How to Conjugate French -IR Verbs (Past and Present Tense)

French -ir verbs are a common verb pattern (along with regular -er verbs and -re verbs) that usually follow one of two major conjugation patterns, which we discuss in this lesson, along with how to conjugate -ir verbs in the present and past tenses.

How to Conjugate Regular French -IR verbs in the Present Tense

In present tense, the -ir verb pattern is this:

Drop the -ir from the infinitive and add…
je [root verb] + is	nous [root verb] + issons
tu [root verb] + is	vous [root verb] + issez
il [root verb] + it	ils [root verb] + issent

Here are the conjugation tables for a few common regular -IR verbs.

Choisir (“to choose”)
je choisis	nous choississons
tu choisis	vous choississez
il choisit	ils choississent

Finir (“to finish”)
je [root verb] + is	nous [root verb] + issons
tu [root verb] + is	vous[root verb] + issez
il [root verb] + it	ils [root verb] + issent

Common regular -IR verbs

In addition to choisir and finir, a few of the most common regular -ir verbs to know include:

• Bâtir (“to build”) → je bâtis, nous bâtissons
• Obéir (“to obey”) → j’obéis, nous obéissons

How to Conjugate Semi-Regular French -IR verbs in the Present Tense

There are many “semi” regular French -ir verbs that follow a different conjugation pattern. If you think of how –re verbs and –er verbs are conjugated, this pattern is half of each one.

• The singular side of the chart follows the -re verb conjugation pattern
• The plural side follows the -er verb pattern.

You will also need to drop the final letter before the -ir ending for the singular side.

Drop the -ir from the infinitive and…
je [root verb] – final letter + s	nous [root verb] + ons
tu [root verb] – final letter + s	vous [root verb] + ez
il [root verb] – final letter + t	ils [root verb] + ent

Here are the conjugation tables for a few common semi-regular –IR verbs.

Dormir (“to sleep”)
je dors	nous dormons
tu dors	vous dormez
il dort	ils dorment

Sortir (“to exit”)
je sors	nous sortons
tu sors	vous sortez
il sort	ils sortent

Common semi-regular -IR verbs

In addition to dormir and sortir, a few of the most common semi-regular -IR verbs to know include:

• Partir (“to leave”) → je pars, nous partons
• Servir (“to serve”) → je sers, nous servons
• Courir (“to run”) except do not drop the r → je cours, nous courons

Smaller French -IR verb families in the Present Tense

The following verbs might look like normal -ir verbs, but they have sometimes unexpected patterns. However, they often still cluster in smaller verb “families” that all follow a set pattern.

Venir family verbs

One of the most common of the smaller irregular –ir verbs families to know is venir (“to come”). The same pattern below applies to revenir and devenir, as well as tenir (“to hold”), prévenir (“to prevent”), soutenir (“to support”), and parvenir (“to achieve”).

Venir (and other -enir verbs)
je viens	nous venons
tu viens	vous venez
il vient	ils viennent

Ouvrir family verbs

The ouvrir family verbs include couvrir (“to cover”), découvrir (“to discover”), and offrir (“to offer”).

Ouvrir (“to open”) and other -vrir/-frir verbs
j’ouvre	nous ouvrons
tu ouvres	vous ouvrez
il ouvre	ils ouvrent

Completely Irregular French -IR Verbs

And finally, a few –ir verbs stand alone and don’t share a pattern with any other verbs. A couple of the most common verbs are mourir (“to die”) and acquérir (“to acquire”).

Mourir (“to die”)
je meurs	nous mourons
tu meurs	vous mourez
il meurt	ils meurent

Acquérir (“to acquire”)
je acquiers	nous acquérons
tu acquiers	vous acquérez
il acquiert	ils acquièrent

How to Pronounce Present Tense -IR verb endings

On the left side of the chart (the singular forms), neither the final s nor the final t should ever be pronounced. For regular -ir verbs, that means the last sound you pronounce is the i (a long “e” sound in English). For other -ir verbs, it’s generally the last letter before the s or t ending.

On the plural side, the nous and vous endings (-ons and –ez) are pronounced just like they are in regular –er present tense verbs, and the third person plural (ils or elles) –ent ending should not be pronounced, the same as other –er verbs.

For regular -ir verbs that have iss in them on the plural side, the syllable iss is pronounced with an “s” sound and not a “z” sound, like the “-ease” in “crease”. In the third-person plural (ils and elles), the final sound you will pronounce is the iss. We have a lesson on French pronunciation if you need more guidance.

How to Conjugate French -IR verbs in the Passé Composé and Plus-Que Parfait

To form the passé composé and the plus-que parfait with –ir verbs, we’ll need to know the past participle.

Regular past participles for –ir verbs

For most –ir verbs, the past participle will end in i. Simply drop the -ir ending and add an i in its place. For example:

Tu finis (“You finish”) → Tu as fini (“You finished”)

Je choisis (“I choose”) → J’ai choisi (“I chose”)

Irregular past participles for -ir verbs

However, just as with present tense conjugations, certain common -ir verbs have irregular past participles. For example:

Je cours → Vous avez couru

Elle ouvre → Elle a ouvert

French -IR verbs conjugated with être

Several common -ir verbs are conjugated with être instead of avoir in order to construct the passé composé and the plus-que parfait. The ones with regular past participles are partir and sortir. For example:

Ils sont partis rapidement. (“They left quickly.”)

Elle est sortie après le déjeuner. (“She went out after lunch.”)

The -ir verbs with irregular past participles are venir (and all the verbs that end in venir, like devenir and revenir) and mourir.

Elles sont venues chez nous. (“They came to our house.”)

Il est mort hier. (“He died yesterday.”)

Note that -oir verbs are a distinct French verb pattern from –ir verbs and have their own conjugation pattern.

Next Steps

You might want to review -re verbs in the past and present, or brush up on any of the French past tenses (passé composé, plus-que parfait, or imparfait).