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Initiation aux verbes
Verbs are action words that express the action (He runs) or state of being (I am tired) of a sentence. They are one of the main parts of speech.
French verbs have to be “conjugated” or “inflected”; that is, changed according to how they are used. They have up to six different conjugations for each tense and mood.
The basic form of a verb is called the infinitive and is the name of the verb. The English infinitive is “to” followed by a verb, while the French infinitive is a single word with one of three infinitive endings (-er, –ir, or –re). These can then be further divided into regular verbs, which follow a standard pattern of verb conjugations, and irregular verbs, which don’t:
| 1. | -er | parler | (to speak) | Regular -er verbs | Irregular -er verbs |
| 2. | -ir | finir | (to finish) | Regular -ir verbs | Irregular -ir verbs |
| 3. | -re | vendre | (to sell) | Regular -re verbs | Irregular -re verbs |
When you encounter a new verb, be sure to learn its infinitive, which is used as the basis for just about everything you do with it. (The French Verb Deconjugator can help!)
Most French verbs are conjugated by removing the infinitive ending to find the "radical" or "root" (e.g.,
French Verb Conjugations
- What is verb conjugation?
- Regular -er verbs
- Regular -ir verbs
- Regular -re verbs
- Top 10 irregular verbs
- Tenses, moods, voices
- Verb conjugation tables
- Verb types: Action, State-of-being, Auxiliary
Related lessons
French for beginners
Self-study checklist with lessons, quizzes, and comprehension exercises.
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