Within the IR verb family of verbs, there are a total of four classes that you'll often encounter in French - and one special case, avoir.
- Regular -IR verbs
- Irregular -IR verbs, such as partir
- Irregular -IR verbs, such as ouvrir
- Completely irregular verbs (pouvoir, venir etc.)
- Avoir
Les Verbes Irréguliers -IR | Irregular -IR Verbs
1. Regular -IR verbs
As detailed in our dedicated regular -ir verb section, to conjugate regular -ir verbs, such as finir
or choisir, remove the infinitive ending (the 'ir') and add the appropriate suffix as per the table below.
| pronoun + | stem + | present ending |
| Je | - | is |
| tu | - | is |
| il / elle / on | - | it |
| nous | - | issons |
| vous | - | issez |
| ils / elles | - | issent |
2. Irregular -IR verbs, such as partir
The first subset of irregular -IR verbs includes the following familiar list as well as each of their derivations (i.e. partir and repartir etc.).
| dormir | to sleep | |
| mentir | to lie | |
| partir | to leave | |
| sentir | to feel / smell | |
| servir | to serve / be useful | |
| sortir | to go out / exit |
The endings for this branch of -IR verbs are detailed below, with sortir the illustration. You'll note they're somewhat
similar to -RE présent endings. The key difference
is that when in a singular form (i.e. je, tu, il/elle/on) they drop the last letter of the stem.
| pronoun + | stem + | present ending |
| Je | sor | s |
| tu | sor | s |
| il / elle / on | sor | t |
| nous | sort | ons |
| vous | sort | ez |
| ils / elles | sort | ent |
3. Irregular -IR verbs, such as ouvrir
The second subset of irregular -IR verbs includes the following list as well as any derivations, if applicable.
| couvrir | to cover | |
| cueillir | to gather / pick | |
| découvrir | to discover | |
| offrir | to offer | |
| ouvrir | to open | |
| souffrir | to suffer |
The endings for this next branch of -IR verbs are detailed below, this time using ouvrir to illustrate. You'll note they're conjugated exactly like -ER présent verbs, which is rather good news to all and sundry - non? To conjugate, remove the infinitive and add the required suffix.
| pronoun + | stem + | present ending |
| Je | ouvr | e |
| tu | ouvr | es |
| il / elle / on | ouvr | e |
| nous | ouvr | ons |
| vous | ouvr | ez |
| ils / elles | ouvr | ent |
4. Completely irregular -IR verbs
The final subset of irregular -IR verbs aren't really a subset at all; they're more a collection of quite distinct and insubordinate
verbs that don't follow a decipherable pattern to speak of. In short, you'll alas have to memorize each verb's various
conjugations
individually.
| asseoir | to sit down | |
| courir | to run | |
| devoir | to have to | |
| falloir | to be necessary | |
| mourir | to die | |
| pleuvoir | to rain | |
| pouvoir | to be able to | |
| recevoir | to receive | |
| savoir | to know | |
| tenir | to hold / keep | |
| valoir | to want | |
| venir | to come | |
| voir | to see | |
| vouloir | to wish |
5. Avoir
Last, but by no means least, unlike its non-conformist -IR cousins listed overhead, avoir is a trés irregular verb. We've dedicated a
little section to it as it's one the most commonly seen and heard. Meaning 'to have', avoir is used in the following situations:
- 'To have' or 'possess' in the traditional sense
J'ai deux vélos I have two bicycles Elle a mal à la tête She has a headache Nous avons eu un bon match We had a good match * Note: The French use avoir (to have), and not être (to be), for a number of expressions that often can catch out English speakers, as detailed in idioms with avoir.
- Avoir is used in the following impersonal expressions
Il y a There is / are Il n'y a pas There isn't / aren't - Avoir is also used in many idiomatic expressions
J'ai été eu I've been had / tricked Tu as un poil dans la main You're lazy J'ai ras le bol I'm fed up - Avoir is used as an auxiliary verb
Conjugated in the present tense, avoir is a 'helper verb' for most verbs except for reflexive verbs and some 'verbs of motion' to form le passé composé.
J'ai pris deux vacences l'année dernière I took two holidays last year As-tu travaillé ce week-end? Did you work this weekend? - Below avoir is conjugated...
...in the present tense. To learn to conjugate avoir in other tenses, check out the uber-useful and highly recommended University of Chicago's ARTFL Project.
pronoun stem J' ai tu as il / elle / on a nous avons vous avez ils / elles ont
