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:

Pronoun	Ending	Example: finir (to finish)
je	-is	je finis [zhuh fee-nee]
tu	-is	tu finis
il/elle	-it	il finit [eel fee-nee]
nous	-issons	nous finissons [noo fee-nee-sohn]
vous	-issez	vous finissez [voo fee-nee-say]
ils/elles	-issent	ils finissent [eel fee-nees]

Other common -IR verbs that follow this pattern:

Verb	Meaning	ils form
choisir	to choose	ils choisissent
réussir	to succeed	ils réussissent
grandir	to grow	ils grandissent
rougir	to blush	ils rougissent
obéir	to obey	ils obéissent
finir	to finish	ils finissent
réfléchir	to think/reflect	ils réfléchissent
remplir	to fill (in)	ils remplissent

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:

Pronoun	Ending	Example: vendre (to sell)
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:

Verb	Meaning	Example
attendre	to wait	J'attends le bus depuis 10 minutes. = I've been waiting for the bus for 10 minutes.
répondre	to answer	Tu réponds à sa question ? = Are you answering her question?
descendre	to go down	Nous descendons à la prochaine station. = We're getting off at the next station.
perdre	to lose	Il perd toujours ses clés. = He always loses his keys.
entendre	to hear	Vous entendez ce bruit ? = Do you hear that noise?
rendre	to give back	Elle rend le livre à la bibliothèque. = She's returning the book to the library.

🦝 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

Subject	-ER: parler	-IR: finir	-RE: vendre
je	parle	finis	vends
tu	parles	finis	vends
il/elle	parle	finit	vend
nous	parlons	finissons	vendons
vous	parlez	finissez	vendez
ils/elles	parlent	finissent	vendent

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.

🎯 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.

Regular -IR & -RE Verbs: New Patterns