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Language learning, Lecons francais
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Welcome to your one-page system-wide reference for French verb conjugations. This note links out to more detailed pages on each conjugation group and irregular verbs.
1. Master Endings Table
| Tense / Mood | Stem Source (General Rule) | S1 (je) | S2 (tu) | S3 (il/elle/on) | P1 (nous) | P2 (vous) | P3 (ils/elles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present (Indic.) | Depends on verb group (-er, -ir, -re) or irregularities | -e -is -s -irrg | -es -is -s -irrg | -e -it -∅ -irrg | -ons -issons -ons -irrg | -ez -issez -ez -irrg | -ent -issent -ent -irrg |
| Imparfait | nous present form − “-ons” | -ais | -ais | -ait | -ions | -iez | -aient |
| Future (futur simple) | Infinitive (drop -e for -re) or irregular stem | -ai | -as | -a | -ons | -ez | -ont |
| Conditional | Same stem as Future + Imparfait endings | -ais | -ais | -ait | -ions | -iez | -aient |
| Subjunctive (Present) | ils present form − “-ent” | -e | -es | -e | -ions | -iez | -ent |
Note: The imparfait endings are the same for all verbs. The future/conditional use the same stem (infinitive or irregular) and differ only in endings. Subjunctive has its own set of endings.
2. Conjugation Groups
These sub-notes show full example charts (present, imparfait, future, conditional, subjunctive).
3. Compound Tenses (Quick Reference)
- Passé Composé = Present of avoir/être + past participle
- Plus-que-parfait = Imparfait of avoir/être + past participle
- Futur Antérieur = Future of avoir/être + past participle
- Conditionnel Passé = Conditional of avoir/être + past participle
Most verbs use avoir; certain intransitive/movement and reflexive verbs use être.
4. Stems (Regular and Most Common Irregular)
| Verb | Present (je) | Future/Cond Stem | Imparfait Stem (from nous) | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parler | parle | parler- | parl- (nous parlons) | parlé |
| finir | finis | finir- | finiss- (nous finissons) | fini |
| vendre | vends | vendr- | vend- (nous vendons) | vendu |
| Irregular | ||||
| aller | vais | ir- | all- (nous allons) | allé |
| avoir | ai | aur- | av- (nous avons) | eu |
| être | suis | ser- | ét- (nous sommes) | été |
| faire | fais | fer- | fais- (nous faisons) | fait |
| pouvoir | peux | pourr- | pouv- (nous pouvons) | pu |
| vouloir | veux | voudr- | voul- (nous voulons) | voulu |
| devoir | dois | devr- | dev- (nous devons) | dû |
| savoir | sais | saur- | sav- (nous savons) | su |
| voir | vois | verr- | voy- (nous voyons) | vu |
| venir | viens | viendr- | ven- (nous venons) | venu |
| prendre | prends | prendr- | pren- (nous prenons) | pris |
| mettre | mets | mettr- | mett- (nous mettons) | mis |
For more details, see Irregular Verbs.
5. Study Tips
- “Stem + Endings” is the key pattern.
- Imparfait: the stem always comes from the “nous” form in the present.
- Future/Conditional: same stem, different endings.
- Refer to the sub-pages for full paradigms.
French Verb Conjugations Overview (You are here)
Topics
Language learning, Language, Verbs (Grammar), Linguistics (Discipline), Paradigms, French (language), Pedagogy, Teaching, Grammar (French), Grammar (Subject), Tense (Grammar), Mood (Grammar), Aspect (Grammar), Lecons francais