French conjugation: how to conjugate French verbs, step by step

The imparfait and the futur simple build their stems differently, as the last section shows. For what each tense is for, read French tenses, explained. For a typing drill, try French conjugation practice. For why verbs can feel hard, see Is French hard to learn.

Source: Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), Banque de dépannage linguistique pages, marked as last updated in 2025 and 2026 (the pages show the year only).

What are the endings in French verb conjugation?

In the présent, regular -er verbs take -e, -es, -e in the singular and regular -ir verbs take -s, -s, -t [2]. All regular verbs take -ons, -ez, -ent in the plural [2]. The examples are parler (to speak) and finir (to finish), built from the OQLF’s stems and endings [2][3].

In the plural, regular -ir verbs add -iss- before the ending: nous polissons, ils fleurissent [3]. The OQLF calls this the same enlargement as in the present participle [3].

How do you conjugate French verbs, step by step?

To conjugate French verbs, work in three steps. This is a way of laying out the OQLF’s rules, not an official procedure.

1. Find the stem. For the présent, drop -er or -ir from the infinitive: parl- from parler, fin- from finir [1][3].
2. Pick the tense and the person. Each tense has its own set of endings [2][5][6].
3. Add the ending. For a regular -ir verb in the plural, add -iss- first. Then check the spelling changes below [3].

If the verb is irregular, its stem or endings may differ, so look it up before you guess [1].

What does verb conjugation mean in French?

In the OQLF’s description of verb conjugation, most verbs are conjugated by adding to a generally stable stem an ending that varies with the mood, the tense and the person [1]. In its examples, the stem is the infinitive without -er or -ir: parl- from parler, fin- from finir [1]. Verbs that follow this pattern are called regular [1].

What are the groups of French verbs?

Traditional grammar sorts the verbs in the French language into three groups: regular -er verbs, regular -ir verbs, and irregular verbs [1]. The OQLF also notes that current grammar often just splits verbs into regular and irregular [1].

Almost all verbs ending in -er are regular, and the OQLF puts regular -er verbs at more than 90% of verbs [1]. New verbs such as texter are almost always formed on this model [1]. The OQLF says a regular pattern applies to several hundred verbs [1].

How do you conjugate regular -er verbs?

To conjugate a regular -er verb in the présent, keep the stem and add the endings from the table: je chante, nous parlons, ils miment [3]. A few verbs change their spelling to keep the sound, and the changes follow set patterns [3]:

Verbs in -eler and -eter usually double the l or t, as in je jette, but the OQLF says spelling reforms also allow a single consonant with è, with appeler and jeter keeping the traditional form [3].

How do you conjugate regular -ir verbs?

A regular -ir verb keeps its stem in the singular, takes -s, -s, -t, and adds -iss- in the plural [2][3]. So finir gives je finis, tu finis, il finit, then nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent [2][3]. The OQLF defines these verbs as ending in -ir in the infinitive and -issant in the present participle [1]. Haïr belongs here, and its i takes a tréma in the plural: nous haïssons [3].

How do you conjugate irregular French verbs?

Irregular verbs have mixed endings and, often, big stem changes [1]. Most take the same -s, -s, -t as regular -ir verbs in the singular, and -ons, -ez, -ent in the plural: je cours, tu dis, nous sentons [2]. Some patterns are worth knowing early:

• -x, -x, -t. pouvoir, valoir and vouloir: je veux, tu peux, il vaut [2].
• -e, -es, -e. Verbs such as ouvrir, offrir and cueillir take the -er endings: tu offres, il ouvre [2].
• A final d, t or c replaces the ending of the il form: il prend, il met, il vainc [2].
• Different stems. venir, tenir and devoir change stem in the singular and in ils, but not in nous and vous: je viens, nous venons; je dois, nous devons [4].
• Dire and faire. Their vous form ends in -tes (vous dites, vous faites), and faire gives ils font [2].

Avoir, être and aller have their own conjugation [2]:

The OQLF adds that irregular verbs are few but include some of the most frequent, avoir and être among them [1].

How do you conjugate French verbs in the imparfait and the futur simple?

For the imparfait, take the stem of the nous form of the présent and add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient [5]. Être is the one exception, with the stem ét- [5]. For the futur simple, take the same stem as in the infinitive and add -rai, -ras, -ra, -rons, -rez, -ront, with an e before the ending for regular -er verbs and an i for regular -ir verbs [6].

Two details matter. In the imparfait, a verb whose stem ends in i, y, ill or gn keeps the i of the ending in nous and vous: nous nous méfiions, vous craigniez [5]. In the futur simple, most irregular -re verbs add the ending straight to the same stem as the infinitive, with no e before it: ils éteindront [6]. Many common verbs have their own futur stem [6]:

How can you practise conjugating French verbs?

Start with the présent endings in the first table, then say the forms of one regular verb of each type aloud without looking. The French conjugation practice drill on this site gives short rounds with answers. Try five forms from this page first.

Lingwell is a French-learning app that is not public yet, and it has a waitlist.

Common mistakes

• Using the -er endings on every verb. Aller, avoir and être follow their own forms [1][2].
• Forgetting -iss- in the plural of finir. It is nous finissons, not nous finons [3].
• Writing vous disez or vous faisez. The OQLF gives vous dites and vous faites [2].
• Dropping the spelling change. It is nous mangeons and nous commençons, not nous mangons or nous commencons [3].
• Leaving out the i in the imparfait. The i of -ions and -iez separates nous méfiions from the présent [5].
• Treating the three groups as the only system. Books classify verbs in different ways [1].
• Relying on a conjugation summary, including this one. Reference pages are updated. Compare each source page’s date with the date at the top of this one.

See also: common irregular verbs.

See also: avoir conjugation and être conjugation and French -ir verbs.

See also: regular -re verbs.

See also: reflexive verbs in French.

See also: regular -er verbs.

Sources