In French, most verbs follow regular conjugation patterns based on their endings (-er, -ir, -re), but many important verbs are irregular and do not fit these patterns. Their conjugations often involve changes to the stem, unique endings, or both, and they must be memorized. Irregular verbs are common among verbs for essential actions like "to be," "to have," "to go," and "to do."
- Regular verbs use predictable patterns by verb family (-er, -ir, -re).
- Irregular verbs change their stems or use special endings in some or all tenses.
- Common irregular verbs include être, avoir, aller, faire, and venir.
Common irregular verbs include *être*, *avoir*, *aller*, and *faire*.
Source Material
Author: Laura K. Lawless
Document: Irregular French Verbs: The Most Important Ones to Learn
Date Published: 2024
Key Irregular Verb Families
Some irregular verbs belong to families that share similar stem changes. Recognizing these patterns can help you learn more verbs efficiently.
- Avoir/Être: Both are fully irregular and essential as auxiliary verbs.
- Aller: Uses an irregular stem (ir-) and behaves like a hybrid -er verb.
- Faire: Irregular stem (fais-) in many forms.
- Venir: Stem changes (viens-, ven-) and includes related verbs like devenir, revenir.
Stem 'ven-' is used for 'venir' and related verbs.
'venir', 'devenir', and 'revenir' are part of the 'venir' family.
The 'aller' family uses the stem 'ir-' for future and conditional.
Typical irregular verb families include avoir, être, aller, and venir.
Examples of Irregular Conjugations
Here are examples of how some key irregular verbs change in the present tense compared to regular -er verbs like parler.
| Verb | Infinitive | 1st Pers. Sing. | 2nd Pers. Sing. | 3rd Pers. Sing. | 1st Pers. Pl. | 3rd Pers. Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parler | (regular -er) | parle | parles | parle | parlons | parlent |
| Être | to be | suis | es | est | sommes | sont |
| Avoir | to have | ai | as | a | avons | ont |
| Aller | to go | vais | vas | va | allons | vont |
| Faire | to do/make | fais | fais | fait | faisons | font |
- Être and avoir are core helpers with fully irregular forms.
- Aller shows a unique stem va-, vas-, vot-, etc.
- Faire uses fais- and font for most forms.
'avoir', 'être', 'aller', and 'faire' all have irregular stems.
For 'aller', the future/conditional stem is 'ir-'.
avoir, être, aller, and venir are main irregular verb families.
Conclusion
Irregular verbs break the usual rules and often drive core meanings in French, so mastering their patterns is essential for fluency.
- Irregular verbs often change their stems and endings in ways regular verbs do not.
- Knowing key irregular verbs and their families helps decode many others.
- Practice is vital, as irregular conjugations must be memorized and used in context.
No, many important French verbs are irregular and require special conjugation rules.
être, avoir, aller, and faire are common irregular verbs.
The stem for 'venir' and related verbs is 'ven-'.
'aller' uses 'ir-' as the stem for future and conditional forms.