FRENCH CLASS: Mr BOTI

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs follow no specific rules for verb conjugation, so you must memorize each one. Use the following tables as
a reference for the irregular verbs you need the most.

The 4 Most Common Irregular Verbs

Être (To Be) Avoir (To Have) Aller (To Go) Faire (To Do/to Make)
Je suis (I am) J’ai (I have) Je vais (I go) Je fais (I do)
Tu es (You are) Tu as (You have) Tu vas (You go) Tu fais (You do)
Il/Elle/On est Il/Elle/On a Il/Elle/On va Il/Elle/On fait
(He/She/One is) (He/She/One has) (He/She/One goes) (He/She/One does)
Nous sommes (We are) Nous avons (We have) Nous allons (We go) Nous faisons (We do)
Vous êtes (You are) Vous avez (You have) Vous allez (You go) Vous faites (You do)
Ils/Elles sont (They are) Ils/Elles ont (They Ils/elles vont (They go) Ils/Elles font (They do)
have)

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are a very special type of verb in French. They are a type of helping verb that modifies the “mood”
of the unconjugated verb that comes afterward, which is a fancy way to say that these verbs indicate ability,
possibility, desire or necessity. For
example, the verbs vouloir (to want), pouvoir (to be able to/can) devoir (to have to/must) and savoir (to know)
are all modal verbs. Check out their conjugations:

Vouloir (to want) Pouvoir (to be able to/can) Devoir (to have Savoir (to know)
to/must)

Je veux (I want) Je peux (I can) Je dois (I have to) Je sais (I know)

Tu veux (you want)
Il/Elle veut (he/she
wants)
Nous voulons (we want)
Vous voulez (you want)
Ils/Elles veulent (they
want)
Tu peux (you can)
Il/Elle peut (he/she can)
Nous pouvons (we can)
Vous pouvez (you can)
Ils/Elles peuvent (they
can)
Tu dois (you have to) Tu sais (you know)
Il/Elle doit (he/she has Il/Elle sait (he knows)
to) Nous savons (we know)
Nous devons (we have Vous savez (you know)
to) Ils/Elles savent (they
Vous devez (you have know)
to)
Ils/Elles doivent (they
have to)

Irregular -ER Stem-changing Verbs:

Those –er verbs you thought you had all figured out aren’t quite so regular after all. But worry not, there are
only a few exceptions. In fact, these irregularities are called stem changes, and rather than being irregular verbs
completely, they are simply a sub-class of -er verbs.

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FRENCH CLASS: Mr BOTI
A stem change happens when the root of the verb (the base of the verb without -er) sees a spelling change
before regular -er conjugation takes place.

Below are the conjugations for the irregular, stem-changing –er verbs appeler (to call) and manger (to eat).

Appeler (to call) Manger (to eat)

J’appelle (I call) Je mange (I eat)
Tu appelles (you call) Tu manges (you eat)
Il/Elle appelle (he/she calls) Il/Elle mange (he/she eats)
Nous appelons (we call) Nous mangeons (we eat)
Vous appelez (you call) – formal/plural Vous mangez (you eat) – formal/plural
Ils/Elles appellent (they call) – masculine/feminine Ils/Elles mangent (they eat) – masculine/feminine

With appeler, we double the “l” in certain
conjugations to keep the longer -e sound before the
“l.” If there were no double “l,” the preceding e
would become a short e sound, which is not the
correct pronunciation. This same doubling-up
happens with other verbs, as well such as rappeler
(to call back) and jeter (to throw).
In the case of manger, the nous form of the verb
adds an e to keep the soft pronunciation of the letter
“g”—like the “g” in the English word “regime”
(which, incidentally, comes from a French word
anyway).
Because of this, most verbs that end in –ger keep
their e in the nous form to keep that “g” sound.
Some other verbs that have this same change
include bouger (to move), corriger (to correct) and
voyager (to travel).

Irregular -IR Verbs:

–er verbs aren’t the only regular verbs with irregular exceptions. It’s like you’re looking for toilet paper, but it
turns out it isn’t just missing from the bathroom, there’s no toilet paper to be found in your entire house.

I’m taking this a little too far… I apologize.

Tenir (to keep) Venir (to come) Ouvrir (to open)

Je tiens (I keep)
Tu tiens (you keep)
Il/Elle tient (he/she keeps)
Nous tenons (we keep)
Vous tenez (you keep) –
formal/plural
Ils/Elles tiennent (they keep) –
masculine/feminine
Some other verbs conjugated like
these two include devenir (to
become), obtenir (to obtain) and
appartenir (to belong to).
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Je viens (I come)
Tu viens (you come)
Il/Elle vient (he/she comes)
Nous venons (we come)
Vous venez (you come) –
formal/plural
Ils/Elles viennent (they come) –
masculine/feminine
J’ouvre (I open)
Tu ouvres (you open)
Il/Elle ouvre (he/she opens)
Nous ouvrons (we open)
Vous ouvrez (you open) –
formal/plural
Ils/Elles ouvrent (they open) –
masculine/feminine
The verb ouvrir (to open) is
different from a regular -ir verb
because it’s conjugated like an –
er verb. Other verbs that are
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conjugated like this include
découvrir (to discover) and
couvrir (to cover).

Voir (to see)
Je vois (I see)
Tu vois (you see)
Il/Elle voit (he/she sees)
Nous voyons (we see)
Vous voyez (you see) –
formal/plural
Ils/Elles voient (they
see) –
masculine/feminine
Recevoir (to receive)
C cedilla Ç
Je reçois (I receive)
Tu reçois (you receive)
Il/Elle reçoit (he/she
receives)
Nous recevons (we
receive)
Vous recevez (you
receive) – formal/plural
Ils/Elles reçoivent (they
receive) –
masculine/feminine
Je reçois mes invités.= I’m
receiving my guests
Prendre (to take)
Je prends (I take)
Tu prends (you take)
Il/Elle prend (he/she
takes)
Nous prenons (we take)
Vous prenez (you take) –
formal/plural
Ils/Elles prennent (they
take) –
masculine/feminine.
J’apprends le français.=I’m
learning french.
Je comprends=I understand
Apprendre (to learn)
J’apprends (I learn)
Tu apprends (you learn)
Il/Elle apprend (he/she
learns)
Nous apprenons (we
learn)
Vous apprenez (you
learn) – formal/plural
Ils apprennent (they
learn) –
masculine/feminine.
Other verbs conjugated like
these two
include comprendre (to
understand)
and surprendre (to
surprise).

Rire (to laugh) Dire (to say/ to tell) Écrire (to write) Lire (to read)
Je ris (I laugh) Je dis (I say) J’écris (I write) Je lis (I read)
Tu ris (you laugh) Tu dis (you say) Tu écris (you write) Tu lis (you read)
Il/Elle rit (he/she Il/Elle dit (he/she says) Il/Elle écrit (he/she writes) Il/Elle lit (he/she reads)
laughs) Nous disons (we say) Nous écrivons (we write) Nous lisons (we read)
Nous rions (we laugh) Vous dites (you say) – Vous écrivez (you write) – Vous lisez (you read) –
Vous riez (you laugh) – formal/plural formal/plural formal/plural
formal/plural Ils/Elles disent (they say) Ils/Elles écrivent (they Ils/Elles lisent (they
Ils/Elles rient (they – masculine/feminine write) – read) –
laugh) – masculine/feminine masculine/feminine
masculine/feminine J’écris en français.=I write in Je lis un livre.= I read a
french. book. / I’m reading a book
Croire (to believe) and boire (to drink) are two more irregular verbs we can pair together. While their
conjugations aren’t identical, they’re similar.

Croire (to believe) Boire (to drink)

Je crois (I believe) Je bois (I drink)
Tu crois (you believe) Tu bois (you drink)
Il/Elle croit (he/she believes) Il/Elle boit (he/she drinks)
Nous croyons (we believe) Nous buvons (we drink)
Vous croyez (you believe) – formal/plural Vous buvez (you drink) – formal/plural
Ils/Elles croient (they believe) – masculine/feminine Ils/elles boivent (they drink) – masculine/feminine
Je crois en toi./en Dieu. = I believe in you/ in God. Je bois de l’eau.=I’m drinking some water
Je veux boire de l’eau.= I want to drink some water.
And the following are miscellaneous irregular –re verbs. The first two are almost regular -re verbs, but they
drop an extra letter in their je, tu, il and elle forms.

Battre (to hit/ to beat/ to beat up) Mettre (to put)

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Je bats (I hit) Je mets (I put)
Tu bats (you hit) Tu mets (you put)
Il/Elle bat (he/she hits) Il/Elle met (he/she puts)
Nous battons (we hit) Nous mettons (we put)
Vous battez (you hit) – formal/plural Vous mettez (you put) – formal/plural
Ils/elles battent (they hit) – masculine/feminine Ils mettent (they put) – masculine/feminine
Other verbs conjugated like mettre include admettre
(to admit), permettre (to permit) and promettre (to
promise).

Vivre (to live)

Je vis (I live) Je vis à Bangalore.= I live in Bangalore.

Tu vis (you live)

Il/Elle vit (he/she lives)

Nous vivons (we live)

Vous vivez (you live) – formal/plural
Ils/Elles vivent (they live) – masculine/feminine

Elle s’appelle Caroline. //// il s’appelle Henry.

Elle a vingt ans. //// il a vingt ans.

Elle est étudiante/ infirmière/ avocate. /// il est étudiant/ infirmier/ avocat.
Elle est allemande. Elle vient de Berlin. //// il est allemand. Il vient de Berlin.
Elle travaille dans un hôpital. //// il travaille dans un hôpital.
Elle est grande et belle. //// il est grand et beau.

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