French -RE Verbs: 30 Essentials for A2
🇫🇷 French · 30 cards · A2 · by Théo Marchand
These are the thirty -RE verbs I actually use, in Lyon and in Montréal alike. The label "-re verb" hides two very different things: attendre, entendre, perdre, vendre, rendre, répondre and descendre share one tidy pattern (j'attends, nous attendons, j'ai attendu), while prendre, boire, connaître, craindre or écrire each go their own way. That is why every card gives you the key present-tense forms and the past participle — you need both before you can say anything in the passé composé. Read the example out loud, then swap the subject for nous and ils: that is exactly where these verbs spring their surprises.
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 30 cards
| # | French | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | prendre Irregular: je prends, nous prenons, ils prennent; p.p. pris. Also used for transport: prendre le métro. | to take; to have (food, drink) | Je prends un café et rien d'autre. I'll have a coffee and nothing else. | |
| 2 | mettre je mets, nous mettons; p.p. mis. Also: mettre la table (to set the table), mettre deux heures (to take two hours). | to put; to put on (clothes) | Mets ton manteau, il fait froid dehors. Put your coat on, it's cold outside. | |
| 3 | attendre The model regular -re verb: j'attends, tu attends, il attend, nous attendons, vous attendez, ils attendent; p.p. attendu. No preposition: attendre quelqu'un. | to wait, to wait for | Attends-moi deux minutes, j'arrive ! Wait for me a couple of minutes, I'm coming! | |
| 4 | entendre Regular like attendre: j'entends, nous entendons; p.p. entendu. Entendre = a sound reaches you; écouter = listening on purpose. | to hear | Tu entends ce bruit dans la cuisine ? Do you hear that noise in the kitchen? | |
| 5 | comprendre Conjugated like prendre: je comprends, nous comprenons, ils comprennent; p.p. compris. | to understand | Désolé, je n'ai pas compris ta question. Sorry, I didn't understand your question. | |
| 6 | apprendre Like prendre; p.p. appris. Apprendre à quelqu'un à faire quelque chose = to teach someone to do something. | to learn; to teach (someone something) | J'apprends le français depuis deux ans. I've been learning French for two years. | |
| 7 | répondre Regular -re: je réponds, nous répondons; p.p. répondu. Always répondre à quelqu'un / à quelque chose — the à is obligatory. | to answer, to reply | Elle n'a pas répondu à mon message. She didn't reply to my message. | |
| 8 | dire Irregular: je dis, nous disons, vous dites (not *disez*), ils disent; p.p. dit. Dire quelque chose à quelqu'un. | to say, to tell | Qu'est-ce que tu as dit ? Je n'ai pas entendu. What did you say? I didn't hear. | |
| 9 | lire je lis, nous lisons, ils lisent; p.p. lu. | to read | Je lis dix minutes avant de dormir. I read for ten minutes before going to sleep. | |
| 10 | écrire j'écris, nous écrivons, ils écrivent; p.p. écrit. Écrire à quelqu'un. | to write | Il m'écrit presque tous les jours. He writes to me almost every day. | |
| 11 | boire je bois, nous buvons, ils boivent; p.p. bu. Three stems to drill: boi-, buv-, boiv-. | to drink | Tu bois quelque chose avant de partir ? Are you having something to drink before you go? | |
| 12 | croire je crois, nous croyons, ils croient; p.p. cru. « Je crois que… » is the everyday way to say "I think that…". | to believe; to think | Je crois qu'il est déjà parti. I think he's already left. | |
| 13 | perdre Regular -re: je perds, nous perdons; p.p. perdu. Perdre son temps = to waste one's time. | to lose | J'ai encore perdu mes clés. I've lost my keys again. | |
| 14 | vendre Regular -re: je vends, nous vendons; p.p. vendu. Vendre quelque chose à quelqu'un. | to sell | Ils vendent leur voiture sur internet. They're selling their car online. | |
| 15 | descendre Regular -re, but takes être in the passé composé when there is no direct object: je suis descendu. With an object, avoir: j'ai descendu les poubelles. | to go down; to get off (a bus, train) | On descend à la prochaine station. We're getting off at the next stop. | |
| 16 | rendre Regular -re; p.p. rendu. Very common in « ça me rend fou » (that drives me crazy) and « rendre visite à » (to visit a person). | to give back; to make (+ adjective) | Rends-moi mon chargeur, s'il te plaît. Give me back my charger, please. | |
| 17 | vivre je vis, nous vivons; p.p. vécu. Habiter is about the dwelling, vivre about the life you lead. | to live | Je vis à Montréal depuis cinq ans. I've been living in Montréal for five years. | |
| 18 | suivre je suis (identical to être!), nous suivons; p.p. suivi. Suivre un cours = to take a class. | to follow; to take (a course) | Suis-moi, c'est juste au coin. Follow me, it's right around the corner. | |
| 19 | connaître je connais, il connaît, nous connaissons; p.p. connu. Savoir for facts and skills. Resto is casual for restaurant; the 1990 spelling connaitre is also accepted. | to know (a person, a place) | Tu connais ce petit resto vietnamien ? Do you know that little Vietnamese place? | |
| 20 | rire je ris, nous rions; p.p. ri. Rire de quelqu'un = to laugh at someone. | to laugh | On a beaucoup ri hier soir. We laughed a lot last night. | |
| 21 | conduire je conduis, nous conduisons; p.p. conduit. In casual Québec French you'll also hear « chauffer » (familiar) for driving a car. | to drive | Elle conduit beaucoup trop vite. She drives way too fast. | |
| 22 | permettre Like mettre: je permets, nous permettons; p.p. permis. Structure: permettre à quelqu'un de faire quelque chose. | to allow, to let | Ce raccourci permet de gagner dix minutes. This shortcut saves you ten minutes. | |
| 23 | promettre Like mettre; p.p. promis. Promettre à quelqu'un de faire quelque chose. | to promise | Promets-moi de m'appeler en arrivant. Promise me you'll call me when you get there. | |
| 24 | rejoindre je rejoins, nous rejoignons, ils rejoignent; p.p. rejoint. Note the -gn- in the plural forms. | to join, to meet up with | Je vous rejoins au bar dans dix minutes. I'll meet you at the bar in ten minutes. | |
| 25 | craindre je crains, nous craignons; p.p. craint. Slightly formal — avoir peur de is far more common in speech. Familiar slang: « ça craint » = that's dodgy / that sucks. | to fear, to be afraid of | Je crains le pire pour demain. I fear the worst for tomorrow. | |
| 26 | éteindre j'éteins, nous éteignons; p.p. éteint. Opposite: allumer. | to turn off, to switch off | Éteins la lumière en sortant. Turn off the light on your way out. | |
| 27 | plaire il plaît, nous plaisons, ils plaisent; p.p. plu. The thing liked is the subject: ça me plaît = I like it. Same verb as in s'il vous plaît. | to please, to be liked | Ce film m'a beaucoup plu. I really liked that film. | |
| 28 | battre je bats, nous battons; p.p. battu. Se battre = to fight; battre des œufs = to beat eggs. | to beat | Ils ont battu notre équipe trois à zéro. They beat our team 3–0. | |
| 29 | naître Almost always in the passé composé, with être: je suis né(e), elle est née. The spelling naitre is also accepted. | to be born | Ma fille est née un dimanche matin. My daughter was born on a Sunday morning. | |
| 30 | traduire Like conduire: je traduis, nous traduisons; p.p. traduit. Traduire de l'anglais en français (en, not *au*). | to translate | Tu peux me traduire cette phrase ? Can you translate this sentence for me? |
Born in Lyon, living in Montréal. I write the phrases the way people actually say them on both sides of the Atlantic and mark the difference when it matters.
Questions about this deck
- Are all French verbs ending in -re conjugated the same way?
- No. Only a subgroup is truly regular: attendre, entendre, perdre, vendre, rendre, répondre, descendre. They drop -re and add -s, -s, (nothing), -ons, -ez, -ent, and their past participle ends in -u (attendu, perdu, vendu). The others — prendre, mettre, boire, croire, lire, écrire, dire, vivre, suivre, connaître, craindre, conduire — each have their own stem changes, which is why every card here lists the key forms.
- How do I conjugate attendre in the present tense?
- J'attends, tu attends, il/elle attend, nous attendons, vous attendez, ils/elles attendent. The il/elle form takes no ending at all (just the stem attend-), and the final -ds and -d are silent, so j'attends, tu attends and il attend sound identical. Passé composé: j'ai attendu.
- Which -re verbs in this deck take être in the passé composé?
- Naître always does (je suis né, elle est née), and descendre takes être when it has no direct object (je suis descendu au sous-sol) but avoir when it does (j'ai descendu les valises). All the others here use avoir: j'ai pris, j'ai mis, j'ai bu, j'ai lu, j'ai vécu, j'ai connu.
- When do prendre, comprendre and apprendre double the n?
- Only in the ils/elles form: ils prennent, ils comprennent, ils apprennent. The singular is written with one n and pronounced with a nasal vowel (je prends, il prend); nous prenons and vous prenez keep one n with a light "e"; the -nn- of prennent kills the nasal and is pronounced like the "en" of Hélène. So: je prends, nous prenons, ils prennent.
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