present Present
je vais, vas1 allai allais irai aille allasse irais
tu vas allas iras ailles allasses va
il/elle/on va alla allait ira aille allât irait
nous allons allâmes allions irons allions allassions irions allons
vous allez allâtes alliez irez alliez allassiez iriez allez
ils/elles vont allèrent allaient iront aillent allassent iraient

The non-finite forms are all based on all- :

  • Infinitive: aller
  • Present participle: allant
  • Past participle: allé

Auxiliary verb: être

1 In Classical French and even in certain dialects (like in Cajun and some Quebec dialects) je vas is used.

See also

  • Bescherelle, a reference book for (usually French) verb conjugation

Notes

References

  1. ^ Le nouveau Bescherelle: L'art de conjuguer, 1972, pp. 10
  • Larousse de la conjugaison, 1980.