Key verbs in French
An illustration of how avoir and 锚迟谤别, two very commonly used French verbs, are conjugated
In French, as in any language, there are hundreds of verbs, but there are certain verbs you will come across and use more than others.
The most common ones in French are as follows:
| French | English |
| avoir | to have
|
| 锚迟谤别 | to be |
| aller | to go |
| faire | to do/make |
| vouloir | to want |
| devoir | to have to |
| pouvoir | to be able to |
| 肠辞苍苍补卯迟谤别/蝉补惫辞颈谤 | to know |
| French | avoir |
|---|---|
| English | to have
|
| French | 锚迟谤别 |
|---|---|
| English | to be |
| French | aller |
|---|---|
| English | to go |
| French | faire |
|---|---|
| English | to do/make |
| French | vouloir |
|---|---|
| English | to want |
| French | devoir |
|---|---|
| English | to have to |
| French | pouvoir |
|---|---|
| English | to be able to |
| French | 肠辞苍苍补卯迟谤别/蝉补惫辞颈谤 |
|---|---|
| English | to know |
Auxiliary verbs 鈥 what are they?
Auxiliary verbs are most commonly used when forming the perfect and pluperfect in French and they come from avoir and 锚迟谤别. They are called auxiliaries because they support the main verb you want to write in a past tense.
You will either use them in their present or imperfect tense form, and add on a past participle.
| Subject | Avoir - present | Avoir - imperfect |
| 箩鈥 鈥 I | ai | avais |
| tu 鈥 you (informal) | as | avais |
| il/elle/on - he/she/we | a | avait |
| nous 鈥 we | avons | avions |
| vous 鈥 you (formal, plural) | avez | aviez |
| ils/elles 鈥 they | ont | avaient |
| Subject | 箩鈥 鈥 I |
|---|---|
| Avoir - present | ai |
| Avoir - imperfect | avais |
| Subject | tu 鈥 you (informal) |
|---|---|
| Avoir - present | as |
| Avoir - imperfect | avais |
| Subject | il/elle/on - he/she/we |
|---|---|
| Avoir - present | a |
| Avoir - imperfect | avait |
| Subject | nous 鈥 we |
|---|---|
| Avoir - present | avons |
| Avoir - imperfect | avions |
| Subject | vous 鈥 you (formal, plural) |
|---|---|
| Avoir - present | avez |
| Avoir - imperfect | aviez |
| Subject | ils/elles 鈥 they |
|---|---|
| Avoir - present | ont |
| Avoir - imperfect | avaient |
| Subject | 脢tre - present | 脢tre - imperfect |
| je 鈥 I | suis | 茅迟补颈蝉 |
| tu 鈥 you (informal) | es | 茅迟补颈蝉 |
| il/elle/on - he/she/we | est | 茅迟补颈迟 |
| nous 鈥 we | sommes | 茅迟颈辞苍蝉 |
| vous 鈥 you (formal, plural) | 锚迟别蝉 | 茅迟颈别锄 |
| ils/elles 鈥 they | sont | 茅迟补颈别苍迟 |
| Subject | je 鈥 I |
|---|---|
| 脢tre - present | suis |
| 脢tre - imperfect | 茅迟补颈蝉 |
| Subject | tu 鈥 you (informal) |
|---|---|
| 脢tre - present | es |
| 脢tre - imperfect | 茅迟补颈蝉 |
| Subject | il/elle/on - he/she/we |
|---|---|
| 脢tre - present | est |
| 脢tre - imperfect | 茅迟补颈迟 |
| Subject | nous 鈥 we |
|---|---|
| 脢tre - present | sommes |
| 脢tre - imperfect | 茅迟颈辞苍蝉 |
| Subject | vous 鈥 you (formal, plural) |
|---|---|
| 脢tre - present | 锚迟别蝉 |
| 脢tre - imperfect | 茅迟颈别锄 |
| Subject | ils/elles 鈥 they |
|---|---|
| 脢tre - present | sont |
| 脢tre - imperfect | 茅迟补颈别苍迟 |
Here are some examples:
- 箩鈥檃i fait mes devoirs - I did my homework
- 箩鈥檃vais fait mes devoirs - I had done my homework
- il est parti en vacances - he went on holiday
- il 茅迟补颈迟 parti en vacances - he had gone on holiday
More guides on this topic
- The present tense and depuis
- The perfect tense with avoir and 锚迟谤别
- The imperfect tense
- The pluperfect tense
- The future and immediate future tenses
- The conditional tense
- How to ask questions
- The negative form
- Reflexive verbs
- The imperative
- Impersonal verbs and expressions - il faut, il y a
- Infinitives and perfect infinitives
- The present participle - en