Common French Verbs
French verbs are listed here in the infinitive, the dictionary form. Most end in -er and follow one pattern; the ones that do not are the ones you use most.
The two you cannot avoid
-
être
EH-truh
-
to be
je suis, tu es, il est
-
avoir
ah-VWAR
-
to have
j'ai, tu as, il a
Everyday actions
-
aller
ah-LAY
-
to go
je vais, tu vas, il va. Irregular despite the -er
-
faire
fehr
-
to do, to make
-
dire
deer
-
to say
-
voir
vwar
-
to see
-
venir
vuh-NEER
-
to come
-
parler
par-LAY
-
to speak
-
manger
mon-ZHAY
-
to eat
-
boire
bwar
-
to drink
-
habiter
ah-bee-TAY
-
to live somewhere
-
travailler
trah-vah-YAY
-
to work
-
s'appeler
sah-play
-
to be called
je m'appelle, tu t'appelles
Verbs that pair with another verb
-
pouvoir
poo-VWAR
-
can, to be able to
je peux, tu peux, il peut
-
vouloir
voo-LWAR
-
to want
je veux, tu veux, il veut
-
devoir
duh-VWAR
-
must, to have to
-
savoir
sah-VWAR
-
to know a fact
-
connaître
ko-NEH-truh
-
to know a person or place
The endings for a regular -er verb
Take off the -er and add the ending: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent.
Four of those six are pronounced identically. Parle, parles and parlent all sound the same, so the pronoun is what tells a listener who you mean.
Être and avoir are irregular and also build the past tense, which is why they are worth learning before anything else.
Aller looks regular and is not. It is the only -er verb that behaves this way.
- J'habite à Lyon.I live in Lyon.
- Je voudrais un café.I would like a coffee.
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