Common Irregular French Verbs

aller – to go
Je vais
Tu vas
Il/Elle va
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils/Elles vont
Past Participle – allé

avoir – to have
J’ai
Tu as
Il/Elle a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils/Elles ont
Past Participle – eu

dire – to say, to tell

Je dis
Tu dis
Il/Elle dit
Nous disons
Vous dites
Ils/Elles disent
Past Participle – dit
être – to be
Je suis
Tu es
Il/Elle est
Nous sommes
Vous êtes
Ils/Elles sont
Past Participle – été
faire – to make, to do
Je fais
Tu fais
Il/Elle fait
Nous faisons
Vous faites
Ils/Elles – font
Past Participle – fait
falloir – to be necessary
Il faut
Past Participle – fallu
pouvoir – to be able to do
Je peux
Tu peux
Il/Elle peut
Nous pouvons
Vous pouvez
Ils/Elles peuvent
Past Participle – pu
savoir – to know, to know how to
Je sais
Tu sais
Il/Elle sait
Nous savons
Vous savez
Ils/Elles savent
Past Participle – su
voir – to see
Je vois
Tu vois
Il/Elle voit
Nous voyons
Vous voyez
Ils/Elles voient
Past Participle – vu
vouloir – to want to
Je veux
Tu veux
Il/Elle veut
Nous voulons
Vous voulez
Ils/Elles veulent
Past Participle – voulu
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Verbs Like Prendre

Verbs ending in –prendre are all conjugated like prendre:
Je prends
Tu prends
Il/Elle prend
Nous prenons
Vous prenez
Ils/Elles prennent
Past Participle – pris
 apprendre – to learn
 comprendre – to understand
 entreprendre – to undertake
 méprendre – to mistake
 prendre – to take
 reprendre – to retake, to take again
 surprendre – to surprise
Verbs Like Mettre
Mettre and the verbs ending in –mettre all follow the same pattern of
conjugation.
Je mets
Tu mets
Il/Elle met
Nous mettons
Vous mettez
Ils/Elles mettent
Past Participle – mis
 admettre – to admit
 comettre – to commit
 compromettre – to compromise
 mettre – to put, to place
 permettre – to permit
 promettre – to promise
 remettre – to turn in work, to postpone
 soumettre – to submit
 transmettre – to transmit
Verbs Like Tenir and Venir
Tenir and venir are two similar verbs that have their own pattern of
conjugation.
Je tiens
Tu tiens
Il/Elle tient
Nous tenons
Vous tenez
Ils/Elles tiennent
Past Participle – tenu
Je viens
Tu viens
Il/Elle vient
Nous venons
Vous venez
Ils/Elles viennent
Past Participle – venu
 abstenir – to refrain, to abstain from
 advenir – to happen
 appartenir – to belong to
 circonvenir – to circumvent
 contenir – to contain
 convenir – to suit, to be suitable
 détenir – to detain
 devenir – to become
 entretenir – to look after, to support
 intrevenir – to intervene
 maintenir – to maintain
 obtenir – to obtain
 parvenir – to reach, to achieve
 prévenir – to warn
 retenir – to retain
 soutenir – to support
 souvenir – to remember
 subvenir – to provide for
 survenir – to occur, to take place
 tenir – to hold, to keep
 venir – to come
Verbs Like Manger
Verbs ending in -ger have a spelling change in the nous form of the
verb. An extra -e is added to keep the -g sound soft.
Je mange
Tu manges
Il/Elle mange
Nous mangeons
Vous mangez
Ils/Elles mangent
Past Participle – mangé
 bouger – to move
 changer – to change
 corriger – to correct
 décourager – to discourage
 déménager – to move
 déranger – to disturb
 diriger – to direct
  encourager – to encourage
 engager – to bind
 exiger – to demand
 juger – to judge
 loger – to lodge
 manger – to eat
 mélanger – to mix
 nager – to swim
 obliger – to oblige
 partager – to share
 rédiger – to write
 voyager – to travel
Verbs Like Lancer
Verbs like lancer that end in -cer also have a spelling change in the
nous form. The -c is changed to a -ç to maintain a soft -c sound.
Je lance
Tu lances
Il/Elle lance
Nous lançons
Vous lancez
Ils/Elles lancent
Past Participle – lancé
 annoncer – to announce
 avancer – to advance
 commencer – to commence
 dénoncer – to denounce
 divorcer – to divorce
 effacer – to erase
 lancer – to throw
 menacer – to threaten
 placer – to put
 prononcer – to pronounce
 remplacer – to replace
 renoncer – to renounce
Verbs Like Payer
Verbs ending in -yer change the -y to an -i in the je, tu, il, and ils forms.
Je paie
Tu paies
Il/Elle paie
Nous payons
Vous payez
Ils/Elles paient
Past Participle – payé
 aboyer – to bark
  balayer – to sweep
 effrayer – to frighten
 s’ennuyer – to be bored
 envoyer – to send
 essayer – to try
 essuyer – to wipe
 nettoyer – to clean
 payer – to pay
 renvoyer – to send back, to fire
Verbs Like Acheter
Some verbs, like acheter, change the -e in the root to -è in the je, tu, il,
and ils forms.
J’achète
Tu achètes
Il/Elle achète
Nous achetons
Vous achetez
Ils/Elles achètent
Past Participle – acheté
 acheter – to buy
 amener – to bring
 enlever – to take of
 espérer – to hope
 geler – to freeze
 se lever – to get up
 posséder – to own
 préférer – to prefer
 se promener – to take a stroll
 répéter – to repeat
 suggérer – to suggest
Verbs Like Appeler
Finally, there are verbs like appeler that have a doubled final consonant
in the je, tu, il, and ils forms.
J’appelle
Tu appelles
Il/Elle appelle
Nous appelons
Vous appelez
Ils/Elles appellent
Past Participle – appelé
 appeler – to call
 épeler – to spell out
 étinceler – to sparkle
 feuilleter – to leaf through a book
 jeter – to jump
 renouveler – to renew