101+ top irregular verbs in French & their verb conjugations
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Ah, the French language and its infamous irregular verbs… Sure, other languages have irregular verbs too. But there are so many in French! Plus, it’s not always easy to figure out their spelling simply by listening carefully.
Please, don’t drop this article just yet, because I do have good news for you. While you’ll have to learn irregular verbs in French, once you know the main ones, you’ll be able to use them in most of your conversations. And that’s when the fun begins when learning a language!
Consider learning French — or any other language for that matter — like working out. It’s hard and boring at first, but once you feel and see the results — and experience the pump — it becomes easier and fun!
So, grab your language dumbbells and get ready to sweat with irregular verbs for French!
What are irregular verbs in French grammar?
Irregular verbs are — act surprised — verbs that don’t follow the regular conjugation pattern.
Verbs like être, avoir, aller and faire are all irregular, and extremely common.
This is good news for the French learner that you are, because you’ll be exposed to them all the time, and it will help you memorize them quickly.
10 most common French irregular verbs and their conjugation
While there are hundreds of irregular verbs in French — worry not, some are very rarely used — we’re going to focus on the priority ones to get you up and talking in no time.
Allez, hop !
1. Avoir - To have
Below is the present tense and past participle of avoir. And if you just can’t get enough of this cute and sooo useful verb, you’ll find all tenses and modes in this article.
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| J’ai | J’ai faim. (I really am, it’s almost lunchtime at the time of this writing) |
| Tu as | Tu as faim. |
| Il/Elle a | Il/Elle a faim. |
| Nous avons | Nous avons faim. |
| Vous avez | Vous avez faim. |
| Ils/Elles ont | Ils/Elles ont faim. |
Past participle: Eu
Example:
J’ai eu peur dans la maison hantée.
I got scared in the haunted house.
2. Être - To be
Here is the present tense and past participle of avoir’s best buddy: être. We also wrote an entire article on this chameleonic verb!
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je suis | Je suis fou/folle. (What, it can be a compliment!) |
| Tu es | Tu es fou/folle. |
| Il/Elle est | Il/Elle est fou/folle. |
| Nous sommes | Nous sommes fous/folles. |
| Vous êtes | Vous êtes fous/folles. |
| Ils/Elles sont | Ils/Elles sont fous/folles. |
Past participle: Été
Example:
J’ai été gâtée pour mon anniversaire.
I’ve been spoiled for my birthday.
3. Aller - To go
When it’s time to go, it’s time to go. This article on how to ask for the bathroom in French might come in handy, by the way.
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je vais | Je vais chez un copain. |
| Tu vas | Tu vas chez un copain |
| Il/Elle va | Il/Elle va chez un copain. |
| Nous allons | Nous allons chez un copain. |
| Vous allez | Vous allez chez un copain. |
| Ils/Elles vont | Ils/Elles vont chez un copain. |
Past participle: Allé
Example:
Es-tu déjà allé(e) au Canada ?
Have you ever been to Canada?
4. Dire - To say
Qui a dit que les verbes français étaient compliqués ?
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je dis | Je dis bonjour à mon voisin. |
| Tu dis | Tu dis bonjour à ton voisin. |
| Il/Elle dit | Il/Elle dit bonjour à son voisin. |
| Nous disons | Nous disons bonjour à notre voisin. |
| Vous dites | Vous dites bonjour à votre voisin. |
| Ils/Elles disent | Ils/Elles disent bonjour à leur voisin. |
Past participle: Dit
Example:
Qu’est-ce qu’il a dit ?
What did he say?
5. Faire - To do/make
Many French speakers have a hard time differentiating between “do” and “make”. And that’s because in French, they are both translated by the same word: faire.
See, for once, French is easier than English!
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je fais | Je fais mes courses. |
| Tu fais | Tu fais tes courses. |
| Il/Elle fait | Il/Elle fait ses courses. |
| Nous faisons | Nous faisons nos courses. |
| Vous faites | Vous faites vos courses. |
| Ils/Elles font | Ils/Elles font leurs courses. |
Past participle: Fait
Examples:
J’ai fait mes devoirs.
I did my homework.
J’ai fait à manger.
I made lunch/dinner.
6. Voir - To see
I see… I see… you want more irregular verbs French conjugation!
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je vois | Je vois une maison bleue. |
| Tu as | Tu vois une maison bleue. |
| Il/Elle a | Il/Elle voit une maison bleue. |
| Nous avons | Nous voyons une maison bleue. |
| Vous avez | Vous voyez une maison bleue. |
| Ils/Elles ont | Ils/Elles voient une maison bleue. |
Past participle: Vu
Example:
Elle a vu Titanic huit fois au cinéma. (No idea who I’m talking about)
She saw Titanic eight times at the theatre.
7. Savoir- To know
I’m sure you always wanted to know everything about savoir!
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je sais | Je sais que tu viendras pour mon anniversaire. |
| Tu sais | Tu sais qu’il viendra pour ton anniversaire. |
| Il/Elle sait | Il/Elle sait qu’il viendra pour son anniversaire. |
| Nous sachons | Nous savons qu’il viendra pour notre anniversaire. |
| Vous savez | Vous savez qu’il viendra pour votre anniversaire. |
| Ils/Elles savent | Ils/Elles savent qu’il viendra pour leur anniversaire. |
Past participle: Su
Example:
Je n’ai pas su quoi lui répondre.
I didn’t know what to answer.
8. Falloir - Must/should
This one is a weirdo. It’s the equivalent of “must”, or “should”, but it only has one conjugation in the third person and is always used with a second verb. The subject comes before the latter.
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Il faut | Il faut que tu viennes. |
Past participle: Fallu
Example:
Il a fallu qu’elle parte.
She had to go.
9. Pouvoir - Can
Yes you can… learn irregular verbs in French!
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je peux | Je peux t’appeler demain. |
| Tu peux | Tu peux l’appeler demain. |
| Il/Elle peut | Il/Elle peut l’appeler demain. |
| Nous pouvons | Nous pouvons l’appeler demain. |
| Vous pouvez | Vous pouvez l’appeler demain. |
| Ils/Elles peuvent | Ils/Elles peuvent l’appeler demain. |
Past participle: Pu
Example:
J’ai pu rendre visite à ma tante.
I could visit my aunt.
10. Valoir - To be worth
Here is valoir conjugation. Because you’re worth it!
| Conjugation | Example sentence |
| Je vaux | Je le vaux bien. (Can’t quote any brand, but it will help you remember it!) |
| Tu vaux | Tu le vaux bien. |
| Il/Elle vaut | Il/Elle le vaut bien. |
| Nous valons | Nous avons faim |
| Vous valez | Vous avez faim |
| Ils/Elles valent | Ils/Elles ont faim |
Past participle: Valu
Example:
Ça a valu la peine d’y aller.
It was worth going.
Conjugation of iregular re verbs in French
You might find different information on the conjugation of re verbs in French. Some sources divide them in 5 groups, and some others in more.
They are all correct, as it depends on if you bundle some very similar verbs together or not. For example, “mettre” and “battre” have the same conjugation, except for the past participle, passé simple and imperfect subjonctive.
For more clarity, we have decided to separate the verbs when they vary, even slightly.
| Pronoun | Verbs like prendre | Verbs like cuire | Verbs like écrire | Verbs like craindre | Verbs like battre | Verbs like mettre | Verbs like rompre | Verbs like connaître |
| Je | prends | cuis | écris | crains | bats | mets | romps | connais |
| Tu | prends | cuis | écris | crains | bats | mets | romps | connais |
| Il/Elle | prend | cuit | écrit | craint | bat | met | rompt | connaît |
| Nous | prenons | cuisons | écrivons | craignons | battons | mettons | rompons | connaissons |
| Vous | prenez | cuisez | écrivez | craignez | battez | mettez | rompez | connaissez |
| Ils/Elles | prennent | cuisent | écrivent | craignent | battent | mettent | rompent | connaissent |
| Past participle | pris | cuit | écrit | craint | battu | mis | rompu | connu |
| More verbs that follow the same pattern | Apprendre, comprendre, surprendre, méprendre, entreprendre, reprendre, etc. | Conduire, construire, confire, contredire, déduire, détruire, éconduire, élire, frire, enduire, induire, interdire, instruire, introduire, lire, médire, luire, nuitre, prédire, reconduire, produire, reconstruire, reluire, réduire, séduire, reproduire, traduire, suffire, etc. | Décrire, inscrire, circonscrire, prescrire, récrire, proscrire, souscrire, transcrire, etc. | Adjoindre, atteindre, astreindre, contraindre, ceindre, déteintre, dépeindre, disjoindre, enfreindre, empreindre, épreindre, éteindre, étreindre, geindre, feindre, joindre, oindre, peindre, plaindre, rejoindre, repeindre, restreindre, reteindre, teindre, etc. | Abattre, combattre, débattre, etc. | Admetre, commettre, compromettre, promettre, permettre, transmettre, soumettre, etc. | Corrompre, interrompre, etc. | Apparaître, disparaître, méconnaître, comparaître, paraître, reconnaître, reparaître, transparaître, etc. |
Ir verbs French conjugation
There are about 60 irregular “ir” verbs in French. That might seem like a lot, but don’t worry, you don’t need to memorize them all. The verbs in the table below — verbes du deuxième groupe — give you a pattern to follow, to conjugate many more similar verbs!
That being said, here is a list of the truly irregular “ir” verbs (and their cousins) that don’t follow any pattern:
- 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
| Pronoun | Verbs like dormir | Verbs like ouvrir | Verbs like venir |
| Je/J’ | dors | ouvre | viens |
| Tu | dors | ouvres | viens |
| Il/Elle | dort | ouvre | vient |
| Nous | dormons | ouvrons | venons |
| Vous | dormez | ouvrez | venez |
| Ils/Elles | dorment | ouvrent | viennent |
| Past participle | dormi | ouvert | venu |
| More verbs that follow the same pattern | Partir, mentir, sortir, sentir, servir, etc. | Couvrir, offrir, cueillir, souffrir | Advenir, appartenir, (s’)abstenir, contenir, détenir, convenir, devenir, intervenir, entretenir, maintenir, obtenir, prévenir, parvenir, retenir, provenir, soutenir, revenir, (se) souvenir, tenir, etc. |
Er verbs French conjugation
Ok, French grammar purists will tell you that technically, “er” verbs in French are not irregular.
But as you know too well, “l’exception confirme la règle !”
So there is one verb that is not part of le premier groupe: “aller”. Despite its misleading “er” ending, this verb has a life — and conjugation of its own.
That makes it part of all the French verbs misfits, the ones that do not respect any pattern, the infamous “troisième groupe”.
Apart from “aller”, all “er” verbs — or verbes du premier groupe — have similar conjugations… except a few exceptions of course, as you can see below!
| Pronoun | Verbs like aller | Verbs like étudier | Verbs like payer | Verbs like acheter | Verbs like appeler |
| Je | vais | étudie | paie/paye | achète | appelle |
| Tu | vas | étudies | paies/payes | achètes | appelles |
| Il/Elle | va | étudie | paie/paye | achète | appelle |
| Nous | allons | étudions | payons | achetons | appelons |
| Vous | allez | étudiez | payez | achetez | appelez |
| Ils/Elles | vont | étudient | paient/payent | achètent | appèlent |
| Past participle | allé | étudié | payé | acheté | appelé |
| More verbs that follow the same pattern | That one goes solo. | Crier, skier, supplier, plier, officier, qualifier, associer, etc. | Ennuyer, nettoyer, etc. | Lever, mener, peser, geler, haleter, relever, racheter, etc. | Jeter, ciseler, déniveler, interpeler, grommeler, etc. |
Why are there irregular verbs?
If you think some mischievous troll or evil force is controlling French conjugation, well… you might be right, who knows?
But I’ll give you a more rationnal explanation (rabat-joie !).
In French, as is many other languages, some of the most used verbs are irregular due to their mutation over time.
It doesn’t mean you should use wrong conjugations in French to see if you can make a verb mutate — although, that would be fun. It takes centuries!
If you think irregular verbs French conjugation is a nightmare, you’re not the only one. Check out this hilarious video!
But I’m here to encourage you. Call me your grammar cheerleader!
Without underestimating or sugar-coating irregular verbs in French, just know that some other languages are much more difficult. Look at this ranking of the most difficult languages to learn. You’ll have to wait to 2:28 minutes to see French! And it’s not even in our ranking of the hardest languages for English speakers to master.
Also, all these irregular verbs make it entertaining. It’s impossible to get bored with the same old conjugations!
So, take French conjugation as a challenge. With regular workouts, consistency and the help of our blog, you’ll get fit in French in no time!
