Regular verbs in French are verbs that have fixed or set endings patterns in the present tense. There are three groups of regular verbs: regular -er verbs, regular -ir verbs and regular -re verbs. This post will explain regular French verbs in detail. Keep reading.

Conjugations for regular ER, IR and RE verbs

The -er, -ir and -re are last letters of the infinitive forms of the verbs in each category.

The following table summarizes the verb endings for each group. Keep reading as we’ll explain each group in detail with lists of example verbs.

Regular -er verbs

The verb “parler“ means to speak. In the infinitive form (the “to” form, as in “to speak”), it ends in -er. All verbs which end in -er in the infinitive form and have the same patterns in their endings are thus called regular -er verbs.

Let’s look at how to conjugate parler.

je parle
tu parles
il, elle, on parle
nous parlons
vous parlez
ils, elles parlent

The parl- part of the verb is called the verb stem or root. The verb endings are the letters that are attached to the stem. For a regular -er verb, the stem includes all of the letters leading up to the -er. The endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez and -ent.

Thus, for all regular -er verbs, the pattern of the endings is the exact same as parler.

Let’s look at another example of a regular -er verb. Regarder means to watch or look at. Regarder is the infinitive or “to” form. It’s stem is “regard”. So, to conjugate regarder we just attach the same endings as parler.

je regarde
tu regardes
il, elle regarde
nous regardons
vous regardez
ils, elles regardent

Regular -er verb example: Regarder (to look at, watch) — Example of a French regular -er verb with example sentences.

The table below shows several common regular -er verbs in the present tense:

aimer (to like, love)
chanter (to sing)
danser (to dance)
jouer (to play)
écouter (to sing)
étudier (to study)
travailler (to work)
dîner (to have dinner)
habiter (to live).

aimer j'aime tu aimes il, elle, on aime nous aimons vous aimez ils, elles aiment	chanter je chante tu chantes il, elle, on chante nous chantons vous chantez ils, elles chantent	danser je danse tu danses il, elle, on danse nous dansons vous dansez ils, elles dansent
jouer je joue tu joues il, elle, on joue nous jouons vous jouez ils, elles jouent	écouter j'écoute tu écoutes il, elle, on écoute nous écoutons vous écoutez ils, elles écoutent	étudier j'étudie tu étudies il, elle, on étudie nous étudions vous étudiez ils, elles étudient
travailler je travaille tu travailles il, elle, on travaille nous travaillons vous travaillez ils, elles travaillent	dîner je dîne tu dînes il, elle, on dîne nous dînons vous dînez ils, elles dînent	habiter j'habite tu habites il, elle, on habite nous habitons vous habitez ils, elles habitent

Off all the groups of regular verbs, regular -er verbs are the most common. Here are several regular -re verbs which you will most certainly need to know for everyday conversations:

accepter to accept
accompagner to accompany, go with
aider to help
arrêter to stop
arriver to arrive
changer to change
chercher to look for
commmencer to start
déjeuner to have lunch
demander to ask
fermer to close
laisser to leave, let
oublier to forget
passer to pass, spend time
penser to think
préparer to prepare
pleurer to cry
porter to carry
rencontrer to meet
rentrer to come back
trouver to find
travailler to work

Regular -ir verbs

The next group of regular verbs is regular -ir verbs. In this category, all infinitives start with an -ir and the endings are as follows: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez-, -ssent.

Regular -ir verbs can be a bit trickier to learn than regular -er verbs because of all of the letters. Here’s how the verb finir (to finish) looks when it’s conjugated.

je finis
tu finis
il, elle finit
nous finissons
vous finissez
ils, elles finissent

One tip is to focus on the sounds.

Here’s what I mean. For the verb finir, the stem is “fin”. Simply, isolate the sound of the stem in your mind (fin), then add the endings focusing on their sounds. Here’s what I mean:

je fin + ee (is)
tu fin + ee (is)
il, elle, on fin + ee (it)
nous fin + eesons (issons)
vous fin + eesay (issez)
ils, elles fin + eese (issent)

If you get confused on the the “eese” sounds for the ils, elles form just think of lots of “geese” flying in the sky!

Regular -ir verb example: Finir (to finish) — Example of a French regular -ir verb with example sentences.

The following table includes some common regular -ir verbs conjugated in the present tense:

choisir (to choose)
grossir (to gain weight)
maigrir (to lose weight)
réussir (to succeed)
obéir (to obey)
grandir (to grow up).

choisir je choisis tu choisis il, elle, on choisit nous choisissons vous choisissez ils choisissent	grossir je grossis tu grossis il, elle, on grossit nous grossissons vous grossissez ils grossissent	maigrir je maigris tu maigris il, elle, on maigrit nous maigrissons vous maigrissez ils maigrissent
réussir je réussis tu réussis il, elle, on réussit nous réussissons vous réussissez ils réussissent	obéir j'obéis tu obéis il, elle, on obéit nous obéissons vous obéissez ils obéissent	grandir je grandis tu grandis il, elle, on grandit nous grandissons vous grandissez ils grandissent

Regular -re verbs

The third group of regular verbs is regular -re verbs. These verbs are not difficult to learn but can cause pronunciation issues.

Let’s looks the verb vendre (to sell) as an example. The infinitive form ends in an -re. What it regular is its endings are -s, -s, -, -ons, -ez and -ent. All infinitives that end in -re and have these endings are regular -re verbs. Here’s vendre conjugated in the present tense.

je vends
tu vends
il, elle, on vend
nous vendons
vous vendez
ils, elles vendent

The most important thing here is to get the pronunciation correct. On the je, tu and il/elle forms do not say the -d. Cut it short on the nasal “en” (pronunciation symbole ɑ̃) sound.

On the ils, elles forms be sure to pronounce the -d very clearly. That way your listener can her that you’re saying they sell (ils vendent) and not he/she sells (il/elle vend). Thus, the pronunciation would look like this:

je v + en (ɑ̃)
tu v + en (ɑ̃)
il, elle, on v + en (ɑ̃)
nous v + en + d + on (ɔ̃)
vous v + en + day
ils, elles v + en (ɑ̃) + d

Regular -re verb example: Attendre (to wait) — Example of a French regular -re verb with example sentences.

The following table contains several common regular -re verbs conjugated in the present tense:

attendre (to wait)
entendre (to hear)
perdre (to lose)
rendre (to return)
descendre (to go down)
répondre (to answer, reply).

attendre j'attends tu attends il, elle, on attend nous attendons vous attendez ils attendent	entendre j'entends tu entends il, elle, on entend nous entendons vous entendez ils entendent	perdre je perds tu perds il, elle, on perd nous perdons vous perdez ils perdent
rendre je rends tu rends il, elle, on rend nous rendons vous rendez ils rendent	descendre je descends tu descends il, elle, on descend nous descendons vous descendez ils descendent	répondre je réponds tu réponds il, elle, on répond nous répondons vous répondez ils répondent

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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