French IR Verbs: The Complete Guide to Regular and Irregular Conjugation

You've probably already wrestled with -ER verbs—those are pretty straightforward. But now you're looking at French verbs ending in -IR like finir, choisir, partir, and venir, and you're wondering what fresh hell this is. Some French -IR verbs seem to follow a pattern, others... don't.

Here's the thing: French grammar books love to make -IR verb conjugation sound way more complicated than it actually is. They'll hit you with terms like "second conjugation" and "verbes du deuxième groupe" and make you memorize 50 different verb conjugations.

We're not doing that.

Instead, I'm going to show you exactly what you need to know about French IR verbs—the conjugation patterns that actually matter, how to conjugate regular -IR verbs, the irregular -IR verbs you'll use constantly, and how to stop overthinking French grammar so you can get back to actually speaking French.

The One Test That Changes Everything: Regular vs. Irregular -IR Verbs

Before we dive into conjugation, you need to know this: not all verbs that end in -IR work the same way.

There are about 300 regular French -IR verbs (the second group in French grammar), and around 50-60 irregular -IR verbs. The good news? There's a dead-simple test to tell them apart.

The -issant test:

Take any -IR verb and make its present participle (the -ing form in English). If the present participle ends in -issant, it's a regular -IR verb. If it doesn't, it's an irregular verb.

Examples:

That's it. That's the test. If you can remember this one thing, you'll know instantly whether French -IR verbs follow the predictable conjugation pattern or if you need to learn their specific verb conjugations.

How to Conjugate Regular -IR Verbs in the Present Tense

Let's start with the good news. Regular -IR verbs in French are pretty damn straightforward once you learn the conjugation pattern.

How to conjugate regular -IR verbs (present tense):

See that -iss- in all the plural forms? That's your clue that you're dealing with regular French -IR verbs.

The most common regular French -IR verbs:

Once you've got finir down, you can conjugate hundreds of other regular -IR verbs the exact same way. That's the beauty of regular verbs—they follow predictable patterns.

Regular -IR Verbs in Other Tenses

Conjugating Regular -IR Verbs in the Passé Composé (Past Tense):

Here's some relief: the passé composé with regular -IR verbs is actually pretty simple.

Examples:

You can literally cut off the -r from the infinitive and you've got your past participle. Finir → fini.

Conjugating Regular -IR Verbs in the Imparfait (Imperfect Tense):

For the imparfait, remove the infinitive ending and then add these endings: -issais, -issais, -issait, -issions, -issiez, -issaient

Example with choisir:

Conjugating Regular -IR Verbs in the Futur Simple (Future Tense):

For the futur simple, keep the complete infinitive form and add the standard future endings: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont

Example with finir:

Irregular -IR Verbs in French: The Patterns That Actually Matter

Here's where most French courses lose people. They make you memorize dozens of irregular French -IR verbs individually, which is exhausting and inefficient.

The truth? Most irregular -IR verbs fall into three main conjugation patterns. Learn those three patterns, and you've basically cracked the French conjugation code.

Pattern 1: Irregular -IR Verbs Like partir

These verbs change—they drop the final consonant in the singular forms but keep it in the plural forms when you conjugate them in the present tense.

Example with partir (to leave) in the present tense:

Notice how the singular forms lose the -t? But it comes back for nous, vous, and ils/elles.

Common irregular -IR verbs that follow this conjugation pattern:

Master how to conjugate partir, and you've got like 15 irregular verbs covered.

Pattern 2: Irregular -IR Verbs That Conjugate Like -ER Verbs

Some French verbs that end in -IR are rebels. They end in -IR but don't follow the regular conjugation rules—instead, they conjugate like regular -ER verbs.

Example with ouvrir (to open) in the present tense:

Yep, those are -ER verb endings. Weird, but once you know it, it's easy.

Irregular -IR verbs in this category:

These all end in -frir, -vrir, or -llir, which is your clue that they don't follow the regular pattern.

Pattern 3: Irregular -IR Verbs Like venir and tenir

These French -IR verbs do a stem change when you conjugate them. The "ven-" becomes "vien-" and "ten-" becomes "tien-" for most forms in the present tense.

Example with venir (to come) in the present tense:

Example with tenir (to hold) in the present tense:

What's cool about these two verbs? Once you learn how to conjugate them, you automatically know how to conjugate like 30 other French verbs.

Derivatives of venir:

Derivatives of tenir:

They all follow the same conjugation pattern as their parent verbs.

One heads-up though: venir and its derivatives use être as the auxiliary verb in compound tenses (passé composé), while tenir and friends use avoir.

The Completely Irregular French -IR Verbs You Just Need to Know

Look, some French verbs that end in -IR are just... special. They don't follow any regular conjugation pattern, they're super common, and you just gotta learn them.

The big ones:

These are in the top 10 most common French verbs, so yeah, you can't avoid them. The good news is you'll encounter these verb conjugations constantly, which means you'll pick them up naturally if you're actually using French.

How to Actually Learn French -IR Verb Conjugation

Here's the problem with most online French courses: they give you verb conjugations and expect you to memorize them in isolation.

That's backwards.

You don't learn how to conjugate French verbs by staring at conjugation tables. You learn them by seeing verbs in context—in shows, articles, conversations, wherever native French speakers use actual French.

When you encounter finir in a French show, your brain connects it to the context, the emotion, the situation. That sticks way better than "finir: je finis, tu finis, il finit..."

If you're learning French basics, you'll hit French -IR verbs pretty early since they include super common verbs like finir, choisir, and partir. The trick is getting enough exposure to these French verb conjugations in real contexts that the conjugation patterns become automatic.

Same goes for other grammar concepts—you need to see them in action, not just on paper.

The Verb Frequency Reality Check

Not all French -IR verbs are created equal.

Some common regular French -IR verbs, like finir and choisir, you'll use constantly. Others, like investir or enrichir, not so much (unless you work in finance).

Meanwhile, common irregular -IR verbs like partir, sortir, venir, and voir are absolutely essential. You'll use these every single day when speaking French.

So if you're prioritizing what to learn first, don't worry about memorizing 300 regular verbs. Focus on:

The top 10 French -IR verbs you actually need:

Get those verb conjugations down cold, and you're covering like 90% of the -IR verb situations you'll actually encounter.

Common Mistakes When You Conjugate IR Verbs in French

Mistake #1: Treating all French verbs that end in -IR as regular

Just because a verb ends in -IR doesn't mean it gets the -issons treatment. Run the -issant test first.

Wrong: je partis (treating partir as a regular verb) Right: je pars

Mistake #2: Forgetting the -iss- in plural forms

With regular -IR verbs in French, the plural forms all have that -iss- suffix.

Wrong: nous finons Right: nous finissons

Mistake #3: Mixing up avoir and être in compound tenses

Most French -IR verbs use avoir in the passé composé, but motion verbs like venir, partir, sortir use être.

Wrong: j'ai venu Right: je suis venu

The easiest way to avoid these mistakes? See the verbs in context over and over in real French content. Your brain will pick up on the conjugation patterns naturally.

Look, French -IR verb conjugation isn't the hardest part of French grammar. Once you get the conjugation patterns down—regular -IR verbs with -issons in the present tense endings, the three main irregular conjugation patterns, and a handful of completely irregular verbs—you're good to go.

The key is seeing these French verb conjugations in actual use, not just drilling conjugation tables. When you're watching French movies and hear "je vais partir" or "nous avons fini", your brain makes connections that stick way better than any French course textbook explanation.

If you want to actually learn how to conjugate French -IR verbs with real French content, Migaku's browser extension lets you look up any French verb you encounter instantly while watching Netflix, reading articles, whatever. Click a verb, see the definition and conjugation, add it to your review deck if you want. Then the spaced repetition system handles the rest—you'll see those verb conjugations again at the perfect intervals to actually remember them.

It's especially useful for irregular -IR verbs since you're learning them in context rather than trying to memorize random verb conjugations. You see partir used in a real sentence, you master French way faster than staring at "je pars, tu pars, il part..."

The extension works across like 30+ languages, so if you're juggling French along with another language, same system handles both. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to try it out.