French Verbs – Present Tense of Regular -ir Verbs

Regular verbs in French fall into one of three categories, depending on their ending. There are -er verbs, such as jouer (‘to play’), -re verbs, such as attendre (‘to wait’); and -ir verbs such as finir (‘to finish’). The biggest group is the -er verbs, covered in this lesson.

What are the present tense endings for -ir verbs in French?

Verbs ending in -ir are formed by first removing the -ir from the infinitive to create the stem, to which the following endings are added:

je	-is
tu	-is
il	-it
elle	-it
nous	-issons
vous	-issez
ils	-issent
elles	-issent

Let’s check this out in practice, with the verb finir, ‘to finish,’ where the endings have been highlighted:

finir	to finish
je finis	I finish
tu finis	you finish
il finit	he finishes
elle finit	she finishes
nous finissons	we finish
vous finissez	you finish
ils finissent	they finish
elles finissent	they finish

What are common -ir verbs in French?

Common -ir verbs in French, which work in the same way as above, include:

accomplir	to accomplish
agir	to act
avertir	to warn
bâtir	to build
choisir	to choose
établir	to establish
finir	to finish
obéir	to obey
punir	to punish
réfléchir	to reflect
remplir	to fill
réussir	to succeed

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