French conjugations (present of indicative)

I am learning French

[Originally posted on 02/12/13 on the Duolingo French for English speakers forum by Remy]

French verbs are conventionally divided into three conjugations (“conjugaisons”).

The first two groups follow a regular conjugation, whereas the third group follows an irregular one.

1st GROUP : verbs ending in “-er” (except aller).

ex: “manger” (to eat) : Je mange; Tu manges; Il/Elle mange; Nous mangeons; Vous mangez; Ils/Elles mangent.

2nd GROUP : verbs ending in “-ir”, with the gerund ending in -issant.

ex: “finir” (to finish) : Je finis; Tu finis; Il/Elle finit; Nous finissons; Vous finissez; Ils/Elles finissent.

3rd GROUP :

• In the present of indicative, most of 3rd group verbs have the following endings:

  -s -s -t -ons -ez -ent

  ex: “boire” (to drink): Je bois; Tu bois; Il/Elle boit; Nous buvons; Vous buvez; Ils/Elles boivent.

  ex: “partir” (to leave) : Je pars; Tu pars; Il/Elle part; Nous partons; Vous partez; Ils/Elles partent.

• The verbs ending in “-dre” have the following endings:

  -ds -ds -d -ons -ez -ent

  ex: “vendre” (to sell): Je vends; Tu vends; Il/Elle vend; Nous vendons; Vous vendez; Ils/Elles vendent.

  Except for verbs ending in “-aindre”, “-eindre”, “-oindre”, “-soudre”, such as “craindre” (to fear), “peindre” (to paint), “joindre” (to join), “résoudre” (to solve), which follow the general rule (-s -s -t -ons -ez -ent).

• The verbs “pouvoir” (can), “vouloir” (to want), and “valoir” (to be worth) have the following ending:

  -x -x -t -ons -ez -ent

  ex: “vouloir”: Je veux; Tu veux; Il/Elle veut; Nous voulons; Vous voulez; Ils/Elles veulent.

• The verbs “ouvrir” (to open) and “cueillir” (to pick) have the same ending as the 1st group verbs:

  -e -es -e -ons -ez -ent

  ex: “ouvrir”: J’ouvre; Tu ouvres; Il/Elle ouvre; Nous ouvrons; Vous ouvrez; Ils/Elles ouvrent.

• The verb “aller” is the only verb ending in “-er” that belongs to the third group.

  “aller”: Je vais; Tu vas; Il/Elle va; Nous allons; Vous allez; Ils/Elles vont.

In French, there are 2 verbs that can be used as auxiliary verbs (i.e. in front of another conjugated verb, in compound tenses): “être” and “avoir”:

• “être” (to be) : Je suis; Tu es; Il/Elle est; Nous sommes; Vous êtes; Ils/Elles sont.
• “avoir” (to have) : J’ai; Tu as; Il/Elle a; Nous avons; Vous avez; Ils/Elles ont.

I am learning French