---
title: "The most common French irregular verbs"
description: "The most common French irregular verbs (être, avoir, aller, faire, pouvoir…) with their present tense, past participle and tips to memorise them stress-free."
url: "https://laclassefrancaise.es/en/blog/french-irregular-verbs"
lang: "en"
author: "Thierry Gustin"
published: "2026-10-30"
updated: "2026-11-07"
---

# The most common French irregular verbs

> **Key takeaways** — The most important French irregular verbs are être, avoir, aller, faire, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir, venir, prendre, dire and voir. They make up a large share of the sentences of everyday French. Learn their present tense, past participle and future stem, because the other tenses can almost always be worked out from these forms.

**French irregular verbs** are few in proportion, but they are the ones you use most: *être, avoir, aller, faire*… They turn up in almost every sentence. The good news is that you don't need to learn hundreds of them: master a dozen and you can already say a great deal.

## How are French verbs classified?

Traditionally, they are divided into three groups:

1. **Verbs ending in -er** (*parler, aimer*): the vast majority, and almost all regular. The important exception is *aller*.
2. **Verbs ending in -ir with -issons in the nous form** (*finir → nous finissons*): regular.
3. **The third group**: all the others (*être, avoir, faire, prendre, venir, voir…*). This is where the irregular verbs are.

## The 12 essential irregular verbs

**The most common irregular verbs in French**

| Infinitive | Present (je / nous / ils) | Participle | Future |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| être (to be) | je suis / nous sommes / ils sont | été | je serai |
| avoir (to have) | j'ai / nous avons / ils ont | eu | j'aurai |
| aller (to go) | je vais / nous allons / ils vont | allé | j'irai |
| faire (to do, to make) | je fais / nous faisons / ils font | fait | je ferai |
| pouvoir (can, to be able to) | je peux / nous pouvons / ils peuvent | pu | je pourrai |
| vouloir (to want) | je veux / nous voulons / ils veulent | voulu | je voudrai |
| devoir (must, to have to) | je dois / nous devons / ils doivent | dû | je devrai |
| savoir (to know) | je sais / nous savons / ils savent | su | je saurai |
| venir (to come) | je viens / nous venons / ils viennent | venu | je viendrai |
| prendre (to take) | je prends / nous prenons / ils prennent | pris | je prendrai |
| dire (to say, to tell) | je dis / nous disons / ils disent | dit | je dirai |
| voir (to see) | je vois / nous voyons / ils voient | vu | je verrai |

## Why learn these three forms?

Because the other tenses are built from them:

- From the **present** (*nous faisons*) you form the **imparfait** (*je faisais*), and from the *ils* form (*ils font*… with some exceptions), the **subjunctive**.
- With the **participle** you form all the **compound tenses**: *j'ai fait, j'avais fait, j'aurai fait*.
- With the **future stem** you form the **future** and the **conditional**: *je ferai, je ferais*.

So instead of memorising six tenses, you memorise three key forms per verb.

## Verb families: learn one and you know several

Many irregular verbs have a "family":

- Like **prendre**: *apprendre, comprendre, surprendre* (*j'apprends, j'ai compris*).
- Like **venir**: *revenir, devenir, tenir, obtenir, retenir* (*je deviens, j'obtiens*).
- Like **mettre**: *permettre, promettre, remettre* (*j'ai promis*).
- Like **partir**: *sortir, dormir, servir* (*je sors, nous sortons*).

> **How to memorise them stress-free** — Don't learn the tables by heart in the abstract. Pick one verb a day, write five sentences about your life with it (in the present, past and future) and read them aloud. In two weeks you'll have all twelve verbs in your head… and on the tip of your tongue.

## Typical mistakes made by English speakers

1. **Being and having**: French uses *avoir* where English uses "to be" for age and physical sensations. *J'ai trente ans* (I am thirty), *j'ai faim* (I'm hungry), *j'ai froid* (I'm cold), never ✗ *je suis trente ans*.
2. **The weather**: French uses *faire*, not *être*: *il fait froid* (it's cold), *il fait beau* (it's nice out), not ✗ *il est froid*.
3. **Two verbs for "to know"**: *savoir* is for facts and skills (*je sais nager*, I can swim), *connaître* for people and places (*je connais Paris*).
4. **The auxiliary in the passé composé**: English always uses "have", but *aller, venir, partir, sortir* take *être*: *je suis venu*, not ✗ *j'ai venu*. I cover this in [passé composé vs imparfait](https://laclassefrancaise.es/en/blog/passe-compose-vs-imparfait).

To look up the full conjugation of any verb, [Le Figaro's conjugation tool](https://leconjugueur.lefigaro.fr/) is free and reliable. And to see how these verbs work in the future, read my guide to [the French future tense](https://laclassefrancaise.es/en/blog/french-future-tense).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the most irregular verb in French?

Probably *être*: *je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont*, with very different forms in each tense (*j'étais, je serai, que je sois*).

### Is "aller" a regular -er verb?

No. It is the only truly irregular *-er* verb: *je vais, nous allons, ils vont*, future *j'irai*.

### How many irregular verbs are there in French?

Third-group verbs number a few hundred, but most of them fall into families that follow the same pattern. With about twenty verbs and their derivatives, you cover almost all your needs.

### How do you say "to have to" in French?

*Devoir* (*je dois travailler*) or the impersonal form *il faut* (*il faut travailler*). The structure *avoir à* exists, but it is less common.

— Thierry Gustin, Profesor nativo de francés · November 7, 2026