50 useful verbs in French

Whether you're at beginner, intermediate or advanced level in French, you'll always need to know some vocabulary, especially verbs, to speak French! I know that French conjugation scares students... And I understand why, there are lots of verbs, including many irregular ones. There are lots of different tenses too. In short... a lot to memorize! So, to make your life easier, I've put together a list of 50 useful verbs that are widely used in French, and that you absolutely must know. Let's get started!

50 useful French verbs with examples

To help you remember these 50 verbs, I've sorted them by category.

1. Introduce yourself

s'appeler, être, avoir, travailler, étudier, parler, habiter, vivre

If you're a beginner in French, you should know that verbs ending in “er”, such as “parler” (to speak), “étudier” (to study) and “habiter” (to live), are 1st group verbs.

In French, there are 3 groups of verbs, and the 1st group verbs are all regular: they all have the same endings: e, es, e, ons, ez, ent.

For example: je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent.

"Être" (to be), "avoir" (to have) et "vivre" (to live) are 3rd group verbs. Here are their conjugations in the present tense:

These verbs are essential for introducing yourself!

For example: 🇫🇷 Je m’appelle Manon. J’ai 31 ans. Je suis française. Je travaille comme professeure de français. J’ai étudié les langues étrangères. Je parle français, anglais et portugais. J’habite à Lisbonne OU je vis à Lisbonne, au Portugal.

🇺🇸 My name is Manon. I'm 31 years old. I'm French. I work as a French teacher. I studied foreign languages. I speak French, English and Portuguese. I live in Lisbon, Portugal.

2. Activities

aimer, détester, faire, lire, connaître

"Aimer" (to like, to love) and "détester" (to hate) are of the 1st group, they are regular.

Example: J’aime voyager mais je déteste la randonnée. (I love to travel but I hate hiking.)

But the verbs "faire" (to do), "lire" (to read) et "connaître" (to know) are irregular:

Examples: 🇫🇷 Je lis les actualités tous les matins. 

Je connais la littérature française. 

Je fais de l’équitation.

Qu’est-ce que vous faites ce week-end ? 

🇺🇸 I read the news every morning.

I know French literature.

I do horse-riding.

What are you doing this weekend?

3. Everyday routine

se réveiller (to wake up), s’habiller (to get dressed), mettre (to put), se coucher (to go to sleep), dormir (to sleep), manger (to eat), boire (to drink)

In French, there are many pronominal verbs, such as “se réveiller” or “se coucher”, which are used to express an action done to oneself (“Je couche mon fils.” But: “Je me couche.”).

When you conjugate them, you must put the pronoun corresponding to each person before the verb.

Ex: Je me réveille, tu te réveilles, il/elle se réveille, nous nous réveillons, vous vous réveillez, ils/elles se réveillent

Le matin, je me réveille à 7h. Je bois un café, je mange un croissant, puis je m’habille. - In the morning, I wake up at 7am. I drink a coffee, eat a croissant, then get dressed.

The verbs “boire” (to drink) and "dormir" (to sleep) are not pronominal but they are irregular:

Example: Le soir, je bois une tisane et je me couche tôt. Je dors jusqu'à 8 heures du matin. - In the evening, I drink herbal tea and go to bed early. I sleep until 8 in the morning.

4. In a shop

acheter (to buy), payer (to pay), demander (to ask), regarder (to look at), vendre (to sell)

Examples: 🇫🇷 Les jeunes filles achètent de plus en plus de maquillage.

Je paye en carte bancaire.

Je vais demander une autre taille à la vendeuse.

Je regarde les bijoux dans la vitrine.

🇺🇸 Young girls are buying more and more make-up.

I pay by credit card.

I ask the saleswoman for another size.

I look at the jewelry in the window.

All these verbs are in the 1st group, except the verb “vendre” (to sell).

De nombreuses marques françaises vendent des produits de luxe. - Many French brands sell luxury goods.

5. Verbs ending in "-oir"

pouvoir (can), vouloir (to want), devoir (to have to), voir (to see), savoir (to know)

Let's take a look at these 5 “-oir” verbs. They look very similar but they are all irregular and are not conjugated in the same way! ➡️ Je peux, je veux, je dois, je vois, je sais (I can, I want, I must, I see, I know)

Examples : 🇫🇷 Je peux entrer ? Je veux parler français pour travailler à Paris. Je dois réviser les verbes irréguliers. Depuis mon bureau, je vois la mer. Je ne sais pas. 

🇺🇸 Can I come in? I want to speak French to work in Paris. I need to revise irregular verbs. From my office, I can see the sea. I don't know.

6. At the office

écrire (to write), répondre (to answer), envoyer (to send), appeler (to call), s’asseoir (to sit down), allumer (to switch on), éteindre (to switch off)

We continue with verbs useful in the office, or at least in the professional context. These are communication verbs such as :

Écrire. (to write) : J’écris un email à Monsieur Laurent. - I'm writing an email to Mr. Laurent.

Répondre (to answer): Il me répond toujours rapidement. - He always answers me quickly.

Envoyer (to send) : J’envoie une proposition à mon client. - I'm sending an offer to my client. Appeler (to call) : Je t'appelle après ma réunion. - I'll call you after my meeting.

The verb “s'asseoir” (to sit down) can also be useful: Be careful, this verb is irregular and a little difficult to conjugate. In fact, “s'asseoir” has 2 possible conjugations! “Je m'assois” or ‘je m'assieds’.

You can invite someone to sit down by saying: "Asseyez-vous." (Sit down.)

Exemple : “Je vous en prie, asseyez-vous." - "Please, sit down”.

The verb “allumer” (to switch on) is regular, but the verb “éteindre" (to switch off)) is not. Here is its conjugation:

J'éteins, tu éteins, il/elle éteint, nous éteignons, vous éteignez, ils/elles éteignent

Exemples : 🇫🇷 Merci d'éteindre la lumière en quittant la pièce. J'éteins mon ordinateur quand je finis mon travail.

🇺🇸 Please turn off the light when you leave the room. I turn off my computer when I finish my work.

7. Movements

monter (to go up), descendre (to go down), entrer (to come in), sortir (to go out), partir (to leave), venir (to come), revenir (to come back), aller (to go)

They're all irregular, except for “monter” and “entrer”, which are in the 1st group.

Here's how to conjugate these difficult verbs:

Examples: 🇫🇷 Je descends les escaliers sans faire de bruit. Il part à la retraite la semaine prochaine. Tu viens au cinéma avec moi ?

Je vais au Brésil pendant 3 semaines.

🇺🇸 I come down the stairs quietly.

He's retiring next week.

Will you go to the movies with me?

I'm going to Brazil for 3 weeks.

⚠️ All these verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary "être" in the past tense (passé composé).

>>> You will also like: Master the past tense (passé composé) in 5 lessons

8. Derivatives of “prendre"

prendre (to take), comprendre (to understand), apprendre (to learn)

All you need to know is the conjugation of “prendre” to know the conjugation of its derived verbs (prefix + prendre).

Prendre : Je prends, tu prends, il/elle prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent

➡️ Comprendre : Je comprends, tu comprends, il comprend, nous comprenons, vous comprenez, ils comprennent

➡️ Apprendre : J'apprends, tu apprends, il apprend, nous apprenons, vous apprenez, ils apprennent

Examples: 🇫🇷 Tous les matins, je prends le métro pour aller au bureau.

Tu comprends ce que je te dis ?

J'apprends le français depuis un an.

🇺🇸 Every morning, I take the metro to work.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

I've been learning French for a year.

9. 2nd group verbs

choisir (to choose), finir (to finish)

Group 2 verbs have 2 special features:

• they take the “-ir” ending in the infinitive

• they take the “-issons”, “-issez” and “-issent” endings in the 3-person plural present tense.

Examples: Mon mari choisit toujours le programme télé. - My husband always chooses the TV program.

Je finis le travail à18h. - I finish work at 6pm.

Now that you know these 50 useful French verbs, you should feel much more comfortable communicating!

If you need help to improve your speaking and conversation skills, a few one-to-one French lessons may be all you need!