Learn French, lesson by lesson
Faire (to do, to make) is one of the most versatile verbs in French. It’s irregular and used in countless expressions — from weather to sports to household chores. Mastering faire opens up a huge range of everyday vocabulary. Present Tense Conjugation Subject Conjugation IPA je fais [ʒə fɛ] tu fais [ty fɛ] il/elle/on fait … Read more
About 90% of French verbs end in -er, making this the most important verb pattern to learn. The good news: once you know the endings, you can conjugate thousands of verbs! The pattern is simple: remove -er and add the appropriate ending for each subject. The Pattern Using parler (to speak) as the model: Subject … Read more
Many common French verbs end in -re (like attendre, vendre, répondre). They follow a simple pattern: drop -re and add the endings. The d stays in all forms, and il/elle/on gets no extra ending. The Pattern Drop -re, add: -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent Using attendre (to wait) as the model: Subject Ending Conjugation … Read more
Venir (to come) and prendre (to take) are two essential irregular verbs used constantly in French. Both have unique conjugation patterns you must memorize, and both have many compound verbs that follow the same patterns (like revenir, comprendre). Venir (to come) Subject Conjugation IPA je je viens [ʒə vjɛ̃] tu tu viens [ty vjɛ̃] il/elle/on … Read more
These three modal verbs are essential for expressing wishes, abilities, and obligations. They are irregular and followed by an infinitive verb. Vouloir — To Want Subject Conjugation IPA je veux [ʒə vø] tu veux [ty vø] il/elle/on veut [il/ɛl vø] nous voulons [nu vu.lɔ̃] vous voulez [vu vu.le] ils/elles veulent [il/ɛl vœl] Je veux manger. … Read more
The near future (futur proche) expresses actions about to happen. It’s formed with the verb aller (to go) + an infinitive, similar to “going to” in English. Formation aller (conjugated) + infinitive Subject Aller + Infinitive English je vais manger I’m going to eat tu vas manger you’re going to eat il/elle/on va manger he/she … Read more
The recent past (passé récent or passé proche) expresses actions that just happened. It’s formed with venir de + infinitive, meaning “to have just done something.” Formation venir (conjugated) + de + infinitive Subject Venir de + Infinitive English je viens de manger I just ate tu viens de manger you just ate il/elle/on vient … Read more