Unit 2 · Lesson 2
Regular -ir & -re Verbs
Beyond -er verbs, French has two more regular conjugation families. The -ir verbs use a distinctive -iss- infix, while -re verbs are the simplest — the il/elle form adds nothing at all.
Side-by-side: finir vs. vendre
-ir (finir)
-re (vendre)
je finis
je vends
tu finis
tu vends
il finit
il vend
nous finissons
nous vendons
vous finissez
vous vendez
ils finissent
ils vendent
Common mistakes — -ir and -re verbs
✗ il réussite à l'examen
✓ il réussit: 'réussite' is a noun (success). The verb is réussit (no extra -e).
✗ ils finient
✓ ils finissent: -ir verbs take -issent, not -ient. The -iss- infix is always there for plural forms.
✗ il vends
✓ il vend: the il/elle form of -re verbs drops the -re and adds NOTHING. No -s added.
✗ nous choisisons
✓ nous choisissons: the infix is -iss-, not -is-. The full endings are: -issons / -issez / -issent.
✗ tu répond
✓ tu réponds: for je and tu forms of -re verbs, add -s: je vends, tu vends, je réponds, tu réponds.
-ir and -re verbs
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French
finir
tap to flip
English
to finish: je finis
-ir verbs: remove -ir → fin-, add: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent.
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-ir and -re conjugations
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Click a French word, then click its English match.
Conjugate the verb
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Hint: finir → ils finissent (-issent ending)
The students finish their homework before dinner.
-ir & -re verbs quiz
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What endings are added to -ir verbs for 'nous' and 'vous'?