Ultimate Guide to French Verbs: Tenses, Conjugations, and Examples

Learn Everything About French Verbs

Mastering verb tenses is one of the most crucial parts of learning French. Every sentence in French needs to have a verb to show action. But, French grammar can be quite intimidating. This post can walk you through absolutely everything you need to know about French verbs. So, you can stop worrying about language learning. Discover all the possible tenses, the rules for French verb conjugation, and common examples to enhance your vocabulary.

How to Recognize French Verbs

Verbs are the words in the sentence that show the action. That’s true in every language. But, unlike in English, in French you need to conjugate verbs to fit into the sentence properly. Before we begin unraveling the secrets of French verb conjugation, let’s take a look at what a verb in French can look like.

First, it’s best to be able to identify when you are looking at a verb. There are three endings that indicate a verb:

1. “-er” infinitive ending– the most common type of verb, and they have a regular conjugation
2. “-ir” infinitive ending
3. “-re” infinitive ending

 

List of the Most Common French Verbs

This list of common French verbs is the most useful vocabulary you can have. You’ll surely encounter these several times as you’re learning French. So, it’s crucial to be familiar with these French verbs to reach complete fluency.

French Verb	English translation
être	to be
avoir	to have
pouvoir	to be able (can)
faire	to do, to make
mettre	to put, to place
dire	to say, to tell
devoir	to have to , must, to owe
prendre	to take, to catch, to capture
donner	to give, to produce
aller	to go
vouloir	to want, to wish
savoir	to know

Basics of French Verb Conjugation

Conjugation means that you need to make the verb fit the pronoun in the sentence. There are 6 different pronouns you need to know when you conjugate a French verb.

1. Je – I
2. Tu – you (singular informal)
3. Il, Elle – he, she
4. Nous – we
5. Vous – you (plural) or you (singular formal)
6. Ils, Elles – them

Now that you know all of the basic French pronouns, we can take a look at all of the tenses and conjugations you can have for French verbs. Don’t worry, we also have examples for you.

Present Tense

The first tense to learn in another language is present tense. You use this to show that something’s happening at the time of speaking. In French, you only have one way to express the present tense.

Conjugating French Verbs in the Present Tense

One thing to note is that the first person plural (“nous”) conjugation does not change, regardless of tense. Whenever you want to say “We….” you will always conjugate it exactly the same, “Nous –ons.” The one exception is “to be;” that is conjugated as “nous sommes” or “we are.”

This is also true of third-person plural (“ils”) – there are no exceptions. You can feel comfortable conjugating because it will always be “Ils –ent.”

The conjugation of the second person plural (“vous”) conjugation is almost always the same. If you aren’t sure, you can fall back on the one shown above (“Vous –ez”) and you will almost always be right. Do take the time to read through the exceptions and practice working them into a conversation.

-ER Ending (Simple Verbs)

The easiest of the three types is verbs ending in “-er,” as well as it being the most common. The following table shows you how to conjugate this verb in the present tense.

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
	-er	Marcher	To walk
Je (I)	-e	Je marche.	I walk. I am walking.
Tu (You – singular)	-es	Tu marches.	You walk. You are walking.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-e	Il marche.	He walks. He is walking.
Nous (We)	-ons	Nous marchons.	We walk. We are walking.
Vous (You – plural)	-ez	Vous marchez.	You all walk. You all are walking.
Ils/Elles (They)	-ent	Ils marchent.	They walk. They are walking.

Useful tips

1. You likely will not use “tu” when visiting France as it is only for informal use (people you know well). The formal form of singular “you” is “vous” which also serves as the plural you
2. Though you need to know how to spell them, the singular endings (“-e” and “-es”) and third-person plural endings (“-ent”) are all silent. This will make it easier to get it right when speaking – but you will need to spend time writing them out so that you learn the differences.

-IR Ending

The following table contains the standard way of conjugating “-ir” verbs. However, you should be aware that a large number of exceptions. We listed a few below the table.

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
	-ir	Finir	To finish
Je (I)	-is	Je finis.	I finish. I am finnishing.
Tu (You – singular)	ies	Tu finis.	You finish. You are finishing.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-it	Il finit.	He finishes. He is finishing.
Nous (We)	-ssons	Nous finissons.	We finish. We are finishing.
Vous (You – plural)	-issez	Vous finissez.	You all finish. You all are finishing.
Ils/Elles (They)	-issent	Ils finissent.	They finish. They are finishing.

1. All three singular forms sound the same, making it easier to conjugate when you speak. Do take the time to learn how to spell them though as they are not the same conjugation.
2. There are two verbs that end in “-ir” that do not follow this pattern: “ouvrir” (to open) and “offrir” (to offer). These follow the same conjugation as the “-er” verbs.

-RE Ending

The following table contains the standard way of conjugating “-re” verbs. Like the “-ir” verbs, there are as many exceptions as there are verbs that follow these rules. That doesn’t mean it won’t help, but you will need to spend time looking at the exceptions once you have the baseline down.

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
	-re	Dire	To say
Je (I)	-s	Je dis.	I say. I am saying.
Tu (You – singular)	-s	Tu dis.	You say. You are saying.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-d or -t	Il dit.	He says. He is saying.
Nous (We)	-ons	Nous disons.	We say. We are saying.
Vous (You – plural)	-ez or -es	Vous dites.	You all say. You all are saying.
Ils/Elles (They)	-ent	Ils disent.	They say. They are saying.

1. All three singular forms sound the same, making it easier to conjugate when you speak. Do take the time to learn how to spell them though as they are not the same conjugation.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense

The following table shows you the present tense form of common verbs that do not follow these rules in the present tense. This list of 12 French verbs isn’t just useful for their irregularities, they’re also very common in everyday French speech.

Pronoun	Aller (to go)	Avoir (to have)	Boire (to drink)	Connaitre (to know)	Courir (to run)	Faire (to do/make)
Je (I)	Vais	Ai	Bois	Connais	Cours	Fais
Tu (You – singular)	Vas	As	Bois	Connais	Cours	Fais
Il/Elle (He/She)	Va	A	Boit	Connait	Court	Fait
Nous (We)	Allons	Avons	Buvons	Connaissons	Courons	Faisons
Vous (You – plural)	Allez	Avez	Buvez	Connaissez	Courez	Faites
Ils/Elles (They)	Vont	Ont	Boivent	Connaissent	Courent	Font

Pronoun	Lire (to read)	Mettre (to put)	Pouvoir (to be able)	Recevoir (to receive)	Savoir (to know)	Vouloir (to want)
Je (I)	Lis	Mets	Peux	Reçois	Sais	Veux
Tu (You – singular)	Lis	Mets	Peux	Reçois	Sais	Veux
Il/Elle (He/She)	Lit	Met	Peut	Reçoit	Sait	Veut
Nous (We)	Lisons	Mettons	Pouvons	Recevons	Savons	Voulons
Vous (You – plural)	Lisez	Mettez	Pouvez	Recevez	Savez	Voulez
Ils/Elles (They)	Lisent	Mettent	Peuvent	Reçoivent	Savent	Veulent

Past Tense

The French past tense for verbs isn’t so difficult, but there are a few grammar rules you need to master. The easiest way to follow them is to break them down by the verb endings (just like the present tense). However, before getting to the breakdown, let’s review how to create the past participle in French. In the example, “I have spoken.” is the past participle form while “I spoke.” is the simple past tense.

You will need to conjugate the action verb by adding “-é” (for –ER ending verbs), “-i” or “-u” to it, plus adding the right conjugation of “avoir” (“to have”) before the action verb.

I have visited.	J’ai visité.
You have visited.	Tu as visité.
He has visited.	Il a visité.
We have visited.	Nous avons visité.
You have visited.	Vous avez visité.
They have visited.	Ils ont visité.
I have chosen.	J’ai choisi.
You have chosen.	Tu as choisi.
He has chosen.	Il a choisi.
We have chosen.	Nous avons choisi.
You have chosen.	Vous avez choisi.
They have chosen.	Ils ont choisi.
I have lost.	J’ai perdu.
You have lost.	Tu as perdu.
He has lost.	Il a perdu.
We have lost.	Nous avons perdu.
You have lost.	Vous avez perdu.
They have lost.	Ils ont perdu.

This covers the three common ending types.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

As you probably remember though, there were a lot of verbs that were exptions to the established rules. The following table will help you with some of the most common irregular past participles.

English Infinitive	French Infinite	French Past Participle	English Past Participle
To have	Avoir	Eu	Had
To drink	Boire	Bu	Drunk
To know	Connaître	Connu	Known
To run	Courir	Couru	Run
To beieve	Croire	Cru	Believed
To owe	Devoir	Dû	Ought
To say/tell	Dire	Dit	Said/told
To be	Être	Été	Been
To do/make	Faire	Fait	Done/made
To read	Lire	Lu	read
To put	Mettre	Mis	Put
To offer	Offrir	Offert	Offered
To open	Ouvrir	Ouvert	Opened
To leave	Partir	Parti	Left
To be able	Pouvoir	Pu	Been able
To take	Prendre	Pris	Taken
To receive	Recevoir	Reçu	Received
To laugh	Rire	Ri	Laughed
To know	Savoir	Su	Known
To come	Venir	Venu	Come
To see	Voir	Vu	Seen
To want	Vouloir	Voulu	Wanted

French Verbs That Use Étre in the Past Tense

Sixteen French verbs use “étre” instead of “avoir” to express the past participle.

To go	aller Il est allé.
To arrive	arriver Il est arrivé.
To descend	descendre Il est descendu.
To become	devenir Il est devenu.
To enter	entrer Il est entré.
To go up	monter Il est monté.
To die	mourir Il est mort.
To be born	naître Il est né.
To leave	partir Il est parti.
To return	rentrer Il est rentré.
To remain	rester Il est resté.
To return	retourner Il est retourné.
To come back	revenir Il est revenu.
To go out	sortir Il est sorti.
To fall	tomber Il est tombé.
To come	venir Il est venue.

Conjugating Étre in the Past Tense According to Gender

Each of these requires a different conjugation of “étre” to agree with the gender and whether the subject is singular or plural. For feminine singular nouns, the past participle ends in “-e.” For masculine plural nouns, the past participle ends in “-s.” For feminine plural nouns, the past participle ends in “-es.”

Note that the sound does not change, but you need to know the correct spelling for writing and reading.

I have left (masculine).	Je suis sorti.
I have left (feminine).	Je suis sortie.
You have left (masculine/singular).	Tu es sorti.
You have left (feminine/singiular).	Tu es sortie.
He has left.	Il est sorti.
She has left.	Elle est sortie.
We have left (masculine).	Nous sommes sortis.
We have left (feminine).	Nous sommes sorties.
You have left (masculine/plural).	Vous êtes sortis. (no “s” if singular formal)
You have left (feminine/plural).	Vous êtes sorties. (no “s” if singular formal)
They have left (masculine).	Ils sont sortis.

Negative Past Tense

In French, making a sentence have a negative meaning, you add “ne … pas” around the first part of the verb (“être” or “avoir”).

They did not arrive on time.	Elles ne sont pas arrivées à temps.
I haven’t paid the bill yet.	Je n’ai pas encore payé la note.

Imperfect Past Tense

When you want to express how things use to be, you do that in the imperfect past tense. French also has this tense for the same purpose, and it follows similar rules as English.

Imperfect Past Tense for French Verbs Ending in -ER

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
		Parler	To speak
Je (I)	-ais	Je parlais.	I spoke. I used to speak.
Tu (You – singular)	-ais	Tu parlais.	You spoke. You used to speak.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-ait	Il parlait.	He spoke. He used to speak.
Nous (We)	-ions	Nous parlions.	We spoke. We used to speak.
Vous (You – plural)	-iez	Vous parliez.	You all spoke. You all used to speak.
Ils/Elles (They)	-aient	Ils parlaient.	They spoke. They used to speak.

Imperfect Past Tense for French Verbs Ending in -IR

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
		Finir	To finish
Je (I)	-ais	Je finissais.	I finished. I used to finish.
Tu (You – singular)	-ais	To finissais.	You finished. You used to finish.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-ait	Il finissait.	He finished. He used to finish.
Nous (We)	-ions	Nous finissions.	We finished. We used to finish.
Vous (You – plural)	-iez	Vous finissiez.	You all finished. You all used to finish.
Ils/Elles (They)	-aient	Ils finissaient.	They finished. They used to finish.

Imperfect Past Tense for French Verbs Ending in -RE

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
		Attendre	To wait
Je (I)	-ais	J’attendais	I waited. I used to wait.
Tu (You – singular)	-ais	Tu attendais	You waited. You used to wait.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-ait	Il attendait.	He waited. He used to wait.
Nous (We)	-ions	Nous attendions.	We waited. We used to wait.
Vous (You – plural)	-iez	Vous attendiez.	You all waited. You all used to wait.
Ils/Elles (They)	-aient	Ils attendaient.	They waited. They used to wait.

“Ais”, “ait” and “aient” are all pronounced the same, like the “e” in “bet”.

Pluperfect Tense

There is one more way of saying something in the past tense with a slightly nuanced meaning. It is called the pluperfect tense and includes the use of “to have” in English. The French pluperfect tense follows the same pattern.

I had taken.	J’avais pris.
You had taken.	Tu avais pris.
He had taken.	Il avait pris.
We had taken.	Nous avions pris.
You all had taken	Vous aviez pris.
They had taken.	Ils avaient pris.

I had fallen.	J’étais tombé.
You had fallen.	Tu étais tombé.
He had fallen.	Il était tombé.
She had fallen.	Elle était tombée.
We had fallen.	Nous étions tombés.
You all had fallen.	Vous étiez tombés.
They had fallen.	Ils étaient tombés (masculine).
They ahd fallen.	Elles étaient tombées (feminine).

Future Tense

In English, there’s a simple way to show the future tense: with “will”. But in French you don’t just add a verb for future tense, you also conjugate. And conjugating verbs for future tense isn’t that simple. Fortunately, the different verb endings all follow the same rules and patterns: the infinitive (without its final “e” for the 3^rd class of verb) and the same ending. See the examples of this:

Future Tense Conjugation of Verbs Ending in -ER

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
	-er	Donner	To give
Je (I)	-erai	Je donnerai.	I will give.
Tu (You – singular)	-eras	Tu donneras.	You will give.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-era	Il donnera.	He will give.
Nous (We)	-erons	Nous donnerons.	We will give.
Vous (You – plural)	-erez	Vous donnerez.	You all will give.
Ils/Elles (They)	-ont	Ils donneront	They will give .

Future Tense Conjugation of Verbs Ending in -IR

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
	-ir	Bâtir	To build
Je (I)	-irai	Je bâtirai.	I will build.
Tu (You – singular)	-iras	Tu bâtiras.	You will build.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-ira	Il bâtira.	He will build
Nous (We)	-irons	Nous bâtirons.	We will build.
Vous (You – plural)	-irez	Vous bâtirez.	You all will build.
Ils/Elles (They)	-iront	Ils bâtiront.	They will build.

Future Tense Conjugation of Verbs Ending in -ER

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
	-re	Rendre	To give back.
Je (I)	-rai	Je rendrai.	I will give back.
Tu (You – singular)	-ras	Tu rendras.	You will give back.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-ra	Il rendra.	He will give back.
Nous (We)	-rons	Nous rendrons.	We will give back.
Vous (You – plural)	-rez	Vous rendrez.	You all will give back.
Ils/Elles (They)	-ront	Ils rendront.	They will give back.

Notice that all three have the same verb ending, so you only have to worry about the case and plurality to express future tense.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Future Tense

Many of the verbs that were irregular in the present tense continue to cause problems and be exceptions in the future tense as well. This list of common irregular verbs will help you enhance your vocabulary. They’re all very useful to know.

Pronoun	Aller (to go)	Avoir (to have)	Devoir (must/ought)	Envoyer (to send)	Étre (to be)	Faire (to do/make)
Je (I)	Irai	Aurai	Devrai	Enverrai	Serai	Ferai
Tu (You – singular)	Iras	Auras	Devras	Enverras	Seras	Feras
Il/Elle (He/She)	Ira	Aura	Devra	Enverra	Sera	Fera
Nous (We)	Irons	Aurons	Devrons	Enverrons	Serons	Ferons
Vous (You – plural)	Irez	Aurez	Devrez	Enverrez	Serez	Ferez
Ils/Elles (They)	Iront	Auront	Devront	Enverront	Seront	Feront

Pronoun	Pouvoir (to be able)	Recevoir (to receive)	Savoir (to know)	Venir (to come)	Voir (to see)	Vouloir (to want)
Je (I)	Pourrai	Recevrai	Saurai	Viendrai	Verrai	Voudrai
Tu (You – singular)	Pourras	Recevras	Sauras	Viendras	Verras	Voudras
Il/Elle (He/She)	Pourra	Recevra	Saura	Viendra	Verra	Voudra
Nous (We)	Pourrons	Recevrons	Saurons	Viendrons	Verrons	Voudrons
Vous (You – plural)	Pourrez	Recevrez	Saurez	Viendrez	Verrez	Voudrez
Ils/Elles (They)	Pourront	Recevront	Sauront	Viendront	Verront	Voudront

An Alternative Future Tense for French Verbs

It’s also possible to avoid using future tense if you feel too bogged down in the other tenses to learn these new verb endings. In English, you do this by using a form of “to be” and “going” – “I am going to go,” “She is going to find it,” and “They are going to be late.” All of these indicate something that will happen (it is a future event), but none of them use the future tense with “will.” It is exactly the same in French.

I am going to go.	Je vais y aller.
She is going to find it.	Elle va le trouver.
They are going to be late.	Ils vont être en retard.
I leave for London on Friday.	Je pars pour Londres vendredi

Conditional Tense

As if there weren’t enough tenses, both English and French also have the conditional tense. As the name implies, the structure of the sentence changes based on a condition. “Would” is the most common Engish word associated with this tense – “I would go if the timing were better,” or “They would have found.” There isn’t a word in French to create this tense, but another way to conjugate the verbs. Like the future, it’s based on the infinitive form (without the “e” for 3^rd class verbs) to which the endings of imperfect are added.

English Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example	Translation
		Manger	To eat
Je (I)	-ais	Je mangerais.	I would eat.
Tu (You – singular)	-ais	Tu mangerais.	You would eat.
Il/Elle (He/She)	-ait	Il /Elle mangerait.	He/She would eat.
Nous (We)	-ions	Nous mangerions.	We would eat.
Vous (You – plural)	-iez	Vous mangeriez.	You all would eat.
Ils/Elles (They)	-aient	Ils/Elles mangeraient.	They would eat.

Common Irregular French Verbs in the Conditional Tense

And like all other tenses, there are some verbs that simply refuse to follow the set pattern. It is usually the same set of verbs, which makes it a little easier to remember that you need to adjust the conjugations once you need to say one of these verbs. Nearly all verbs that are irregular in the future tense use the same stem to express the conditional tense.

Pronoun	Aller (to go)	Avoir (to have)	Devoir (must/ought)	Envoyer (to send)	Étre (to be)	Faire (to do/make)
Je (I)	J’irais	J’aurais	Je devrais.	J’enverrais.	Je serais.	Je ferais.

 

Pronoun	Pouvoir (to be able)	Recevoir (to receive)	Savoir (to know)	Venir (to come)	Voir (to see)	Vouloir (to want)
Je (I)	Je pourrais.	Je recevrais.	Je saurais.	Je viendrais.	Je verrais.	Je voudrais.

Conditional Tense in the Past

To express the conditional tense as a past event in French, you add either “avoir” or “étre” and the past participle. Use the past participle section to determine which form of “to be” to use.

I would have sold it.	Je l’aurais vendu.
You would have sold it. vendu (formal)	Tu l’aurais vendu. (informal) / Vous l’auriez
She would have sold it.	Elle l’aurait vendu.
We would have sold it.	Nous l’aurions vendu.
You all would have sold it.	Vous l’auriez tous vendu.
They would have sold it.	Ils l’auraient vendu.

I would have left.	Je serais parti.
You would have left.	Tu serais parti.
She would have left.	Elle serait partie.
We would have left.	Nous serions partis.
You all would have left.	Vous seriez tous partis.
They woud have left.	Ils seraient partis.

Reflexive Verb Tenses

All western languages have reflexive verbs – verbs that require both a subject and repetition of that subject after the verb, although English uses them less frequently than most languages. . For example, “I washed myself after I jogged.” You can omit “myself” and the sentence still makes sense. When speaking French, you cannot omit the reflexive pronoun.

myself	me
yourself (singular)	te
himself/herself/itself	se
ourselves	nous
yourself (plural)	vous
themselves	se

Not only you need to know the right reflexive pronoun, you have to be able to conjugate the verb based on the tense. “To hurry” is a reflexive verb in French. The following show the present tense conjugation of “to hurry.”

I hurry myself.	Je me dépêche.
You hurry yourself.	Tu te dépêches.
She hurries herself.	Elle se dépêche.
We hurry ourselves.	Nous nous dépêchons.
You all hurry yourselves.	Vous vous dépêchez.
They hurry themselves.	Ils/Elles se dépêchent.

It is a little awkward to work in with plural forms because you will repeat the same word twice – “nous nous” and “vous vous.” It takes a little while to get used to it.

List of Common French Reflexive Verbs

To have a good time	s’amuser
To be called, names	s’appeler
To sit down	s’asseoir
To go to bed	se coucher
To get dressed	s’habiller
To wash	se laver
To get up	se lever
To be/feel	se porter
To shave	se raser
To be quiet	se taire
To be located	se trouver

Infinitives with Special Prepositions

This is something that you use all the time in English, with verbs like “to get accustomed to” and “to follow up.” In French, you will need to learn when to use either the preposition “à” or “de” for the verb infinitives that require a preposition.

French Verbs That Use “à”

The following are verbs that use “à” when followed by another verb in the infinitive form.

To learn	apprendre
To help	aider
To begin	commencer
To teach	enseigner
To invite	inviter
He is teaching me to swim.	Il m’enseigne à nager.
We are beginning to understand.	Nous commençons à comprendre.

French Verbs That Use “de”

The following are verbs use “de” when followed by another verb in the infinitive form.

To stop	cesser
To decide	décider
To forbid	défendre
To ask	demander
To tell	dire
To prevent	empêcher
To try	essayer/tâcher
To take care not to	se garder
To fail	manquer
To forget	oublier
To promise	promettre
To refuse	refuser
To remember	se souvenir

He promised that he would try to come	Il a promis qu’il tâcherait de venir.
Don’t fail to go there	Ne manquez pas d’y aller.

Subjunctive Tense

The most painful tense in English is the subjunctive tense. It is largely ignored because it sounds so wrong when you use it properly (“If I were to go, I would bring the cups.” is proper subjective, but it is almost cringeworthy because it both looks and sounds completely wrong). However, it is frequently used in French, so it is important to take the time to learn the French subjunctive sentence structure. Since you are not as familiar, it isn’t going to sound wrong to you either, which is one benefit.

Subjunctive Tense for French Verbs Ending in -ER

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example
	-er	Parler (to speak)
Je (I)	-e	Parle
Tu (You – singular)	-es	Parles
Il/Elle (He/She)	-e	Parle
Nous (We)	-ions	Parlions
Vous (You – plural)	-iez	Parliez
Ils/Elles (They)	-ent	Parlent

Subjunctive Tense for French Verbs Ending in -IR

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example
	-ir	Finir (to finish)
Je (I)	-isse	Finisse
Tu (You – singular)	-isses	Finisses
Il/Elle (He/She)	-isse	Finisse
Nous (We)	-issions	Finissions
Vous (You – plural)	-issiez	Finissiez
Ils/Elles (They)	-issent	Finissent

Subjunctive Tense for French Verbs Ending in -RE

Pronoun	French Verb Ending	Example
	-re	Vendre (to sell)
Je (I)	-e	Vende
Tu (You – singular)	-es	Vendes
Il/Elle (He/She)	-e	Vende
Nous (We)	-ions	Vendions
Vous (You – plural)	-iez	Vendiez
Ils/Elles (They)	-ent	Vendent

Common Irregular Verbs in the Subjunctive Tense

Pronoun	Aller (to go)	Faire (to do/make)	Pouvoir (to be able)	Prendre (to take)	Recevoir (to receive)	Savoir (to know)	Venir (to come)
Je (I)	Aille	Fasse	Puisse	Prenne	Reçoive	Sache	Vienne
Tu (You – singular)	Ailles	Fasses	Puisses	Prennes	Reçoives	Saches	Viennes
Il/Elle (He/She)	Aille	Fasse	Puisse	Prenne	Reçoive	Sache	Vienne
Nous (We)	Allions	Fassions	Puissions	Prenions	Recevions	Sachions	Venions
Vous (You – plural)	Alliez	Fassiez	Puissiez	Preniez	Receviez	Sachiez	Veniez
Ils/Elles (They)	Aillent	Fassent	Puissent	Prennent	Reçoivent	Sachent	Viennent

Examples of French Subjunctive Case

• Expression of desire with “vouloir” and “désirer” (“to want”):
  • I want you to do it. Je veux que vous le fassiez.
• Emotional expression, such as “regretter” (“to be sorry) and “étre surpris” (to be surprised:
  • I am sorry that they left. Je regrette qu’ils soient parties.
• Expressing doubt (“douter”).
  • I doubt that he knows it. Je doute qu’il le cache.
• Impersonal expression, such as “il faut” (it is necessary) and “il est possible” (it is possible).
  • You must go there this morning. Vous devez y aller ce Martin.
• Following some conjuctions, such as “quoique” (although) and “avant que” (before).
  • Tell me what happened before they arrive. Dis-moi ce qui s’est passé avant qu’ils arrivent.

French Verb Commands

Commands are used more often than most people realize. Remember when you give commands, it is always to second person singular and plural. In English, this is understood so that all you have to say is the verb. For example, “Run!” “Speak!” “Sit!” “Go!” For all of these, the understood subject is “you.”

French follows the same pattern. For commands the endings are the same as with the present, except there is no “s” at for “-er” class of verbs when give an order to a single person.

Run!	Cours ! (singular informal) Courez ! (plural or singular formal)
Speak!	Parle ! (s.) Parlez ! (p.)
Choose!	Choisis ! (s.) Choisissez ! (p.)
Go!	Va ! (s.) Allez ! (p.)

Examples of French Command Verbs

If you prefer to avoid sounding demanding or do not wish to repeat the same polite “please” every time you have to give a command, you can use “vouloir” (to want) and “bien” to turn a command into a request.

• Will you please speak louder? Voulez-vous (bien) parlez plus fort ?
• Will you please leave the key? Voulez-vous (bien) laisser la clé.

There are times when you need to issue a command in the first person plural. The most commonly used version of this is “Let’s go!” It’s a command, but it comes across and enthusiastic. It does not require softening, but does require you to conjugate verbs to the first person plural form.

• Allons! – Let’s go!
• Lisons! – Let’s read!
• Commençons! – Let’s start!
• Mangeons! – Let’s eat!

Be there at noon. Soyez-là à midi.It probably does not come as a surprise that “to be” or “être” is conjugated different than other verbs even in the command form.

• Let’s be happy. Soyons heureux.

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