How to conjugate short French -ir verbs
About 30 -ir verbs don’t follow the regular -ir conjugation pattern of finir. These are short verbs because they lack the -iss part of the plural endings that regular -ir verbs have. To conjugate such -ir verbs, the easiest way is to separate the singular forms (je, tu, il/elle/on) from the plural (nous, vous, ils/elles).Here’s how to conjugate the present tense of short -ir verbs for the je, tu, and il/elle/on forms:
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Drop the -ir ending as well as the final consonant before it.
For example, for the verb partir (to leave), you take off -tir, so you’re left with par-.
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Now add the ending that fits your subject: -s, -s, or -t.
In the example, you wind up with this: je pars, tu pars, il/elle/on part.
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Drop only the -ir of the infinitive to get the stem.
For example, for the verb partir, you take off -ir, so you’re left with part-.
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Now add the ending -ons, -ez, or -ent.
You wind up with this: nous partons, vous partez, ils/elles partent.
| je pars | nous partons |
| tu pars | vous partez |
| il/elle/on part | ils/elles partent |
| je grandis | nous grandissons |
| tu grandis | vous grandissez |
| il/elle/on grandit | ils/elles grandissent |
French -ir verbs that behave like -er verbs
Some -ir verbs behave like -er verbs. To conjugate them, you drop the -ir ending, like you would with a regular verb like finir. Then you add, well, the regular -er verb endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, and -ent! Here’s the complete conjugation of one such verb, ouvrir (to open).| j’ouvre | nous ouvrons |
| tu ouvres | vous ouvrez |
| il/elle/on ouvre | ils/elles ouvrent |
The French verbs venir and tenir
Finally, you meet a special group of verbs: venir (to come), tenir (to hold), and all their siblings (called compound verbs because they are formed with a prefix + venir or tenir). Such verbs include: se souvenir (to remember), devenir (to become), revenir (to come back), appartenir (to belong), and soutenir (to support).To conjugate these irregular -ir verbs, drop the -enir of the infinitive and replace it with -iens, -iens, -ient, -enons, -enez, or -iennent. The following tables give you the complete present tense conjugation of venir and tenir.
| je viens | nous venons |
| tu viens | vous venez |
| il/elle/on vient | ils/elles viennent |
| je tiens | nous tenons |
| tu tiens | vous tenez |
| Il/elle/on tient | ils/elles tiennent |