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.
A1aller + infinitive«Going to», with the same verb and the same emptiness.B1The futur simpleSix endings where English has one word.B1The conditional«Would», built out of two things you have already learnt.B1After quand comes the futureOne of your two habits is right here, and they look identical.B2The future that is already over«Will have finished» — and «when I have finished» too.A2The present for fixed arrangementsYou have three present futures; French has two.B1Which future fitsThree against three, and the connotations line up.B2The future used for a guess«That’ll be the postman» — the same trick, the same words.C1The future seen from back then«was going to» and «would», exactly as you already say them.A1pouvoir and vouloirOrdinary verbs where English has defective ones.A2devoir and il faut«must» and «have to», with the same split you already make.A2savoir and connaître«Know» is two verbs, and so is «can».B1Modals in the past«Must» has no past in English; here it has two.B1Not having to and not being allowed to«mustn’t» and «needn’t» — you already make this distinction.B1devoir for a guess«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 weights of «forbidden», and one word English has no sign for.B1être plus participleThe participle agrees — and «he was told» cannot be built.A2on instead of the passiveOne word for «one», «you», «they», the passive — and «we».B2se and se faire«get your wallet stolen» and «have your hair cut», in one verb.B2par or de — who acts, and who feels«covered with» is already de; «loved by» is not par.A2The bare infinitiveWhere English says to or -ing, French often says nothing.B1The infinitive with àThe verbs of starting, learning and managing.B1The infinitive with deLargely the group English marks with -ing.B2The gérondifEnglish -ing does five jobs; en plus -ant does one.B2Having something done, and letting it happenmake, 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.B1Adjectives and nouns in front of an infinitiveeasy to read and it is easy to read look the same in English and differ here.B2The infinitif passéAfter eating is exactly the mistake here.
Practise 1146 verbs
The verbs from the core vocabulary, across all the topic lists.