Which irregular verbs should I learn first in French?

Start with être, avoir, aller and faire: they carry the passé composé, the near future and hundreds of set phrases (avoir faim, faire beau, aller mieux). Then add dire, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir and prendre, which cover most of what you need to ask for things and explain plans. This deck is ordered that way, so the first ten cards are the highest-value ones.

Why do verbs like prendre and boire change stem in the plural?

They kept two or three historical stems. Prendre has prend- (je prends), pren- (nous prenons) and prenn- (ils prennent); boire has boi-, buv- and boiv-. The nous/vous forms use the "long" stem, and the ils/elles form usually doubles the consonant. Memorising nous and ils/elles as a pair is the fastest way to fix the pattern.

Which of these verbs take être in the passé composé?

In this deck: aller, venir, revenir, devenir, partir, mourir and the reflexive s'asseoir always take être, and the participle agrees with the subject (elle est partie, ils sont venus). Sortir takes être when there is no object (je suis sorti) but avoir when there is one (j'ai sorti la poubelle). All the others take avoir.

Are these verbs conjugated differently in Québec and in France?

No — the conjugations are identical; pronunciation and a few word choices differ. In relaxed Québec speech je suis becomes "chu", and tu as becomes "t'as" on both sides of the Atlantic. Informally, Quebecers may say chauffer instead of conduire. Every form and sentence in this deck works in Lyon and in Montréal.

Irregular French Verbs: 40 Essentials for A2

🇫🇷 French · 40 cards · A2 · by Théo Marchand

These are the forty irregular verbs you simply cannot dodge in French — the ones in every conversation, every text message, every shop sign. Each card gives you the infinitive, the full present tense, the past participle, and one sentence you could say out loud today. The traps are predictable: the stem changes between nous prenons and ils prennent, the participles you just have to memorise (mis, pu, reçu, vécu), and the verbs that take être in the passé composé. Where Montréal and Lyon differ, I say so. Learn the sentence first — the conjugation table sticks much better afterwards.

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How to use this deck

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 40 cards

#	French	English	Example
1	être Present: suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont. Past participle été (j'ai été). In casual speech je suis becomes "j'suis" in France and "chu" in Québec.	to be	Je suis fatigué, je vais me coucher tôt. I'm tired, I'm going to bed early.
2	avoir Present: ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont. Past participle eu (pronounced like the single vowel "u"). Casual spoken form: tu as → t'as.	to have	J'ai deux frères et une sœur. I have two brothers and one sister.
3	aller Present: vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont. Takes être: je suis allé(e). Aller + infinitive = near future (je vais manger).	to go	On va au marché samedi matin. We're going to the market on Saturday morning.
4	faire Present: fais, fais, fait, faisons, faites, font. Past participle fait. Nous faisons is pronounced "fuh-zon", not "fay-zon"; vous faites has no i sound.	to do, to make	Qu'est-ce que tu fais ce soir ? What are you doing tonight?
5	dire Present: dis, dis, dit, disons, dites, disent. Watch out: vous dites, never "disez". Past participle dit.	to say, to tell	Dis-moi la vérité, s'il te plaît. Tell me the truth, please.
6	pouvoir Present: peux, peux, peut, pouvons, pouvez, peuvent. Past participle pu. Formal inversion is puis-je, never "peux-je".	to be able to, can	Est-ce que je peux ouvrir la fenêtre ? Can I open the window?
7	vouloir Present: veux, veux, veut, voulons, voulez, veulent. Past participle voulu. To order or ask politely, use the conditional: je voudrais un café.	to want	Tu veux venir avec nous ce soir ? Do you want to come with us tonight?
8	savoir Present: sais, sais, sait, savons, savez, savent. Past participle su. Savoir for information and skills, connaître for people and places.	to know (facts, how to)	Tu sais où sont mes clés ? Do you know where my keys are?
9	devoir Present: dois, dois, doit, devons, devez, doivent. Past participle dû — the accent is on the masculine singular only (due, dus, dues).	to have to, must; to owe	On doit partir avant huit heures. We have to leave before eight.
10	voir Present: vois, vois, voit, voyons, voyez, voient. Past participle vu. Irregular future stem: je verrai.	to see	Sans mes lunettes, je vois très mal. Without my glasses I can barely see.
11	venir Present: viens, viens, vient, venons, venez, viennent. Takes être: je suis venu(e). Venir de + infinitive = to have just done something.	to come	Elle vient de Marseille. She's from Marseille.
12	prendre Present: prends, prends, prend, prenons, prenez, prennent. Past participle pris. The d disappears in the plural forms.	to take	Je prends le métro tous les jours. I take the metro every day.
13	mettre Present: mets, mets, met, mettons, mettez, mettent. Past participle mis. Also mettre la table (to set the table).	to put, to put on	Mets ton manteau, il fait froid dehors. Put your coat on, it's cold outside.
14	falloir Impersonal: only the il form exists. Passé composé il a fallu, future il faudra. Il faut + infinitive is the everyday way to express general obligation; il faut que takes the subjunctive.	to be necessary, to have to	Il faut réserver à l'avance. You have to book in advance.
15	partir Present: pars, pars, part, partons, partez, partent. Takes être: elle est partie. Partir de = to leave from, partir pour = to leave for.	to leave	Le train part dans dix minutes. The train leaves in ten minutes.
16	sortir Conjugates like partir. Être when there is no object (je suis sorti), avoir when there is one (j'ai sorti les poubelles).	to go out, to take out	On sort ce soir ? Shall we go out tonight?
17	dormir Present: dors, dors, dort, dormons, dormez, dorment. Past participle dormi. To fall asleep is s'endormir.	to sleep	Le bébé dort enfin. The baby is finally asleep.
18	sentir Present: sens, sens, sent, sentons, sentez, sentent. Reflexive se sentir = to feel (je me sens mal).	to smell, to feel	Ça sent bon dans la cuisine ! It smells good in the kitchen!
19	servir Present: sers, sers, sert, servons, servez, servent. Se servir de quelque chose = to use something.	to serve, to be useful	Ce couteau ne sert à rien. This knife is useless.
20	tenir Same pattern as venir: tiens, tiens, tient, tenons, tenez, tiennent. But it takes avoir: j'ai tenu. Tiens ! also means "here, take this".	to hold, to keep	Elle tient son fils par la main. She's holding her son by the hand.
21	devenir Conjugates exactly like venir and takes être in the passé composé.	to become	Il est devenu médecin à trente ans. He became a doctor at thirty.
22	revenir Like venir, with être: je suis revenu(e). Je reviens is the standard way to say "be right back".	to come back	Je reviens dans cinq minutes. I'll be back in five minutes.
23	comprendre Follows prendre: comprends, comprends, comprend, comprenons, comprenez, comprennent. Past participle compris.	to understand	Désolé, je n'ai pas compris. Sorry, I didn't understand.
24	apprendre Follows prendre; past participle appris. Apprendre à + infinitive: j'apprends à nager. Apprendre qqch à qqn = to teach someone something.	to learn; to teach	J'apprends le français depuis deux ans. I've been learning French for two years.
25	croire Present: crois, crois, croit, croyons, croyez, croient. Past participle cru. Extremely common for "I think", like penser.	to believe, to think	Je crois qu'il va pleuvoir. I think it's going to rain.
26	boire Present: bois, bois, boit, buvons, buvez, boivent — three stems. Past participle bu.	to drink	Tu bois quelque chose ? Are you having something to drink?
27	lire Present: lis, lis, lit, lisons, lisez, lisent. Past participle lu.	to read	Je lis un roman policier en ce moment. I'm reading a crime novel at the moment.
28	écrire Present: écris, écris, écrit, écrivons, écrivez, écrivent. Past participle écrit.	to write	Elle écrit à sa grand-mère chaque mois. She writes to her grandmother every month.
29	connaître Present: connais, connais, connaît, connaissons, connaissez, connaissent. Past participle connu. The circumflex appears before t (connaître, il connaît, il connaîtra); the 1990 spelling reform also allows connaitre / il connait.	to know (people, places)	Tu connais un bon dentiste ? Do you know a good dentist?
30	vivre Present: vis, vis, vit, vivons, vivez, vivent. Past participle vécu. For an address, habiter is more usual: j'habite rue Saint-Denis.	to live	Je vis à Montréal depuis cinq ans. I've been living in Montréal for five years.
31	suivre Present: suis, suis, suit, suivons, suivez, suivent. Careful: je suis is both "I am" and "I follow". Past participle suivi.	to follow; to take (a course)	Suis-moi, c'est par ici. Follow me, it's this way.
32	courir Present: cours, cours, court, courons, courez, courent. Past participle couru. Double r in the future: je courrai.	to run	Il court plus vite que moi. He runs faster than I do.
33	mourir Present: meurs, meurs, meurt, mourons, mourez, meurent. Takes être, past participle mort: il est mort. Mourir de faim / de soif is everyday exaggeration.	to die	Je meurs de faim ! I'm starving!
34	ouvrir In the present it takes -er endings: ouvre, ouvres, ouvre, ouvrons, ouvrez, ouvrent. Past participle ouvert.	to open	Le magasin ouvre à neuf heures. The shop opens at nine.
35	offrir Present like ouvrir; past participle offert. For presents, French uses offrir rather than donner.	to give (as a gift), to offer	On lui a offert un vélo pour son anniversaire. We gave him a bike for his birthday.
36	recevoir Present: reçois, reçois, reçoit, recevons, recevez, reçoivent. The cedilla appears before o and u. Past participle reçu.	to receive, to get	J'ai reçu ton message hier soir. I got your message last night.
37	rire Present: ris, ris, rit, rions, riez, rient. Past participle ri. Sourire (to smile) follows the same pattern.	to laugh	On a bien ri hier soir. We had a good laugh last night.
38	s'asseoir Reflexive, takes être. Two accepted sets of forms: je m'assieds / je m'assois (imperative assieds-toi / assois-toi). Past participle assis; être assis = to be sitting.	to sit down	Assieds-toi, je t'en prie. Have a seat, please.
39	conduire Present: conduis, conduis, conduit, conduisons, conduisez, conduisent. Past participle conduit. In casual Québec speech you'll also hear chauffer (chauffer un char).	to drive	Elle conduit depuis l'âge de dix-huit ans. She's been driving since she was eighteen.
40	éteindre Present: éteins, éteins, éteint, éteignons, éteignez, éteignent. Past participle éteint. Same pattern as peindre and craindre. Opposite: allumer.	to turn off, to switch off	N'oublie pas d'éteindre la lumière. Don't forget to turn off the light.

Théo Marchand

Native French · Speaks English, Spanish

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.

Published 17 Sept 2026

Questions about this deck

Which irregular verbs should I learn first in French?: Start with être, avoir, aller and faire: they carry the passé composé, the near future and hundreds of set phrases (avoir faim, faire beau, aller mieux). Then add dire, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir and prendre, which cover most of what you need to ask for things and explain plans. This deck is ordered that way, so the first ten cards are the highest-value ones.
Why do verbs like prendre and boire change stem in the plural?: They kept two or three historical stems. Prendre has prend- (je prends), pren- (nous prenons) and prenn- (ils prennent); boire has boi-, buv- and boiv-. The nous/vous forms use the "long" stem, and the ils/elles form usually doubles the consonant. Memorising nous and ils/elles as a pair is the fastest way to fix the pattern.
Which of these verbs take être in the passé composé?: In this deck: aller, venir, revenir, devenir, partir, mourir and the reflexive s'asseoir always take être, and the participle agrees with the subject (elle est partie, ils sont venus). Sortir takes être when there is no object (je suis sorti) but avoir when there is one (j'ai sorti la poubelle). All the others take avoir.
Are these verbs conjugated differently in Québec and in France?: No — the conjugations are identical; pronunciation and a few word choices differ. In relaxed Québec speech je suis becomes "chu", and tu as becomes "t'as" on both sides of the Atlantic. Informally, Quebecers may say chauffer instead of conduire. Every form and sentence in this deck works in Lyon and in Montréal.

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Irregular French Verbs: 40 Essentials for A2

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