The verb expresses action, state, change, or the grammatical relation between the elements of the sentence. In French, it bears person, tense, and sometimes agreement markers, which allow identifying who acts, when the action takes place, and how it is organized. Irregular verbs require special attention, because they follow partial patterns or unique forms that appear in the most frequent tenses, notably the present indicative and in compound tenses.

First-group verbs ending in -er serve as a model for a large part of the verbal system and remain the most productive base of French, as in Regular verbs. Their stem remains generally stable and the present endings follow a recognizable sequence. The verb parler illustrates this functioning with a regular and transparent conjugation.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	parleSpeaks	Je parle, et tu écoutes.I speak, and you listen.
tuYou	parlesYou speak	Tu parles, et il répond.You speak, and he answers.
ilHe	parleSpeaks	Il parle, tandis que nous attendons.He speaks, while we wait.
nousWe	parlonsLet us speak	Nous parlons, puis nous continuons.We speak, then we continue.

Regular -ir verbs, such as finir and choisir, belong to the 2nd group and are recognized mainly in the present by the stem ending in -iss in the plural forms. Their behavior is more stable than that of irregular verbs, but their pattern is essential to understand alternations such as nous finissons. This structure is detailed in Verb Groups.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	finisYou finish	Je finis, et tu commences.I finish, and you start.
tuYou	finisYou finish	Tu finis, puis il choisit.You finish, then he chooses.
ilHe	finitFinishes	Il finit, quand nous arrivons.He finishes when we arrive.
nousWe	finissonsWe finish	Nous finissons, alors vous partez.We finish, so you leave.

Third group verbs concentrate the most irregular forms in French and include notably être, avoir, aller, faire, dire, and pouvoir. Their stem can change according to person, tense, or mood, and some endings are entirely memorized. This group is central to daily syntax, as it provides auxiliary verbs, verbs of movement, and modal verbs.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	suisAm	Je suis prêt, et tu viens aussi.I am ready, and you are coming too.
tuYou	asHave	Tu as raison, et il le sait.You are right, and he knows it.
ilHe	vaGoes	Il va, tandis que nous restons.He goes, while we stay.
nousWe	faisonsLet us do	Nous faisons ce travail, puis nous partons.We do this work, then we leave.

In the present indicative, the -er verbs follow a pattern based on the stem and regular endings. The model parler shows the forms je parle, tu parles, il parle and nous parlons, which serve as reference for many verbs of the same type. The stability of the pattern facilitates identifying the subject and the ending, even when spelling varies slightly.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	parleSpeaks	Je parle, et la classe écoute.I speak, and the class listens.
tuYou	parlesYou speak	Tu parles, et je comprends.You speak, and I understand.
ilHe	parleSpeaks	Il parle, quand la porte s’ouvre.He speaks when the door opens.
nousWe	parlonsLet us speak	Nous parlons, puis nous écrivons.We speak, then we write.

In the present indicative, the -ir verbs of the second group show a characteristic alternation between singular forms and plural forms. The model finir yields je finis, tu finis, il finit, and nous finissons, which makes visible the presence of the iss segment in the plural form. This regularity is useful for quickly recognizing verbs of the same paradigm.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	finisYou finish	Je finis, et tu attends.I finish, and you wait.
tuYou	finisYou finish	Tu finis, tandis qu’il prépare.You finish, while he prepares.
ilHe	finitFinishes	Il finit, alors nous sourions.He finishes, then we smile.
nousWe	finissonsWe finish	Nous finissons, puis nous rangeons.We finish, then we tidy up.

The -re verbs follow a common pattern among several irregular French verbs, with forms like je vends, tu vends, il vend, and nous vendons. The stem can stay close to the lexical base while alternating according to the person, which distinguishes this group from -er verbs. These forms serve as a reference point for recognizing verbs such as vendre, entendre, or perdre.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	vendsYou sell	Je vends, et tu achètes.I sell, and you buy.
tuYou	vendsYou sell	Tu vends, pendant qu’il regarde.You sell, while he watches.
ilHe	vendSells	Il vend, alors nous choisissons.He sells, so we choose.
nousWe	vendonsLet us sell	Nous vendons, puis nous comptons.We sell, then we count.

The past participle is used to form compound tenses and it varies according to the verb and sometimes according to agreement. The most common endings are -é, -i, or -u, while some very common verbs have irregular participles such as été, eu, and fait. This form is central with Auxiliary Verbs and prepares the study of the Past Participle.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
er-er	parléSpoken	J’ai parlé, et tu as compris.I spoke, and you understood.
ir-ir	finiFinished	Il a fini, puis il est sorti.He finished, then he went out.
re-re	venduSold	Nous avons vendu, et vous avez payé.We have sold it, and you have paid.
irrégulierIrregular	étéBeen	Elle a été là, quand nous sommes arrivés.She was there when we arrived.
irrégulierIrregular	euHad	J’ai eu le temps, alors j’ai attendu.I had the time, so I waited.
irrégulierIrregular	faitDone	Il a fait le repas, et nous avons mangé.He prepared the meal, and we ate.

The present participle is formed with -ant and the gerund adds en in front of this form to express simultaneity, manner, or cause. Thus we obtain forms like chantant and en chantant, with frequent irregular forms such as étant and ayant. These structures also serve as a basis for longer verbal constructions, notably after aller, venir de, être en train de, and avoir à.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
participe présentPresent participle	chantantsinging	Chantant, il marche dans la rue.Singing, he walks down the street.
gérondifgerund	en chantantsinging	En chantant, elle travaille plus vite.While singing, she works faster.
irrégulierIrregular	étantBeing	Étant fatigué, il rentre tôt.Tired, he comes home early.
irrégulierIrregular	ayantHaving	Ayant fini, nous rangeons la table.Having finished, we clear the table.

Some forms show orthographic alternations intended to preserve pronunciation or to mark a morphological distinction. Thus, manger yields nous mangeons, while appeler can double a consonant in several present forms. Verbs like acheter also show stem changes depending on the person, which belongs to orthography as much as to morphology.

IdéeIdea	ExempleExample
Le e muet peut se conserver par ajout d’une lettre dans certaines formes.The mute e can be preserved by adding a letter in certain forms.	Nous mangeons, et vous mangez.We eat, and you eat.
Une consonne peut se doubler pour garder la valeur sonore.A consonant can be doubled to preserve the sound value.	J’appelle, et il appelle.I call, and he calls.
Le radical peut changer dans certaines personnes.The stem can change for certain persons.	J’achète, et nous achetons.I buy, and we buy.

Verbal periphrases combine a conjugated verb with an infinitive or a non-finite form to specify aspect, immediacy, or obligation. Aller plus infinitive indicates a near future, venir de marks a recent past, être en train de emphasizes the ongoing progress, and avoir à signals a necessity. These constructions are common in speech and writing, and oral negation often drops ne in spoken language.

IdéeIdea	ExempleExample
aller plus infinitif exprime une action proche.aller + infinitive expresses a near-future action.	Je vais partir, et tu restes ici.I am going to leave, and you stay here.
venir de plus infinitif exprime une action récente.'Venir de' plus infinitive expresses a recent action.	Nous venons de finir, quand la cloche sonne.We have just finished when the bell rings.
être en train de plus infinitif insiste sur l’action en cours.'Être en train de' plus infinitive emphasizes the action in progress.	Il est en train de lire, tandis que nous attendons.He is in the middle of reading, while we wait.
avoir à plus infinitif exprime une obligation.avoir à + infinitive expresses an obligation.	J’ai à répondre, et vous devez patienter.I have to answer, and you must wait.

The agreement of the past participle depends on the auxiliary and the position of the antecedent, which distinguishes it from the simple lexical participle. With être, agreement is usually with the subject, whereas with avoir, agreement depends on the complements placed before the verb according to the rules of Past Participle Agreement. This interaction is essential for correctly writing compound tenses and certain literary forms.

The most frequent irregular verbs appear very early in real language, as être, avoir, aller, faire, dire, and pouvoir structure the daily sentence. Mastery of them facilitates reading, conversation, and the formation of compound tenses. Once their paradigms are recognized, the other irregularities become easier to classify and memorize.

SujetSubject	VerbeVerb	ExempleExample
jeI	suisAm	Je suis prêt, et tu viens.I am ready, and you come.
jeI	aiHave	J’ai le livre, et tu as la carte.I have the book, and you have the map.
jeI	vaisGo	Je vais, puis nous revenons.I'm leaving, then we'll return.
jeI	faisDo	Je fais ce travail, alors il aide.I do this work, then he helps.
jeI	disSay	Je dis la vérité, et tu l’entends.I tell the truth, and you hear it.
jeI	peuxCan	Je peux venir, si tu veux.I can come if you want.