French Verb Conjugations

French verbs are organized into three groups based on their infinitive endings: -er (the largest group), -ir, and -re. While first-group (-er) verbs follow regular patterns, many of the most common French verbs are irregular and must be memorized individually.

A distinctive feature of French is the passé composé, a compound past tense formed with an auxiliary verb — either avoir or être — plus the past participle. Verbs conjugated with être require the past participle to agree in gender and number with the subject. French also uses the subjonctif (subjunctive) more actively than English, especially after expressions of doubt, emotion, and desire.