French conjugation

Conjugation is the variation in the endings of verbs (inflections) depending on the person (I, you, we, etc), tense (present, future, etc.) and mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, etc.). Most French verbs are regular and their inflections can be entirely determined by their infinitive form.

French verbs are conventionally divided into three groups. The first two are the -er and -ir conjugations (conjugaisons). Verbs of the first two groups follow the same patterns, largely without exception. The third group displays more variation in form.

The third group is a closed class, meaning that no new verbs of this group are created. Most new verbs are of the first group (téléviser, atomiser, radiographier), with some in the second group (alunir).

In summary the groups are:

  • 1st conjugation: verbs ending in -er (except aller). There are about 6000 verbs in this group.
  • 2nd conjugation: verbs ending in -ir, with the present participle ending in -issant. There are about 300 verbs in this group.
  • 3rd group: All other verbs: verbs with infinitives in -re, -oir, -ir with the present participle ending in -ant, the verb aller.
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