Irregular verbs do not follow one pattern, so you learn them one by one, in context. The good news is that a small group does most of the work in everyday French and in IGCSE speaking and writing tasks.
This lesson follows regular verbs and sits in present-time expression.
What are the key irregular forms?
| Subject | être | avoir | aller | faire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | suis | ai | vais | fais |
| tu | es | as | vas | fais |
| il / elle / on | est | a | va | fait |
| nous | sommes | avons | allons | faisons |
| vous | êtes | avez | allez | faites |
| ils / elles | sont | ont | vont | font |
| Subject | prendre | vouloir | pouvoir |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | prends | veux | peux |
| tu | prends | veux | peux |
| il / elle / on | prend | veut | peut |
| nous | prenons | voulons | pouvons |
| vous | prenez | voulez | pouvez |
| ils / elles | prennent | veulent | peuvent |
How do you choose the right verb in context?
Ask what the sentence needs to say.
- Where or what someone is: être.
- What someone has, including age and hunger: avoir.
- Movement towards a place: aller.
- What someone does or makes: faire.
Then add the form for the subject. After vouloir and pouvoir, the next verb stays in the infinitive: Je veux jouer, Elle peut venir.
Worked example
Complete the message using the correct verb in the present tense.
Salut Nadia, Je ___ (être) chez ma tante et nous ___ (faire) un gâteau. Mon cousin ___ (vouloir) venir, mais il ___ (avoir) un match de football.
- Je with être: suis.
- Nous with faire: faisons. The spelling is faisons, but ai is said like a soft “uh”, so it sounds like “fuh-zon”.
- Mon cousin is il, with vouloir: veut.
- il with avoir, meaning “has a match”: a.
Full answer: Salut Nadia, Je suis chez ma tante et nous faisons un gâteau. Mon cousin veut venir, mais il a un match de football.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to treat an irregular verb as if it were regular, adding the endings you already know.
Mistaken: Vous faisez vos devoirs ? Ils faisent du vélo.
The learner applied the regular -ez and -ent endings to the stem fais-, which gives forms that do not exist.
Correction: Vous faites vos devoirs ? Ils font du vélo. The same trap appears with prendre: write vous prenez and ils prennent, not prendez or prendent. When you are unsure, say the form aloud and check it against the table.
Check yourself
1. Nous ___ (aller) à l’école à pied.
Show answer
Aller with nous: Nous allons à l’école à pied.
2. Mes amis ___ (vouloir) venir ce week-end.
Show answer
Vouloir with ils/elles: Mes amis veulent venir ce week-end.
3. Tu ___ (pouvoir) m’aider, s’il te plaît ?
Show answer
Pouvoir with tu: Tu peux m’aider, s’il te plaît ?
Where this leads next
Now that you can say what people do, learn to say what they do not do in building a negative statement. Practise the whole module in the integrated practice set.
If you keep reaching for the table, regular live recall with a teacher helps the forms stick. See how this works in online one-to-one French tuition.