Why this matters

You've conquered -ER verbs. But French has two more regular verb families — and some of the most useful daily verbs live there. When you say "I understand," "I finish work," or "I take the bus," you're using -IR and -RE verbs. On the DELF A2 written and oral exams, examiners routinely mix all three families in the same exercise, so being able to tell them apart instantly is a real point-scorer.

🦝 Remy says: "Three verb families, and you'll know them all by tonight. French grammar is actually quite organized — once you see the patterns, it's like a puzzle clicking into place."

Document Déclencheur

Petite annonce — Le Bon Coin Vends vélo d'occasion, bon état. Je réponds vite aux messages sérieux. Je ne vends pas les pièces séparément. Prix : 80€, non négociable. — Marc, Lyon 3e

What do you notice?

Which verb family does "vends" belong to, and what's its infinitive? (vendre, -RE family)
Marc says "je réponds vite" — which verb is this, and what family? (répondre, -RE family)
Can you spot an -IR verb hiding in the ad? (there isn't one here — a good reminder that real French text mixes families unevenly, not neatly like a textbook)

-IR Verbs: The Second Family

Remove -ir, then add these endings. Notice the -iss- that appears in the nous/vous/ils forms:

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Other common -IR verbs that follow this pattern:

Example sentences:

Tu choisis quoi ? [tü shwah-zee kwah] = What are you choosing?
Elle réussit toujours ses examens. = She always passes her exams.
Les enfants grandissent vite ! = Kids grow up fast!
Nous réfléchissons avant de répondre. = We think before answering.
Vous remplissez ce formulaire, s'il vous plaît. = Please fill in this form.

-RE Verbs: The Third Family

Remove -re, then add these endings. The il/elle form gets nothing added:

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| | je | -s | je vends [zhuh vahn] | | tu | -s | tu vends | | il/elle | — | il vend [eel vahn] | | nous | -ons | nous vendons | | vous | -ez | vous vendez | | ils/elles | -ent | ils vendent |

Example: Il vend des légumes au marché. = He sells vegetables at the market.

Other -RE verbs and examples:

🦝 Remy's memory trick: "For -RE verbs, il/elle gets no ending — it's the minimalist of the group. Just drop the -re and walk away. Il vend. Done."

Quick Comparison: All Three Families

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Mini-dialogue — at a shoe shop, mixing all three families:

Vendeuse : Vous cherchez quelque chose de précis ? (Are you looking for something specific?)
Client : Oui, j'attends les soldes, mais je ne trouve rien qui me plaît. (Yes, I'm waiting for the sales, but I can't find anything I like.)
Vendeuse : Vous choisissez souvent la même couleur, non ? (You often choose the same color, right?)
Client : C'est vrai ! Je réfléchis... je prends les noires. (That's true! I'll think about it... I'll take the black ones.)

Common Mistakes

❌ Il finis à 18h. → ✅ Il finit à 18h. — the il/elle form of -IR verbs ends in -it, not -is (that's the je/tu form).
❌ Nous finons à midi. → ✅ Nous finissons à midi. — learners often drop the -iss- infix in the nous/vous/ils forms; without it the verb sounds wrong and unfinished.
❌ Il vends des fruits. → ✅ Il vend des fruits. — the il/elle form of -RE verbs takes no ending at all; adding -s is a common carryover from -ER/-IR habits.
❌ Je attends mon ami. → ✅ J'attends mon ami. — remember to elide je to j' before a vowel sound, same rule as with -ER verbs.

Recap

-IR verbs add the marker -iss- in nous, vous, and ils/elles forms — this is the telltale sign of the family.
-RE verbs are unique: il/elle takes no ending — just drop the -re.
All three families (-ER, -ON, -RE) share the same je/tu/nous/vous logic once you know each family's specific twist.
Mixing up which family a verb belongs to before conjugating is the most common source of errors — check the infinitive ending first.

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the blank

Le magasin ________ (finir) à 18h.
Tu ________ (choisir) quel plat ?
Elle ________ (vendre) sa voiture.
Nous ________ (attendre) le bus.
Ils ________ (réussir) leurs examens.
Vous ________ (répondre) à l'email ?

✅ Answers:

finit
choisis
vend
attendons
réussissent
répondez

📝 Exercise 2 — Transform

Change the subject as indicated and rewrite the sentence.

Je finis à 18h. → Ils ________
Tu vends des livres ? → Vous ________
Elle choisit une robe. → Elles ________
Nous attendons le train. → Je ________

✅ Answers:

Ils finissent à 18h.
Vous vendez des livres ?
Elles choisissent une robe.
J'attends le train.

📝 Exercise 3 — Translation

I'm waiting for a friend. → ___
She succeeds every time. → ___
We choose the red one. → ___
They (m.) sell their house. → ___
Do you (tu) answer emails? → ___
He loses his keys often. → ___

✅ Answers:

J'attends un ami.
Elle réussit à chaque fois.
Nous choisissons le rouge.
Ils vendent leur maison.
Tu réponds aux emails ?
Il perd souvent ses clés.

📝 Exercise 4 — Error correction

Il finis son travail.
Nous vendont la maison.
Elle attend pas la réponse. (missing negation word)
Je choisis, tu choisis, il choisis.

✅ Answers:

Il finit son travail.
Nous vendons la maison.
Elle n'attend pas la réponse.
Je choisis, tu choisis, il choisit.

📝 Exercise 5 — Matching

Match the verb family to the correct example verb.

-ER a) vendre
-IR b) parler
-RE c) finir

✅ Answers: 1-b, 2-c, 3-a

🎯 Today's challenge

Write three sentences about your day using one verb from each family: an -ER verb, an -IR verb, and an -RE verb. Share them with a language partner or write them in your notebook.

⭐ Key takeaways

-IR verbs add -iss- in the nous, vous, and ils/elles forms — this is the key marker.
-RE verbs are unique: il/elle gets no ending at all — just drop the -re.
Knowing all three families covers the vast majority of regular French verbs, and being able to identify a verb's family on sight is essential for exam speed.