How to Conjugate French Regular -IR Verbs

There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -er, -ir, -re, stem-changing, and irregular. Once youve learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. Regular -ir verbs are the second-largest category of French verbs. Indeed, these verbs are often referred to as second conjugation verbs. The verb form that ends in -ir is called the infinitive, and -ir is the infinitive ending. (In English, by contrast, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word to.) The French verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical.   Conjugating Regular French -ir  Verbs To conjugate regular  -ir  French verbs, its best to run through an example, step by step. Conjugate the French word  choisir  (to choose), for example, by following these steps: Remove the infinitive ending (-ir)  to find the stem (also called the radical).Note that the stem—the verb without  the  -ir ending—is  chois.Add the appropriate simple conjugation ending/s shown in the table in the next section. Note that the conjugation table below does not include  the  compound tenses, which consist of  a form of the auxiliary verb  and  the past participle.  Choisir  normally requires the auxiliary verb  avoir  (to have) in  compound tenses and moods. For  example,  Jai  choisi  would  transelate  as I have chosen. But, if you were to extend the sentence, you would delete the  present perfect, as in:   Jai  choisi  deux  là ©gumes verts. I picked (chose) two green vegetables.   Example Conjugations To conjugate an -ir verb in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings. For example, here are the present tense conjugations for the regular -ir verbs  choisir,  finir  (to finish), and  rà ©ussir  (to succeed): Pronoun Ending choisir chois- finir fin- rà ©ussir rà ©uss- Je -is choisis finis rà ©ussis Tu -is choisis finis rà ©ussis Il -it choisit finit rà ©ussit Nous -issons choisissons finissons rà ©ussissons Vous -issez choisissez finissez rà ©ussissez Ils -issent choisissent finissent rà ©ussissent Some Common French Regular -ir Verbs French regular -ir verbs, the second largest group of French verbs, share a  conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular - ir verbs: Abolir  Ã‚  to abolishAgir  Ã‚  to actAvertir  Ã‚  to warnBà ¢tir  Ã‚  to buildChoisir  Ã‚  to chooseà ©tablir  Ã‚  to establishà ©tourdir  Ã‚  to stun, deafen, make dizzyFinir  Ã‚  to finishGrossir  Ã‚  to gain weight, get fatGuà ©rir  Ã‚  to cure, heal, recoverMaigrir  Ã‚  to lose weight, get thinNourrir  Ã‚  to feed, nourishObà ©ir   to obeyPunir  Ã‚  to punishRà ©flà ©chir  Ã‚  to reflect, thinkRemplir  Ã‚  to fillRà ©ussir  Ã‚  to succeedRougir  Ã‚  to blush, turn redVieillir  Ã‚  Ã‚  to grow old Exceptions: Irregular -ir Verbs Most of the French -ir verbs are regular verbs, which conform to the previously discussed rules for conjugation. Its important to keep in mind that there are a number of  irregular -ir verbs  in French. These verbs can be tricky, but there is some good news: Only about 50 irregular -ir verbs exist in French, and they have only 16 conjugations. To simplify things further, most of those fall into just three groups. The first group of irregular  -ir  verbs is essentially conjugated like the verb  partir  (to leave).  This  group includes such verbs as: Consentir   to consentDà ©partir  Ã‚  to accordDormir   to sleep  Endormir  Ã‚  to put/send to sleep The second group consists of verbs that end in  -llir,  -frir,  or, -vrir, and  almost all are conjugated like  regular -er verbs. Examples of these verbs include: Couvrir  Ã‚  to cover  Cueillir  Ã‚  to pick  Ã‚  Dà ©couvrir   to discoverEntrouvrir  Ã‚  to half-open In the third group, verbs such as  tenir  (to hold) and  venir  (to come) and their derivatives follow a shared conjugation pattern in the present tense. Note, however, a major difference in the compound tenses:  Venir  and most of its derivatives use  Ãƒ ªtre  as their  auxiliary verb, while  tenir  and its derivatives use  avoir. Wild Cards The remaining irregular  -ir  verbs dont follow a pattern.  You just have to memorize the conjugations for each of the following verbs separately. Luckily, they are among the most frequently used French verbs, so memorizing their conjugations is completely worth the trouble. They include: Acquà ©rir   to  acquire  Ã‚  Asseoir   to sitAvoir  Ã‚  to haveConquà ©rir   to  conquerCourir  Ã‚  to run