French -IR verbs (present tense)

There are several hundred regular French verbs that end in -ir. To conjugate regular -ir French verbs, it’s best to run through an example, step by step.

In our lesson on -ER verbs, we learned how to conjugate regular -ER verbs. Remember that a regular verb follows a specific pattern for its conjugation. Irregular verb conjugations are unique.

Another group of regular verbs that we are going to study are -IR verbs, or verbs that end with the letters -ir. To review, the first two steps of conjugating any regular verb are:

1. First choose the verb that makes the most sense for the context of your sentence.
2. Take off the ending.

In this lesson, the ending we are removing from the infinitive is -ir. Finally,

1. Add the ending to the verb’s stem that corresponds with the subject of the sentence or phrase.

Take a look at the following verb chart and example sentences with the -IR verb choisir, meaning “to choose.”

Choisir → Chois…

Subject Pronoun	Ending	Stem + Ending	Example	Translation
Je	-is	choisis	Je choisis le café.	I choose the coffee shop. I am choosing the coffee shop.
Tu	-is	choisis	Tu choisis le musée.	You choose the museum. You are choosing the museum.
Il/Elle/On	-it	choisit	Elle choisit le parc.	She chooses the park. She is choosing the park.
Nous	-issons	choisissons	Nous choisissons l’église.	We choose the church. We are choosing the church.
Vous	-issez	choisissez	Vous choisissez la librairie.	You choose the bookstore. You are choosing the bookstore.
Ils/Elles	-issent	choisissent	Ils choisissent le centre commercial.	They choose the mall. They are choosing the mall.

Some of the most common regular -IR verbs are finir, réussir, grandir and obéir. Be careful: many verbs ending in -ir, such as partir, dormir, venir and ouvrir, are irregular and do not take -iss-.

Verbs with infinitives ending in -ir form a second group of regular verbs in French, often called ‘second conjugation’ verbs. To conjugate these verbs, drop the -ir from the infinitive and add the second conjugation present tense endings: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent.