French! Not only a romantic language but also widely spoken. French is spoken in 5 continents and 32 states. There are 300 million French speakers today, and 51 million people are learning French. And you may be one of them. However, did you realize that learning French verb conjugations (la conjugaison) is not easy. Actually, it is really hard, especially Irregular French Verb conjugation makes French learners world miserable. But believe in yourself! If 51 million people learn it, you can learn it too. The trick is studying wisely.

Why So Irregular?

Learning French verb conjugations is quite hard. The regular verbs have their pattern. Even though the regular verbs also have their exceptions, still regular verb conjugations are not as hard as the irregular ones.

And unfortunately, the most common French verbs are irregular. Let’s list some of the most common irregular verbs:

• être – to be
• avoir – to have
• aller – to go
• faire – to make, to do
• voir – to see
• boire – to drink

Learning those irregular French verb conjugations is obviously not easy. Some of the irregular verbs can be grouped and memorized together, but still there are too many things to memorize.

This is why I would like to discuss Conjugaison Game . By practicing French verb conjugations, you may actually both practice regular and irregular verbs. Also you may learn from your mistakes.

Different Than Regulars

Irregular French Verbs, known as “3rd group” has nothing in common with the 1st or 2nd group French verbs. And 3rd group French verbs have no common single rule.

Let’s remember those common rules for the 1st and 2nd group first:

• 1st group: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent
• 2nd group: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent

The 1st and 2nd group French verbs also have their exceptions for different cases. The regular French Verbs are not that regular, but still they have at least common rules. I have another post for the Regular French Verbs.

Now let’s see the 3rd group! Analyzing verbs for Indicatif Présent:

As you realized, the third group does not have one common rule like 1st and 2nd group. The third group is actually not a group, but they are the left outs. However, some verbs in the third group have their similarities, so learning those groups helps to memorize irregular French verb conjugations a bit easier than it seems.

Irregular French Verb Groups

As we discussed above, the third group seems like the group with the left out verbs. They do not have a single common rule. However some of those irregular verbs can form a group and have a common group within themselves. Let’s share some examples for Indicatif Présent:

• dormir, partir, sentir, sortir
  • dormir: je dors, tu dors, il dort, nous dormons, vous dormez, ils dorment
  • partir: je pars, tu pars, il part, nous partons, vous partez, ils partent
  • sentir: je sens, tu sens, il sent, nous sentons, vous sentez, ils sentent
  • sortir: je sors, tu sors, il sort, nous sortons, vous sortez, ils sortent

• vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, savoir
  • vouloir: je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent
  • pouvoir: je peux, tu peux, il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent
  • devoir: je dois, tu dois, il doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils doivent
  • savoir: je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous saves, ils savent

• venir, tenir, devenir, obtenir
  • venir: je viens, tu viens, il vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils viennent
  • tenir: je tiens, tu tiens, il tients, nous tenons, vous tenez, ils tiennent
  • devenir: je deviens, tu deviens, il devient, nous devenons, vous devenez, ils deviennet
  • obtenir: j’obtiens, tu obtiens, il obtient, nous obtenons, vous obtenez, ils obtiennent

• ouvrir, couvrir, souffrir, offrir
  • ouvrir: j’ouvre, tu ouvres, il ouvre, nous ouvrons, vous ouvrez, ils ouvrent
  • couvrir: je couvre, tu courves, il couvre, nous couvrons, vous couvrez, ils couvrent
  • souffrir: je souffre, tu souffres, il souffre, nous souffrons, vous souffrez, ils souffrent
  • offrir: j’offre, tu offres, il offre, nous offrons, vous offrez, ils offrent

• prendre, apprendre, comprendre
  • prendre: je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent
  • apprendre: j’apprends, tu apprends, il apprend, nous apprenons, vous apprenez, ils apprennent
  • comprendre: je comprends, tu comprends, il comprend, nous comprenons, vous comprenez, ils comprennent

• rire, dire, lire, écrire
  • rire: je ris, tu ris, il rit, nous rions, vous riez, ils rient
  • dire: je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent
  • lire: je lis, tu lis, il lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent
  • écrire: j’écris, tu écris, il écrit, nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils écrivent

It seems easier when they are grouped. I recommend to group them while memorizing. Too much practice needed for French Irregular Verbs. Studying from a dedicated practice tool such as Conjugaison Game will make this process easier.

Irregular French Verbs – Once Irregular, Always Irregular

There are more than 20 tenses in French. Some of them highly look alike, and relatively easy, but still there are much things to learn. Unfortunately for French irregular verbs, that means more memorization. Because once a verb is irregular, it is always irregular! So learning irregular verbs for Indicatif Présent is never enough.

Let’s analyze 3 common irregular French verbs (être – to be, avoir – to have, aller – to go) and 2 common regular French verbs (1st group: chanter, 2nd group: finir) for different tenses.

As it may be realized, the French irregular verbs continue to be irregular while using other tenses. Moreover, sometimes the verb’s root also changes, such as;

• être becomes “je fus” for passé simple and “je serai” for futur simple
• avoir becomes “j’ai eu” for passé composé, “j’eus” for passé simple and “j’aurai” for futur simple
• aller becomes “j’irai” for futur simple

If you do not know those rules, probably you will assume that those verbs are completely different.

So What to Do With Irregular French Verb Congugations?

Unfortunately, the rules above are not the whole list of rules for verb conjugations. There are other rules. If you liked this post, you may enjoy my another post for Regular French Verb Conjugations: Struggling With French Verb Conjugations?

If you want or need to learn French, you should cope with this situation wisely.

Learning the grammar from an instructor by taking a course and practicing the knowledge from a textbook is essential. All the applications and webpages are mostly supportive.

I strongly recommend spending extra effort on verb conjugations while studying French. Conjugaison Game website will be useful for this purpose. There are too many exercises to practice. Also it is user-friendly.

In addition, while learning a language, changing the phone’s language and following social media accounts that teach French is quite useful way to increase the exposure to the French language. You may follow Conjugaison Game French Instagram Page to practice French.

À bientôt!