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Verbes du troisième groupe*
Even though there are more than 100 irregular -re verbs, you don’t have to learn a hundred conjugation tables. Since many of these verbs follow certain patterns, you only need to memorize about 20.
1) Verbs like rompre
Rompre and its derivations are conjugated in the present tense like regular -re verbs, with one exception: in the third person singular, the ending is a t:
| Endings | Par exemple : rompre | |||
| je | -s | romps | ||
| tu | -s | romps | ||
| il/elle/on | -t | rompt | ||
| nous | -ons | rompons | ||
| vous | -ez | rompez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | rompent | ||
Common verbs
| corrompre | to corrupt | |
| interrompre | to interrupt | |
| rompre | to break |
2) Verbs like cuire
All verbs that end in -uire, –dire, –fire and –lire are conjugated in the present tense by dropping -re and adding s to the plural forms. They take the same endings as above:
| Endings | Par exemple : cuire | |||
| je | -s | cuis | ||
| tu | -s | cuis | ||
| il/elle/on | -t | cuit | ||
| nous | -ons | cuisons | ||
| vous | -ez | cuisez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | cuisent | ||
Common verbs
| conduire | to drive | |
| confire | to preserve, pickle, candy | |
| construire | to build | |
| contredire | to contradict | |
| cuire | to cook | |
| se dédire | to go back on one’s word | |
| déduire | to deduce, deduct | |
| détruire | to destroy | |
| dire* | to say, tell | |
| éconduire | to dismiss | |
| élire | to elect | |
| enduire | to coat | |
| frire | to fry | |
| induire | to mislead | |
| instruire | to instruct | |
| interdire | to forbid | |
| introduire | to introduce, insert | |
| lire | to read | |
| luire | to shine | |
| médire | to malign | |
| nuire | to harm | |
| prédire | to predict | |
| produire | to produce | |
| reconduire | to renew | |
| reconstruire | to rebuild | |
| redire* | to repeat, say again | |
| réduire | to reduce | |
| reluire | to shine | |
| reproduire | to reproduce | |
| séduire | to seduce | |
| suffire | to suffice | |
| traduire | to translate |
* The second person plural forms of dire and redire in the present tense are vous dites and vous redites. All other conjugations follow the above pattern.
These verbs are all conjugated the same way in most tenses and moods. However, each ending (-dire/-fire, –lire, –uire) has a different past participle and therefore different passé simple and imperfect subjunctive conjugations.
3) Verbs like écrire
All verbs that end in -crire are conjugated in the present tense by dropping -re and adding v to the plural forms. They take the same endings as above:
| Endings | Par exemple : écrire | |||
| je (j’) | -s | écris | ||
| tu | -s | écris | ||
| il/elle/on | -t | écrit | ||
| nous | -ons | écrivons | ||
| vous | -ez | écrivez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | écrivent | ||
Common verbs
| circonscrire | to contain, confine | |
| décrire | to describe | |
| écrire | to write | |
| inscrire | to inscribe, write down | |
| prescrire | to prescribe | |
| proscrire | to prohibit, ban | |
| récrire | to rewrite | |
| souscrire | to subscribe | |
| transcrire | to transcribe |
4) Verbs like craindre
All verbs that end in -aindre, -eindre, and -oindre are conjugated in the present tense by dropping the d in all forms and adding g in front of n in the plural forms. They take the same endings as above:
| Endings | Par exemple : craindre | |||
| je | -s | crains | ||
| tu | -s | crains | ||
| il/elle/on | -t | craint | ||
| nous | -ons | craignons | ||
| vous | -ez | craignez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | craignent | ||
Common verbs
| adjoindre | to appoint | ||
| astreindre | to compel, force | ||
| atteindre | to attain, reach | ||
| ceindre | to don, put on | ||
| contraindre | to force, compel | ||
| craindre | to fear | ||
| dépeindre | to depict | ||
| déteindre | to bleach, leach | ||
| disjoindre | to disconnect, separate | ||
| empreindre | to imprint | ||
| enfreindre | to infringe, break | (formal) | |
| enjoindre | to enjoin (s.o. to do) | (formal) | |
| épreindre | to juice | (old-fashioned) | |
| éteindre | to extinguish, snuff out | ||
| étreindre | to embrace, clutch | (formal) | |
| feindre | to feign | ||
| geindre | to groan, whine | ||
| joindre | to join | ||
| oindre | to anoint | ||
| peindre | to paint | ||
| plaindre | to pity, feel sorry for | ||
| rejoindre | to rejoin, get back to | ||
| repeindre | to repaint | ||
| restreindre | to restrict, limit | ||
| reteindre | to dye again, redye | ||
| teindre | to dye | ||
The next two groups use the same present tense endings as regular -re verbs, but have an irregular stem.
5) Verbs like mettre
All verbs that end in –ttre are conjugated in the present tense by dropping the second t in all the singular forms:
| Endings | Par exemple : mettre | |||
| je | -s | mets | ||
| tu | -s | mets | ||
| il/elle/on | – | met | ||
| nous | -ons | mettons | ||
| vous | -ez | mettez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | mettent | ||
Common verbs
| abattre | to knock down, weaken | |
| admettre | to admit | |
| battre | to beat | |
| combattre | to combat, fight | |
| commettre | to commit | |
| compromettre | to compromise | |
| débattre | to debate | |
| mettre | to put | |
| permettre | to permit | |
| promettre | to promise | |
| soumettre | to submit | |
| transmettre | to transmit |
However, be aware that verbs that end in -battre have a different past participle and therefore different passé simple and imperfect subjunctive conjugations from verbs that end in -mettre.
6) Verbs like prendre
Prendre and all of its derivations are conjugated in the present tense by dropping the d in all the plural forms and doubling the n in the third person plural, then adding the regular -re endings:
| Endings | Par exemple : prendre | |||
| je | -s | prends | ||
| tu | -s | prends | ||
| il/elle/on | – | prend | ||
| nous | -ons | prenons | ||
| vous | -ez | prenez | ||
| ils/elles | -ent | prennent | ||
Common verbs
| apprendre | to learn | |
| comprendre | to understand | |
| entreprendre | to undertake | |
| se méprendre | to be mistaken | |
| prendre | to take | |
| reprendre | to take again, retake | |
| surprendre | to surprise |
7) Verbs like connaître
All verbs that end in -aître (except naître) are conjugated in the present tense as follows: drop –tre in all forms and use these irregular endings. Note the addition of a circumflex in the third person singular.
| Endings | Par exemple : connaître | |||
| je | -s | connais | ||
| tu | -s | connais | ||
| il/elle/on | -^t | connaît | ||
| nous | -ssons | connaissons | ||
| vous | -ssez | connaissez | ||
| ils/elles | -ssent | connaissent | ||
Common verbs
| apparaître | to appear | |
| comparaître | to appear in court | |
| connaître | to know, be familiar with | |
| disparaître | to disappear | |
| méconnaître | to be unaware of | |
| paraître | to seem | |
| reconnaître | to recognize | |
| reparaître | to reappear | |
| transparaître | to show through |
Really irregular -re verbs
Knowing the seven patterns above will allow you to conjugate the vast majority of irregular -re verbs, leaving just a few with unique or nearly unique conjugations:
- boire
- clore
- conclure | exclure | inclure | occlure
- coudre
- croire
- absoudre | dissoudre | résoudre
- distraire
- être
- faire | défaire | parfaire | refaire
- moudre
- naître
- plaire | déplaire
- rire | sourire
- suivre | poursuivre
- se taire
- vivre | survivre
*French grammarians lump all irregular verbs together in le troisième groupe.
Related lessons
- Regular -re verbs
- -RE verb conjugations – PwLF super list
- Irregular verbs
- Present tense
- Introduction to French verbs
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