The meanings of the French verbs lire (to read), dire (to say/tell), and conduire (to drive) have nothing in common. However, they have a similar irregularity, so if you group them together, you may have more luck remembering them. This is how you form their present tense:
Drop the -re of the infinitive to get the stem.
Add the ending for the subject you need: -s, -s, -t, -sons, -sez, or -sent.
The one exception in this group of irregular verbs is the vous form of dire. It is dites, not disez.
The following tables give you the present tense conjugation of lire, dire, and conduire.
je lis | nous lisons |
tu lis | vous lisez |
il/elle/on lit | ils/elles lisent |
je dis | nous disons |
tu dis | vous dites* |
il/elle/on dit | ils/elles disent |
je conduis | nous conduisons |
tu conduis | vous conduisez |
il/elle/on conduit | ils/elles consduisent |