French verbs
The verb carries most of what a sentence does: who, when, whether it is done or still going on. Here you will find the grammar around it, the verbs that do not follow the rules, and practice.
Where to go from here
How a verb changes its form is covered by the grammar topics below. When to use which form is the question of the tenses, and that has a page of its own. The verbs you simply have to know one by one have one too.
The 30 grammar topics around the verb
Each with an explanation, a form table, example sentences and exercises of its own.
A1Near future: aller + infinitive«Going to», with the same verb and the same emptiness.B1Simple future (futur simple)Six endings where English has one word.B1The conditional«Would», built out of two things you have already learnt.B1Future after quandOne of your two habits is right here, and they look identical.B2Future perfect (futur antérieur)«Will have finished» — and «when I have finished» too.A2Present for future plansYou have three present futures; French has two.B1Choosing a future formThree against three, and the connotations line up.B2The future used for a guess«That’ll be the postman» — the same trick, the same words.B2Future in the past«was going to» and «would», exactly as you already say them.A1pouvoir and vouloir: can, wantOrdinary verbs where English has defective ones.A2Must: devoir and il faut«must» and «have to», with the same split you already make.A2To know: savoir or connaître«Know» is two verbs, and so is «can».B1Modals in the past«Must» has no past in English; here it has two.B1Mustn’t and needn’t«mustn’t» and «needn’t» — you already make this distinction.B1Guessing with devoir«must have» puts the past on the wrong verb here.A2Asking politely«I would like», «could you», «may I» — three for three.B1Advising and recommending«should» and «you’d better», with the same threat inside.C1Rules and signsThree registers of «forbidden», and one word English has no sign for.B1Passive with êtreThe participle agrees — and «he was told» cannot be built.A2on instead of the passiveOne word for «one», «you», «they», the passive — and «we».B2Passive with se and se faire«get your wallet stolen» and «have your hair cut», in one verb.B2The agent: par or de«covered with» is already de; «loved by» is not par.A2Infinitive without prepositionWhere English says to or -ing, French often says nothing.B1Verb + à + infinitiveThe verbs of starting, learning and managing.B1Verb + de + infinitiveLargely the group English marks with -ing.B1The gérondif: en parlantEnglish -ing does five jobs; en plus -ant does one.B2faire and laisser + infinitivemake, have and get are all one verb here.B1Verbs that take both à and deThe same verb, two prepositions, two meanings — as with an English particle.B1Adjective + à/de + infinitiveeasy to read and it is easy to read look the same in English and differ here.B2Past infinitive: après avoirAfter eating is exactly the mistake here.
Practise 1160 verbs
The verbs from the core vocabulary, across all the topic lists.