French grammar · Intermediate
Irregular -re Verbs in French: Eight Families Instead of a List
Irregular -re verbs are the group that contains most of French's high-frequency verbs: prendre, mettre, dire, écrire, boire, connaître, faire, être. Almost all of them work on two stems — a short one for je, tu, il and a longer one for nous, vous, ils — which turns an apparently random list into about eight learnable families.
Nous prenons le train de sept heures.
We're taking the seven o'clock train.
What it is
There is no single pattern here, but there is a single shape. An irregular -re verb usually keeps a short stem in the three singular forms and reveals a longer one in the plural: boire gives bois but buvons, connaître gives connais but connaissons. Learn the pair of stems and the past participle, and the verb is done.
boire → je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent. — to drink → I drink, you drink, he drinks, we drink, you drink, they drink.
How to spot it
The nous form is the diagnostic. If it doesn't look like the infinitive with -ons stuck on, the verb is irregular and the nous form is telling you what the second stem is.
- Nous prenons un café. — We're having a coffee. (pren-, not prend-)
- Nous connaissons ce quartier. — We know this area. (connaiss-)
- Nous écrivons souvent. — We write to each other often. (écriv-)
- Nous craignons le pire. — We fear the worst. (craign-)
That second stem is also the one the imperfect and the subjunctive are built from, so extracting it does three jobs at once.
Irregular -re Verbs Quick Reference
The main families, with their two stems and their participle
| Family | Example | Singular stem | Plural stem | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -endre (prendre) | prendre, apprendre, comprendre | prend- | pren- / prenn- | pris |
| -ettre (mettre) | mettre, permettre, promettre | met- | mett- | mis |
| -uire | conduire, produire, traduire | condui- | conduis- | conduit |
| -aindre / -eindre / -oindre | craindre, peindre, joindre | crain- | craign- | craint |
| -aître | connaître, paraître, naître | connai- | connaiss- | connu / né |
| -ire | dire, lire, écrire | di- / li- / écri- | dis- / lis- / écriv- | dit / lu / écrit |
| -oire | boire, croire | boi- / croi- | buv- / croy- | bu / cru |
| -ivre | vivre, suivre | vi- / sui- | viv- / suiv- | vécu / suivi |
Common Irregular -re Verbs Examples in French
The most useful irregular -re verbs in ordinary sentences:
Taking and Putting
- Je prends le petit-déjeuner à sept heures.
- I have breakfast at seven.
- Tu mets combien de temps ?
- How long does it take you?
- Nous apprenons le japonais.
- We're learning Japanese.
- Ils permettent les animaux.
- They allow pets.
Mettre plus a length of time means to take that long: je mets vingt minutes à pied.
Saying, Reading, Writing
- Je dis toujours la vérité.
- I always tell the truth.
- Vous dites ça sérieusement ?
- Are you saying that seriously?
- Elle lit deux romans par mois.
- She reads two novels a month.
- Nous écrivons un rapport.
- We're writing a report.
Vous dites is one of only three vous forms in French that don't end in -ez.
Knowing and Believing
- Je connais bien cette rue.
- I know this street well.
- Tu crois qu'il va venir ?
- Do you think he'll come?
- Nous croyons à sa version.
- We believe his version of it.
- Ils connaissent le propriétaire.
- They know the owner.
Croire has a y in the plural stem, croy-, which is why nous croyons and ils croient look so different.
Painting, Fearing, Joining
- Il peint des paysages.
- He paints landscapes.
- Je crains d'arriver trop tard.
- I'm afraid of arriving too late.
- Nous joignons les deux parties.
- We're joining the two parts.
- Elles atteignent le sommet.
- They're reaching the summit.
All the -aindre, -eindre and -oindre verbs behave identically: -gn- in the plural, participle in -aint, -eint, or -oint.
How Irregular -re Verbs Work
The irregularity is systematic. Once you see that the plural stem is doing the real work, the group shrinks to a handful of shapes.
Two Stems, Not Twenty Forms
The three singular forms share one stem and the three plural forms share another. Boire is boi- then buv-, connaître is connai- then connaiss-, écrire is écri- then écriv-. Six forms collapse into two pieces of information.
Je bois de l'eau, nous buvons du vin.
I drink water, we drink wine.
Singular stem + plural stem = the whole present.
The Singular Endings Are Almost Always -s, -s, -t
Whatever the stem does, the singular endings are predictable: je dis, tu dis, il dit; je mets, tu mets, il met. Where the stem already ends in t, the third person adds nothing, as in il met.
Il conduit trop vite.
He drives too fast.
-s, -s, -t on the short stem.
The Plural Endings Are Completely Regular
Nous, vous, and ils take -ons, -ez, -ent with no surprises at all, apart from the three verbs that take -tes for vous. So the whole irregularity of the group lives in the stem, never in the plural endings.
Nous vivons à Marseille.
We live in Marseille.
Irregular stem, regular plural endings.
The Third-Person Plural Sometimes Doubles a Consonant
In prendre and boire, the ils form takes a third stem: prennent, boivent. This is the same stress-driven change that makes il appelle double its l — the ending is silent, so the stem syllable carries the accent.
Ils comprennent tout de suite.
They understand straight away.
prenons but prennent, buvons but boivent.
The Participle Has to Be Memorised With the Verb
Nothing predicts whether the participle is pris, mis, dit, bu, connu, or peint. But participles come in families too: every -uire verb gives -uit, every -eindre verb gives -eint, and most -oire and -aître verbs give -u.
J'ai traduit le contrat.
I translated the contract.
Learn the verb and its participle as one item.
Common Mistakes with Irregular -re Verbs
Incorrect: Nous prendons rendez-vous demain. — We're making an appointment tomorrow.
Correct: Nous prenons rendez-vous demain. — We're making an appointment tomorrow.
Prendre keeps its d only in the singular. The plural stem is pren-, and the third-person plural doubles the n instead: ils prennent.
Incorrect: Vous disez toujours non. — You always say no.
Correct: Vous dites toujours non. — You always say no.
Dire is one of three verbs whose vous form ends in -tes rather than -ez. Applying the normal ending is a very natural error and a very audible one.
Incorrect: Nous boivons du café le matin. — We drink coffee in the morning.
Correct: Nous buvons du café le matin. — We drink coffee in the morning.
Boire has three stems: boi- for the singular, buv- for nous and vous, boiv- for ils. Taking the ils stem for nous is the commonest slip.
Incorrect: J'ai prendu une décision. — I made a decision.
Correct: J'ai pris une décision. — I made a decision.
The -u participle belongs to the regular -re verbs. Prendre and mettre give pris and mis, and every compound of them does the same: compris, permis, promis.
The Families Side by Side
These four tables cover most of what you'll actually meet. Read them by column: each column is one verb, and the jump from the third row to the fourth is where the second stem appears.
Prendre, mettre, and battre
Prendre loses its d in the plural and doubles the n in the third person. Mettre and battre simply double their consonant, which makes them the gentlest irregulars in the group.
| Pronoun | prendre | mettre | battre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | prends | mets | bats |
| tu | prends | mets | bats |
| il / elle / on | prend | met | bat |
| nous | prenons | mettons | battons |
| vous | prenez | mettez | battez |
| ils / elles | prennent | mettent | battent |
Participles: pris, mis, battu. Apprendre, comprendre, permettre, promettre, and combattre all follow their parent verb exactly.
Dire, lire, and écrire
Three verbs that look alike in the singular and diverge completely in the plural: dis-, lis-, écriv-. Dire also has the famous vous dites.
| Pronoun | dire | lire | écrire |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | dis | lis | écris |
| tu | dis | lis | écris |
| il / elle / on | dit | lit | écrit |
| nous | disons | lisons | écrivons |
| vous | dites | lisez | écrivez |
| ils / elles | disent | lisent | écrivent |
Participles: dit, lu, écrit. Redire copies dire, but prédire and contredire take a regular vous prédisez.
Boire, croire, vivre, and suivre
These four change vowel or consonant between the singular and the plural, and boire and croire change again in the third-person plural.
| Pronoun | boire | croire | vivre | suivre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | bois | crois | vis | suis |
| tu | bois | crois | vis | suis |
| il / elle / on | boit | croit | vit | suit |
| nous | buvons | croyons | vivons | suivons |
| vous | buvez | croyez | vivez | suivez |
| ils / elles | boivent | croient | vivent | suivent |
Je suis is both I am and I follow. Only the sentence tells you which: je suis fatigué against je suis un cours de russe.
The -gn- family and the -uire family
Craindre, peindre, and joindre all replace their -nd- with -gn- in the plural. The -uire verbs are gentler: they only add an s.
| Pronoun | craindre | peindre | conduire |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j' | crains | peins | conduis |
| tu | crains | peins | conduis |
| il / elle / on | craint | peint | conduit |
| nous | craignons | peignons | conduisons |
| vous | craignez | peignez | conduisez |
| ils / elles | craignent | peignent | conduisent |
Participles: craint, peint, conduit. Éteindre, atteindre, plaindre, and rejoindre belong here too.
The Forms That Break Even the Irregular Patterns
A few verbs in this group go further than a second stem. These are worth meeting individually, because they are also among the most frequent verbs in the language.
The three verbs whose vous form isn't -ez
Every French verb takes -ez for vous, except three: être, faire, and dire. All three end in -tes, and all three are so common that the exception is heard constantly.
- Vous êtes prêts ?
- Are you ready?
- Vous faites quoi ce week-end ?
- What are you doing this weekend?
- Vous dites la même chose.
- You're saying the same thing.
Redire follows dire (vous redites), but prédire and contredire have gone regular: vous prédisez, vous contredisez.
Faire and être hide their stems in the plural
Faire and être belong to this group historically but have worn down so far that the plural bears no resemblance to the singular. They have to be learned as whole paradigms.
- Nous faisons de notre mieux.
- We're doing our best.
- Ils font trop de bruit.
- They're making too much noise.
- Nous sommes en retard.
- We're late.
In nous faisons the ai is pronounced like a plain e, which is why it sounds nothing like je fais.
The circumflex that comes and goes
Connaître, paraître, and naître carry a circumflex only when the i is followed by a t. So il connaît keeps it and nous connaissons doesn't. The 1990 spelling reform makes the accent optional, and both spellings are now accepted.
- Il connaît tout le monde ici.
- He knows everyone here.
- Nous connaissons la chanson.
- We know the song.
- Elle paraît fatiguée.
- She seems tired.
You'll see both il connaît and il connait in print. Pick one and stay consistent within a piece of writing.
Irregular -re Verbs FAQs
- Which French verbs are irregular -re verbs?
- The list includes prendre, mettre, battre, dire, lire, écrire, boire, croire, vivre, suivre, connaître, naître, plaire, conduire, craindre, peindre, joindre, résoudre, vaincre, faire, and être. They fall into about eight families, each with its own plural stem and participle.
- What's the easiest way to learn irregular -re verbs?
- Store each verb as three items rather than six forms: the singular stem, the plural stem, and the past participle. Boire is boi- / buv- / bu, and that's enough to generate the present, the imperfect, the subjunctive, and the passé composé.
- Why is it nous prenons but ils prennent?
- Because the ils ending is silent, so the stress falls on the stem and the vowel changes quality, which French marks by doubling the n. In nous prenons the stress moves onto the ending, so the stem stays light. Boire does the same thing: buvons against boivent.
- Is faire an irregular -re verb?
- Yes, and it's the most irregular one. Its plural stem is fais- but pronounced as though it were fes-, its vous form is faites rather than faitez, and its third-person plural is font. Its participle, fait, is at least predictable.
- Do irregular -re verbs use avoir or être in the past?
- Almost all of them take avoir: j'ai pris, j'ai dit, j'ai bu, j'ai connu. Naître is the notable exception, taking être with agreement: elle est née en 1990. Pronominal uses such as se mettre also take être: elle s'est mise à rire.