Present Tense: Common Irregular Verbs

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'aller' means 'to go' and is completely irregular in the present tense, despite ending in '-er'. Its forms are: je vais, tu vas, il/elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont. Note that it is also the auxiliary verb used to form the futur composé.

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'faire' means 'to do' or 'to make'. Its present tense forms are: je fais, tu fais, il/elle fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils/elles font. Pay special attention to the 'vous faites' form, which does not follow the standard '-ez' pronunciation pattern.

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'prendre' means 'to take' (also used for eating or drinking). Singular forms drop the 'd': je prends, tu prends, il/elle prend. The plural forms double the 'n': nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent. Compounds like 'comprendre' and 'apprendre' follow this exact pattern.

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'venir' means 'to come'. Its present tense forms are: je viens, tu viens, il/elle vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils/elles viennent. Notice the stem change to 'vien-' for singular and third-person plural forms, and the double 'n' in 'viennent'.

📌 Note de grammaire

The modal verb 'pouvoir' expresses ability or permission ('can' / 'to be able to'). Its present tense is: je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils/elles peuvent. Note the 'x' ending for the singular forms ('je peux', 'tu peux').

📌 Note de grammaire

The modal verb 'vouloir' means 'to want'. Like 'pouvoir', it uses 'x' for its singular endings: je veux, tu veux, il/elle veut. The plural forms return to regular-looking endings with a 'l' stem: nous voulons, vous voulez, ils/elles veulent.

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'savoir' means 'to know' facts, information, or how to do something. Its present tense forms are: je sais, tu sais, il/elle sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils/elles savent. Note the unique 'sais' / 'sait' pronunciation, which sounds like 'sè'.

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'voir' means 'to see'. Its present tense paradigm is: je vois, tu vois, il/elle voit, nous voyons, vous voyez, ils/elles voient. Notice the 'y' that appears in the plural forms (nous voyons, vous voyez) and the 'i' returning in 'voient'.

📌 Note de grammaire

The verb 'dire' means 'to say' or 'to tell'. Its present tense forms are: je dis, tu dis, il/elle dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils/elles disent. Watch out for the exceptional 'vous dites' form, which mirrors 'faire' ('vous faites') rather than following regular '-ez' patterns.

📌 Note de grammaire

While most French verbs take '-ez' for the second-person plural ('vous'), high-frequency verbs like 'dire' and 'faire' take irregular endings: 'vous dites' and 'vous faites'. (Note: 'être' also does this with 'vous êtes').

📌 Note de grammaire

Unlike most verbs that take '-s' or '-e' in the first and second-person singular (je/tu), the modal verbs 'pouvoir' and 'vouloir' take an '-x' ending: 'je peux', 'tu peux', 'je veux', 'tu veux'.

📌 Note de grammaire

Verbs like 'prendre' (prenn-) and 'venir' (vien-) feature stem mutations in the third-person plural ('ils/elles'). They double their nasal consonant ('nn') and take the silent '-ent' ending: 'ils prennent', 'elles viennent'.