Day 4 - French verbs groups

French verbs are classified into 3 groups; each of them has different endings in the present tense:

Group 1

ending with er

Those verbs are regular and easy to conjugate ex: manger - (to eat)

Conjugating first group verbs in the present tense is quite simple. It is always the same. Here are two examples for you to understand : donner - (to give) et parler - (to talk).

donner	to give
je donne	I give
tu donnes	you give
il donne	he gives
nous donnons	we give
vous donnez	you give
ils donnent	they give

Note: "donne", "donnes" and "donnent" should be pronounced exactly the same.

parler	to talk
je parle	I talk
tu parles	you talk
il parle	he talks
nous parlons	we talk
vous parlez	you talk
ils parlent	they talk

Note: "parle", "parles" and "parlent" should be pronounced exactly the same.

Group 2

Ending with ir

end with -issons in the first person plural ex: finir  (to end)

The second group is a bit more complicated, just a bit!

finir	to end/finish
je finis	I end
tu finis	you end
il finit	he ends
nous finissons	we end
vous finissez	you end
ils finissent	they end

Note: "finis" and "finit" should be pronounced exactly the same. Remember, do NOT pronounce the final "s" or "t".

2nd group verbs are called "verbes en -issons" since their ending is ALWAYS -issons in the first person plural (ex: finissons).

Let's see anothers example:

blêmir	to pale
je blêmis	I pale
tu blêmis	you pale
il blêmit	he pales
nous blêmissons	we pale
vous blêmissez	you pale
ils blêmissent	they pale

Group 3

ir indre oir ettre

a bit hard to conjugate ex: partir  (to leave), atteindre  (to reach), pouvoir  (to be able to), mettre (to put)

The 3rd group verbs are irregular and therefore not as easy to learn as 1st group verbs. They can have two types of endings:

Pers.	1st type	2nd type
1st - sing	s	e
2nd - sing	s	es
3rd - sing	t	e
1st - plur	ons	ons
2nd - plur	ez	ez
3rd - plur	ent	ent

1st type: Some 3rd group verbs, such as partir (to leave), end as follows:

partir	to leave
je pars	I leave
tu pars	you leave
il part	he leaves
nous partons	we leave
vous partez	you leave
ils partent	they leave

2nd type: Some 3rd group verbs, such as ouvrir (to open), end as follows:

ouvrir	to open
j'ouvre	I open
tu ouvres	you open
il ouvre	he opens
nous ouvrons	we open
vous ouvrez	you open
ils ouvrent	they open

and also all verbs based on ouvrir: couvrir (to cover), découvrir (to discover), recouvrir (to cover), entrouvrir (to open a little), rentrouvrir (to open a little again), rouvrir (to open again).

Complete list of third group verbs

There are approximately 350 3rd group verbs. Here is the list! 

Verbs in bold have the same endings as the others below them.