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Verbes du troisième groupe*
There are around 60 irregular –ir verbs, but that doesn’t mean you have to memorize 60 different verb conjugation tables. Thanks to patterns in the conjugations of most of these verbs, you only need to learn 21.
Verbs that end in –mir or –tir
Most verbs that end in –mir or –tir are conjugated in the present tense by dropping the final letter of the stem in the singular conjugations before adding these endings:
| Endings | Par exemple : partir | |||
| je | -s | pars | ||
| tu | -s | pars | ||
| il/elle/on | -t | part | ||
| nous | -ons | partons | ||
| vous | -ez | partez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | partent | ||
Common verbs
| dormir | to sleep |
| mentir | to lie |
| partir | to leave |
| sentir | to feel |
| servir | to serve |
| sortir | to go out |
and their derivatives: ressentir, endormir, etc.
Verbs that end in –llir, –frir, or –vrir
Most verbs that end in –llir and all that end in –frir or –vrir are conjugated like regular -er verbs, thus the endings
| Endings | Par exemple : couvrir | |||
| je | -e | couvre | ||
| tu | -es | couvres | ||
| il/elle/on | -e | couvre | ||
| nous | -ons | couvrons | ||
| vous | -ez | couvrez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | couvrent | ||
Common verbs
| couvrir | to cover |
| cueillir | to pick |
| offrir | to offer |
| ouvrir | to open |
| souffrir | to suffer |
and their derivatives: découvrir, recueillir, etc.
Verbs that end in –enir
All verbs with this ending (tenir, venir, and their derivatives) follow this pattern in the present tense.
Par exemple : venir
| je | viens |
| tu | viens |
| il/elle/on | vient |
| nous | venons |
| vous | venez |
| ils/elles | viennent |
Common verbs
| abstenir (s’) | to abstain |
| advenir | to happen that |
| appartenir | to belong |
| contenir | to contain |
| convenir | to suit |
| détenir | to detain |
| devenir | to become |
| entretenir | to maintain, support |
| intervenir | to intervene |
| maintenir | to maintain |
| obtenir | to obtain |
| parvenir | to reach, achieve |
| prévenir | to warn, prevent |
| provenir | to come from |
| retenir | to retain |
| revenir | to come back |
| soutenir | to support |
| souvenir (se) | to remember |
| tenir | to hold |
| venir | to come |
There is, however, one important difference between these verbs in the compound tenses: venir and most of its derivatives require être as their helping verb, while tenir and all of its derivatives require avoir.
Really irregular –ir verbs
Knowing the above three patterns will allow you to conjugate most irregular –ir verbs, leaving just these with unique or nearly unique conjugations:
- acquérir | conquérir
- assaillir | défaillir | saillir | tressaillir
- asseoir
- avoir
- bouillir
- courir | parcourir | secourir
- décevoir | recevoir
- devoir
- falloir
- mourir
- mouvoir | émouvoir | promouvoir
- pleuvoir
- pouvoir | vouloir
- savoir
- servir | desservir
- valoir
- vêtir | revêtir
- voir
* French grammarians lump all irregular verbs together in le troisième groupe.
Related lessons
- Regular -ir verbs
- –ir verb conjugations – PwLF super list
- Irregular verbs
- Present tense
- Helping verbs
- Simple vs compound tenses
- Introduction to French verbs
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