First you need to know this
As in a lot of languages verb conjugation in French is a little science on its own and can get a bit complicated at times. You can conjugate verbs for person, number, tense, mood, and voice. But do not think about how difficult this sounds.
Ooh la la! You might think, but hold on to your bibi. It can be difficult at first, but when you overcome that barrier of conjugating your first 10 French verbs, you will feel like a true baguette.
Properly conjugating verbs is crucial for effective communication in French. The first bit can seem a bit boring and abstract, but hang in there for me, and you will conjugate with ease in no time
Conjugating for person and number
French verbs are conjugated to match the person (who is performing the action) and the number (singular or plural) of the subject. The main persons are first person (I), second person (you), and third person (he/she/it/they). For example:
- 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, masculine/feminine)
Conjugating for Tense
French verbs are conjugated in different tenses to indicate when an action occurred or will occur. Common tenses include the present, past (such as passé composé), future, conditional, and more.
- Présent (Present): Je parle (I speak).
- Passé Composé (Past): J’ai parlé (I spoke).
- Futur Simple (Future): Je parlerai (I will speak).
- Conditionnel (Conditional): Je parlerais (I would speak).
Conjugating for Mood
French verbs can be in different moods, such as indicative (used for stating facts), imperative (used for giving commands), subjunctive (used for expressing doubt or desire), and conditional (used for hypothetical situations).
- Indicatif (Indicative): Je parle (I speak).
- Impératif (Imperative): Parle ! (Speak!).
- Subjonctif (Subjunctive): Il faut que je parle (I must speak).
- Conditionnel (Conditional): Je parlerais (I would speak).
Conjugating for Voice
French verbs can be in active voice (the subject performs the action) or passive voice (the subject receives the action). The passive voice is less common in French than in English.
- Voix Active (Active Voice):
- Il mange la pomme
- He eats the apple
- Voix Passive (Passive Voice)
- La pomme est mangée par lui
- The apple is eaten by him
Four main French verb groups
French verbs can be classified into three main regular conjugating verb groups based on their infinitive endings: -er verbs, -ir verbs, and -re verbs. Each group follows a distinct conjugation pattern.
- -er Verbs: Examples include for example parler (to speak) and manger (to eat).
- -ir Verbs: Examples include finir (to finish) and partir (to leave).
- -re Verbs: Examples include vendre (to sell) and prendre (to take).
Additionally, there are a number of irregular conjugating verbs like for example, être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), faire (to do/make), pouvoir (to be able to/can) and vouloir (to want). Here is a list of the 25 most common irregular French verbs
Present, past and other tenses in French
French has a lot of tenses to conjugate for, but do not be frightened. The less used a tense is, the less the verbs differ from each other. For example, for the imperfect subjunctive In other words, when you learn the present tense and a past tense for a given verb, you have enough to have a normal conversation in French. Here are all the different tenses and how they are used.
Summary of French verb tenses
| Most used | |||
| Présent (Present) | Actions happening now or general truths | Ex: Je parle français (I speak French) | Full article |
| Imparfait (Imperfect past tense) | Ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions in the past | Ex: Nous parlions souvent (We used to talk often) | Full article |
| Futur Simple (Simple Future) | Actions that will happen in the future | Ex: Tu parleras bien français (You will speak French well) | Full article |
| Passé Composé (Compound Past tense) | Completed actions in the past | Ex: J’ai mangé une pomme (I ate an apple) | Full article |
| Conditionnel Présent (Present Conditional) | Hypothetical or polite requests | Ex: Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît (I would like a coffee, please) | Full article |
| Subjonctif Présent (Present Subjunctive) |
Used when expressing doubt, uncertainty, or subjective feelings | Ex: Il faut que tu viennes (It is necessary that you come) | Full article |
| More future tenses | |||
| Futur Proche (Near Future) | Actions that are going to happen soon | Ex: Je vais manger (I am going to eat) | Full article |
| Futur antérieur (future perfect) | Future actions that are completed before other future actions | Ex: Elle aura déménagé avant que nous arrivions (She will have moved before we arrive) | Full article |
| More past tenses | |||
| Passé Récent (Recent Past) | Action that has just occurred | Ex: Je viens de manger (I have just eaten) |
Full article |
| Passé simple (simple past) | Completed actions in the past, used in formal writing | Ex: Victor Hugo écrivit “Les Misérables” en 1862 (Victor Hugo wrote “Les Misérables” in 1862) | Full article |
| Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) | Actions that occurred before another past action | Ex: J’avais déjà mangé quand tu es arrivé (I had already eaten when you arrived) | Full article |
| Conditionnel Passé (Past Conditional) | Hypothetical actions in the past | Ex: J’aurais aimé visiter Paris (I would have liked to visit Paris) | Full article |
| Past subjunctive | Used when expressing doubt about actions in the past |
Il faut que tu aies fini avant midi. (It’s necessary that you have finished before noon) |
Full article |
| Pluperfect subjunctive | express actions that are uncertain and that occurred before another action or event in the past |
Il fallait que j’eusse fini avant midi(It was necessary that I had finished before noon) |
Full article |
| Passé Antérieur (Past anterior) | Actions that occurred before another action in the past | Ex: Quand il eut fini son travail, il partit (When he had finished his work, he left) | Full article |
| Imperfect subjunctive | Express uncertainty, desire and wishes in the past | Je voulais que tu fasses tes devoirs avant de sortir (I wanted you to do your homework before going out) |
Full article |