Skip to Content

Finir Conjugation: How To Conjugate “To Finish” In French

Finir Conjugation: How To Conjugate “To Finish” In French

What is the conjugation of finir in French?

The conjugation of finir (Meaning: to finish in French) is: Je finis (I finish), tu finis (you finish), il, elle finit (he, she finishes), nous finissons (we finish), vous finissez (you finish) and ils, elles finissent (they finish). This page provides conjugation charts of finir in seven major verb tenses.

Finir conjugation

Finir is a regular -ir verb. This means that it’s endings when conjugated in the present tense are the same as all other regular -ir verbs. It’s present tents endings are: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez and -issent.

The past participle of finir is fini (finished) and the present participle of finissant (finishing).

This page covers the following verb tenses:

  • Present tense (le présent)
  • Compound past (passé composé)
  • Imperfect (l’imparfait)
  • Simple future (le futur simple)
  • Conditional (le présent du conditionnel)
  • Present subjunctive (le subjonctif)
  • Imperative (l’impératif)

How to use the verb finir

Finir + noun

When followed by a noun, finir simply means “to finish”. For example:

  • Sylvie finit son repas. Sylvie finishes her meal.
  • Nous finissons le projet. We finish the project.

Finir de + infinitive = to finish an action

The construction finir de + infinitive is used to express the finishing of an action. For example:

  • Marie finit de chanter. Marie finishes singing.
  • Nous finissons de travailler. We finish working.

Finir par + inf = to end up

The construction finir par + infinitive is used to express “to end up”. For example:

  • Thomas a fini par vendre les chaussures. Thomas ended up selling shoes.

Finir conjugation table

Finir conjugation table

Finir conjugation charts

Present tense (le présent)

In the present tense, je finis can translate to both “I finish” and “I am finishing”.

Je finisI finishJe finis mon travail vers dix-sept heures.I finish my work around 5pm.
Tu finisYou finish (informal, singular)Tu finis le roman en une semaine. You finish the novel in one week.
Il, elle finitHe, she finishesElle finit son projet cette semaine.She's finishing the project this week.
Nous finissonsWe finishNous finissons toute la pizza. We are finishing the entire pizza.
Vous finissezYou finish (formal, plural)Vous finissez la bouteille de champagne.You finish the bottle of champagne.
Ils, elles finissentThey finishIls finissent de travailler très tard. They finish working very late.

In the following video, online French teacher Alexa teaches the pronunciation of finir in the present tense.

Compound past (passé composé)

The French use the passé composé to express past actions which occurred a specific times. J’ai fini means “I finished”.

J'ai finiI finishedJ'ai fini mon travail juste avant minuit.I finished my work just before midnight.
Tu as finiYou finished (informal, singular)Tu as finis ton repas avant les autres enfants. You finished your meal before the other kids.
Il, elle a finiHe, she finishedIl a finit de manger avec les autres invités. He finished eating before the other guests.
Nous avons finiWe finishedNous avons fini le film avant vingt-deux heures.We finished the movie before 10pm.
Vous avez finiYou finished (formal, plural)Vous avez fini le projet bien en avance.You have finished the project very early.
Ils, elles ont finiThey finishedIls ont fini par se battre. Then ended up fighting each other.

Imperfect (l’imparfait)

In the imperfect tense, je finissais means “I was finishing” or “I used to finish”. The French use the imperfect to express past actions which occurred at unspecified times.

Je finissaisI was finishing, used to finishJe finissais mon travail quand le téléphone a sonné.I was finishing my work when the phone rang.
Tu finissaisYou were finishing, used to finish (informal, singular)Quand j'étais a l'université je finissais d'étudier vers minuit.When I was in university I used to finish studying around midnight.
Il, elle finissaitHe, she was finishing, used to finishElle finissait le projet quand le patron est venu.She was finishing the project when the boss came.
Nous finissionsWe were finishing, used to finishNous finissions le repas quand le serveur est venu à la table.We were finishing the meal when the waiter came to the table.
Vous finissiezYou were finishing, used to finish (formal, plural)Vous finissiez le film quand quelqu'un a frappé à la porte.You were finishing the movie when somebody knocked on the door.
Ils, elles finissaientThey were finishing, used to finishIls finissaient de travailler vers vingt-deux heures quand ils étaient plus jeunes. They used to finish working around 8pm when they were younger.
Elle finit ses devoirs. She finishes her home work.

Simple future (le futur simple)

In the future tense (le futur simple), je finirai translates to “I will finish”.

Je finiraiI will finishJe finirai le roman ce week-end. I'll finish the novel this weekend.
Tu finirasYou will finish (informal, singular)J'espère que tu finiras ton repas!I hope you'll finish your meal!
Il, elle finiraHe, she will finishQuand est-ce qu'il finira son travail?When will he finish his work?
Nous finironsWe will finishNous finirons de travailler demain soir. We'll finish working tomorrow evening.
Vous finirezYou will finish (formal, plural)Quand est-ce que vous finirez de chanter?When will you finish singing?
Ils, elles finirontThey will finishEst-ce qu'ils finiront la bouteille de vin?Will they finish the bottle of wine?

Conditional (le présent du conditionnel)

The French use the conditional tense (le conditionnel) to express hypothetical actions.

Je finiraisI would finishJe finirais mon travail si j'avais assez de temps.I'd finish my work if I had enough time.
Tu finiraisYou would finish (informal, singular)Tu finirais le repas si tu avais faim. You'd finish the meal if you were hungry.
Il, elle finiraitHe, she would fnishElle finirait le projet mais elle n'a pas assez de temps.She'd finish the project but she doesn't have enough time.
Nous finirionsWe would finishNous finirions les frites mais nous n'avons plus faim.We'd finish the French fries but we're not hungry anymore.
Vous finiriezYou would finish (formal, plural)Vous finiriez le projet si vous aviez plus d'argent.You'd finish the project if you had more money.
Ils, elles finiraientThey would finishIls finiraient la pizza mais ils sont rassasiés.They'd finish the meal but they're full.

Present subjunctive (le subjonctif)

The French use the subjunctive mood to express wishes, emotions and doubts. Que je finisse translates to “that I finish”.

que je finissethat I finishIl faut que je finisse mon travail. I need to finish my work.
que tu finissesthat you finish (informal, singular)Je doute que tu finisses le projet aujourd'hui. I doubt you're finishing the project today.
qu'il, elle finissethat he, she finishesJe suis content qu'il finisse son repas.I'm happy he's finishing his meal.
que nous finissionsthat we finishIl faut que nous finissions le plus rapidement possible. We need to finish as quickly as possible.
que vous finissiezthat you finish (formal, plural)J'exige que vous finissiez le projet tout de suite!I demand that you finish the project right away!
qu'ils, elles finissentthat they finishJe ne sais pas s'ils finissent la pizza. I don't know if they're finishing the pizza.

Imperative (l’impératif)

The French use the imperative mood for giving commands. “Finis!” translates to “finish!”.

Finis!Finish! (singular, informal)Finis tes légumes!Finish your vegetables!
Finissons!Let's finish!Finissons la pizza! Let's finish the pizza!
Finissez!Finish! (plural, formal)Finissez le projet!Finish the project!

More French verb conjugation tables:

Sharing is caring!

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.

See all posts by