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 A1.1, 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:
- First choose the verb that makes the most sense for the context of your sentence.
- Take off the ending.
In this lesson, the ending we are removing from the infinitive is -ir. Finally,
- 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 café. I am choosing the café. |
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. |
See the Reading link in this lesson to review a list of some of the most common -IR verbs.
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.