Did you know that not all French verbs follow the regular rules? In this guide, you’ll get to practice some of the most common, irregular verbs in French. We’ll list over a hundred unique verbs that all French students should know.
First, check out the video below and say each conjugation aloud to practice your pronunciation skills. Then, keep scrolling to learn more!
Common Irregular French Verbs
aller – to go
Jevais
Tu vas
Il/Elleva
Nous allons
Vous allez
Ils/Ellesvont
Past Participle – allé
avoir – to have
J’ai
Tuas
Il/Ellea
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils/Elles ont
Past Participle –eu
dire – to say, to tell
Jedis
Tudis
Il/Elledit
Nous disons
Vous dites
Ils/Elles disent
Past Participle –dit
être – to be
Jesuis
Tu es
Il/Elle est
Noussommes
Vous êtes
Ils/Ellessont
Past Participle – été
faire – to make, to do
Jefais
Tufais
Il/Ellefait
Nous faisons
Vous faites
Ils/Elles – font
Past Participle –fait
falloir – to be necessary
Il faut
Past Participle – fallu
pouvoir – to be able to do
Jepeux
Tupeux
Il/Ellepeut
Nous pouvons
Vous pouvez
Ils/Elles peuvent
Past Participle –pu
savoir – to know, to know how to
Jesais
Tusais
Il/Ellesait
Nous savons
Vous savez
Ils/Elles savent
Past Participle –su
voir – to see
Jevois
Tu vois
Il/Ellevoit
Nous voyons
Vous voyez
Ils/Elles voient
Past Participle –vu
vouloir – to want to
Je veux
Tuveux
Il/Elleveut
Nous voulons
Vous voulez
Ils/Elles veulent
Past Participle –voulu
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Common Irregular Verb Patterns
Some verbs follow irregular patterns. Once you know these patterns, it’s easier to identify and conjugate irregular verbs. Here are several common irregular verb patterns you’ll come across as you learn how to speak French.
Verbs Like Prendre
Verbs ending in –prendre are all conjugated like prendre:
Jeprends
Tuprends
Il/Elleprend
Nousprenons
Vousprenez
Ils/Elles prennent
Past Participle –pris
- apprendre – to learn
- comprendre – to understand
- entreprendre – to undertake
- méprendre – to mistake
- prendre – to take
- reprendre – to retake, to take again
- surprendre – to surprise
Verbs Like Mettre
Mettre and the verbs ending in –mettre all follow the same pattern of conjugation.
Jemets
Tumets
Il/Ellemet
Nous mettons
Vous mettez
Ils/Elles mettent
Past Participle –mis
- admettre – to admit
- commettre – to commit
- compromettre – to compromise
- mettre – to put, to place
- permettre – to permit
- promettre – to promise
- remettre – to turn in work, to postpone
- soumettre – to submit
- transmettre – to transmit
Verbs Like Tenir and Venir
Tenir and venir are two similar verbs that have their own pattern of conjugation.
Je tiens
Tu tiens
Il/Elle tient
Nous tenons
Vous tenez
Ils/Elles tiennent
Past Participle –tenu
Jeviens
Tu viens
Il/Elle vient
Nous venons
Vous venez
Ils/Elles viennent
Past Participle –venu
- abstenir – to refrain, to abstain from
- advenir – to happen
- appartenir – to belong to
- circonvenir – to circumvent
- contenir – to contain
- convenir – to suit, to be suitable
- détenir – to detain
- devenir – to become
- entretenir – to look after, to support
- intrevenir – to intervene
- maintenir – to maintain
- obtenir – to obtain
- parvenir – to reach, to achieve
- prévenir – to warn
- retenir – to retain
- soutenir – to support
- souvenir – to remember
- subvenir – to provide for
- survenir – to occur, to take place
- tenir – to hold, to keep
- venir – to come
Verbs Like Manger
Verbs ending in -ger have a spelling change in the nous form of the verb. An extra -e is added to keep the -g sound soft.
Jemange
Tumanges
Il/Ellemange
Nousmangeons
Vous mangez
Ils/Elles mangent
Past Participle –mangé
- bouger – to move
- changer – to change
- corriger – to correct
- décourager – to discourage
- déménager – to move
- déranger – to disturb
- diriger – to direct
- encourager – to encourage
- engager – to bind
- exiger – to demand
- juger – to judge
- loger – to lodge
- manger – to eat
- mélanger – to mix
- nager – to swim
- obliger – to oblige
- partager – to share
- rédiger – to write
- voyager – to travel
Verbs Like Lancer
Verbs like lancer that end in -cer also have a spelling change in the nous form. The -c is changed to a -ç to maintain a soft -c sound.
Jelance
Tu lances
Il/Elle lance
Nouslançons
Vous lancez
Ils/Elles lancent
Past Participle – lancé
- annoncer – to announce
- avancer – to advance
- commencer – to commence
- dénoncer – to denounce
- divorcer – to divorce
- effacer – to erase
- lancer – to throw
- menacer – to threaten
- placer – to put
- prononcer – to pronounce
- remplacer – to replace
- renoncer – to renounce
Verbs Like Payer
Verbs ending in -yer change the -y to an -i in the je, tu, il, and ils forms.
Je paie
Tu paies
Il/Elle paie
Nous payons
Vous payez
Ils/Elles paient
Past Participle – payé
- aboyer – to bark
- balayer – to sweep
- effrayer – to frighten
- s’ennuyer – to be bored
- envoyer – to send
- essayer – to try
- essuyer – to wipe
- nettoyer – to clean
- payer – to pay
- renvoyer – to send back, to fire
Verbs Like Acheter
Some verbs, like acheter, change the -e in the root to -è in the je, tu, il, and ils forms.
J’achète
Tuachètes
Il/Elleachète
Nous achetons
Vous achetez
Ils/Elles achètent
Past Participle – acheté
- acheter – to buy
- amener – to bring
- enlever – to take off
- espérer – to hope
- geler – to freeze
- se lever – to get up
- posséder – to own
- préférer – to prefer
- se promener – to take a stroll
- répéter – to repeat
- suggérer – to suggest
Verbs Like Appeler
Finally, there are verbs like appeler that have a doubled final consonant in the je, tu, il, and ils forms.
J’appelle
Tu appelles
Il/Elle appelle
Nous appelons
Vous appelez
Ils/Elles appellent
Past Participle – appelé
- appeler – to call
- épeler – to spell out
- étinceler – to sparkle
- feuilleter – to leaf through a book
- jeter – to jump
- renouveler – to renew
Practicing your skills daily is a great way to learn French verbsand advance to the next level of fluency faster. Need some extra help mastering all of these irregular verbs? Try practicing with a TakeLessons Live instructor, or aprivate French tutor.
