Ir verb conjugation French: tell finir from partir

Ir verb conjugation in French comes down to one question: does the verb follow the pattern of finir, or not? This page gives the finir pattern, a list of regular -ir verbs you can hear, and a quick way to spot the verbs that do not follow it. For the rules behind all conjugation, read How to conjugate French verbs. For the irregular verbs in other endings, see French irregular verbs.

How does ir verb conjugation work in French?

Regular -ir verbs take -s, -s, -t in the singular and -ons, -ez, -ent in the plural in the présent [1]. They also add -iss- before the plural endings [2]. So finir gives je finis, tu finis, il finit, then nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent.

The stem stays the same in the singular as in the infinitive. In the plural, the -iss- is the same enlargement you see in the present participle: finissant [2]. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) gives examples such as nous polissons and ils fleurissent [2].

What are regular ir verbs in French?

Regular ir verbs in French are the verbs with an infinitive in -ir and a present participle in -issant [3]. The OQLF says these verbs are regular, with a steady stem and endings that follow one model, and that finir can serve as the model [3]. In traditional grammar they make up the second group, and the irregular verbs make up the third [3].

The OQLF treats this as one of several ways to classify verbs. Some books use two sets, some three and some four, and they call the sets groups, conjugations or models [3]. The aim is the same: to show which verbs share a pattern [3].

How do you do ir verbs conjugation in French across the tenses?

Here is finir in eight forms, as the OQLF lays them out for its model verb [3]. Tap a round button to hear the infinitive where we have a recording.

Two things to notice [3]. The past participle is the infinitive without its r: fini, réfléchi, réussi. And the -iss- returns in the subjonctif: que nous finissions. For when each tense is used, read French tenses, explained.

What is a list of ir verbs in French?

Here is a list of regular -ir verbs, all from the OQLF’s examples [2][3]. The English meanings are ours. Every verb on the list follows the finir pattern.

The OQLF’s own lists also include amincir, raccourcir, frémir, vernir, chérir, embellir, périr, polir and fleurir [2][3]. For the most frequent verbs of every kind, see the 100 most common French verbs.

Which French ir verb conjugation is irregular?

Some verbs end in -ir but do not follow finir. The OQLF calls them irregular: they are the -ir verbs whose present participle is not -issant, for example courir [3]. The OQLF lists courir, fuir, ouvrir, sentir and tenir among its examples of irregular verbs [3]. The Académie française names partir and dormir as third-group verbs in -ir [4].

These verbs fall into families. The OQLF describes several; here are three of them. None of the examples below uses -iss-.

Notice that the plural of sortir is nous sortons, not nous sortissons [5]. Irregular verbs have no -iss-. You learn each family once and apply it to its relatives. The OQLF names retenir as a relative of tenir [5]. To drill other irregular verbs, try French irregular verbs.

How do you tell the ir conjugation in French apart?

To tell the ir conjugation apart in French, look at the present participle. The Académie française says the verbs of the second group have an infinitive in -ir and a present participle ending in -issant, which makes them easy to recognise [4]. The OQLF gives the same test [3].

Use these steps:

1. Say the present participle: finir gives finissant.
2. If it ends in -issant, the verb is regular. Conjugate it like finir, with -iss- in the plural [2][3][4].
3. If it does not, the verb is irregular. The Académie française gives partir with partant and dormir with dormant [4]. Look up its family or its forms.

Try it: five questions on -ir verbs

Common mistakes

• Dropping -iss- in the plural. Nous finons is wrong. Regular -ir verbs add -iss-: nous finissons [2].
• Adding -iss- to an irregular verb. Nous sortissons is wrong. The form is nous sortons [5].
• Treating every verb in -ir the same way. Check the present participle: -issant means regular [3][4].
• Adding an s to the imperative of ouvrir. Say ouvre, not ouvres. Ouvrir, couvrir, offrir and cueillir drop the s, as -er verbs do [6].
• Using the -s, -s, -t endings on ouvrir in the présent. It takes -e, -es, -e: il ouvre [1].
• Relying on a list from a blog, including this one. The official pages change. Check each page’s own date against the date at the top of this one.

See also: regular -re verbs.

See also: regular -er verbs.

Sources