THIRD GROUP VERBS
I. FIRST SECTION (-IR
VERBS)
1) DORMIR, MENTIR, PARTIR, SENTIR, SERVIR
The verbs dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir and their derivatives
conjugate as -re verbs rather than -ir verbs.
Partir (to leave)
Je pars
Nous partons
Tu pars
Vous partez
Il/elle part
Ils/elles partent
Dormir (to sleep)
Je dors
Nous dormons
Tu dors
Vous dormez
Il/elle dort
Ils/elles dorment
2) COUVRIR, OFRRIR, OUVRIR, SOUFFRIR
The verbs couvrir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir and their derivatives are
similar, but orthographically they differ slightly: they take the simple
present endings of the -er verbs.
Ouvrir (to open)
Jouvre
Nous ouvrons
Tu ouvres
Vous ouvrez
Il/elle ouvre
Ils/elles ouvrent
Dcouvrir (to discover)
Je dcouvre
Nous dcouvrons
Tu dcouvres
Vous dcouvrez
Il/elle dcouvre
Ils/elles dcouvrent
3) VENIR, TENIR
The verbs venir (to come) and tenir (to hold), as well as their
derivatives, change their stem vowel to a diphthong or nasal in much of
their conjugations.
Venir (to come)
Je viens
Nous venons
Tu viens
Vous venez
Il/elle vient
Ils/elles viennent
Tenir (to hold)
Je tiens
Nous tenons
Tu tiens
Vous tenez
Il/elle tient
Ils/elles tiennent
Verbs conjugated like venir and tenir include:
-
Devenir : To become
Revenir : To come back
II. SECOND SECTION (-RE
VERBS)
1) To form the present tense conjugations of the -re verbs, drop the -re
from the infinitive and add the following endings : -s, -s, -, -ons, -ez,-ent.
Je
-s
Tu
-s
Il/elle
Nous
-ons
Vous
-ez
Ils/elles
-ent
Descendre (to go down)
Je descends
Nous descendons
Tu descends
Vous descendez
Il/elle descend
Ils/elles descendent
Attendre (to wait for)
Jattends
Nous attendons
Tu attends
Vous attendez
Il/elle attend
Ils/elles attendent
Note that the final -d and -ds in the singular forms are silent. In the
third person plural the 'd' consonant sound of the stem is pronounced
because of the -ent ending.
Here is a list of common regular -re verbs :
-
Dpendre de : To depend (on)
Entendre : To hear
Pendre : To hang
Perdre : To lose
Rendre : To hand in, to give back
Rpondre : To answer, to respond
Vendre : To sell
2) PRENDRE
Verbs like prendre are conjugated like regular -re verbs in the singular,
but not in the plural. Note the difference in the stem in the plural forms.
Prendre (to take)
Je prends
Nous prenons
Tu prends
Vous prenez
Il/elle prend
Ils/elles prennent
Here is a list of common regular -re verbs :
-
Apprendre : To learn
Comprendre : To understand
Surprendre : To surprise
3) METTRE
The verb mettre is irregular.
Mettre (to place, to put)
Je mets
Nous mettons
Tu mets
Vous mettez
Il/elle met
Ils/elles mettent
Other verbs like mettre include:
Admettre : To admit
Permettre : To permit
Promettre : To promise
Remettre : To turn in (a report), to postpone
4) DIRE, LIRE, CRIRE
The irregular verbs dire, lire, and crire have similar conjugations.
Dire (to say)
Je dis
Nous disons
Tu dis
Vous dites
Il/elle dit
Ils/elles disent
Note the vous form dites which is unusual because it does not end in
-ez.
Lire (to read)
Je lis
Nous lisons
Tu lis
Vous lisez
Il/elle lit
Ils/elles lisent
crire (to write)
Jcris
Nous crivons
Tu cris
Vous crivez
Il/elle crit
Ils/elles crivent
Other verbs conjugated like crire include dcrire (to describe) and
s'inscrire (to register).
5) SUIVRE, VIVRE
The verbs suivre (to follow), and vivre (to live) are irregular.
Suivre (to follow)
Je suis
Nous suivons
Tu suis
Vous suivez
Il/elle suit
Ils/elles suivent
Vivre (to live, to be alive)
Je vis
Nous vivons
Tu vis
Vous vivez
Il/elle vit
Ils/elles vivent
6) FAIRE
The verb faire is irregular in the present tense
Faire (to do, to make)
Je fais
Nous faisons
Tu fais
Vous faites
Il/elle fait
Ils/elles font
Note the vous form faites. It is unusual because it does not end in -ez.
Faire is one of only three verbs where this is the case (The others are
tre: vous tes, and dire: vous dites ). You may notice, too, the similarity
in the third person plural forms of aller, tre, and faire: ils vont, ils sont,
ils font.
III. THIRD
SECTION
(-OIR
VERBS)
6
Verbs ending in -oir tend to have stem changes, which makes them
more irregular than the other conjugations. Many have stems ending in
-v, which drops before a consonant or the vowel u. Others have stems
ending in -l, which undergoes changes similar to the plural of French
nouns ending in -l. In addition, the vowel of the stem tends to become
oi /wa/ or eu /, / when there is no vowel in the inflectional ending.
They also differ from other verbs in that the vowel of both the simple
past and the past participle is -u /y/.
Pouvoir (can, to be able to, be allowed to)
Je peux
Nous pouvons
Tu peux
Vous pouvez
Il/elle peut
Ils/elles peuvent
Vouloir (to want)
Je veux
Nous voulons
Tu veux
Vous voulez
Il/elle veut
Ils/elles veulent
Devoir (must, to have to, to need to)
Je dois
Nous devons
Tu dois
Vous devez
Il/elle doit
Ils/elles doivent
Recevoir (to receive)
Je reois
Nous recevons
Tu reois
Vous recevez
Il/elle reoit
Ils/elles reoivent
Savoir (to know)
Je sais
Nous savons
Tu sais
Vous savez
Il/elle sait
Ils/elles savent
Croire (to believe)
Je crois
Nous croyons
Tu crois
Vous croyez
Il/elle croit
Ils/elles croient
Voir (to see)
Je vois
Nous voyons
Tu vois
Vous voyez
Il/elle voit
Ils/elles voient
The verbs voir "to see" and seoir "to suit" and their derivatives (prvoir,
asseoir) inflect as -ir verbs, not as -oir verbs, as they have the vowel -i- in
the past simple and subjunctive.
IV. ALLER
The verb aller "to go" has the unique quality of having a first group
ending with an irregular conjugation. It belongs to none of the three
sections of the third group, and is often categorized on its own. The verb
has different stems for different tenses.
Aller (to go)
Je vais
Nous allons
Tu vas
Vous allez
Il/elle va
Ils/elles vont
