In this French grammar lesson, you will learn about regular ir verbs conjugation in the present tense.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how regular ir verbs are conjugated in French
- the common regular ir verbs in French
- how regular ir verbs are pronounced in French
- how regular ir verbs conjugation is used in sentences in French
- how regular ir verbs conjugation Anki files can be downloaded
- how you can quiz yourself on regular ir verbs conjugation
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1.
By the end of the lesson, you will know all about regular ir verbs conjugation in the present tense!
Table of Contents
Regular ir Verbs Conjugation Table
| new ending | choisir (to choose) | |
| je | is | choisis |
| tu | is | choisis |
| il/elle/on | it | choisit |
| nous | issons | choisissons |
| vous | issez | choisissez |
| ils/elles | issent | choisissent |
Regular ir Verbs Conjugation Method
There is a three-step method that will make conjugating regular ir verbs very easy for you.
In order to conjugate verbs that end with -ir in the present tense one must:
- Find the infinitive (full verb)
- Cut off the -ir
- Add the new ending (is, is, it, issons, issez, issent)
In the conjugation table above you can see the verb choisir which means to “to choose” in English.
We will take this verb and conjugate it in the “je” form using the three-step method.
- choisir
The full verb of “to choose” is choisir in French.
- chois
Once you cut off the ir ending all that is left is chois.
- choisis
When we add the new is ending, the final conjugated form will be choisis.
So when you wish to say “I choose” in French you get:
Je choisis
Common Regular ir Verbs
French has three regular verb groups
- regular -er verbs
- regular -ir verbs
- regular -re verbs
The regular -ir verbs group is the second biggest group. Many French verbs fall in this group.
Here is a list of common verbs that you are sure to encounter in day-to-day life:
| choisir | to choose |
| finir | to finish |
| grandir | to grow up |
| investir | to invest |
| réfléchir | to think/to reflect |
| réussir | to succeed |
Pronunciation of Regular ir Verbs
In this section on regular -ir verbs conjugation we will focus on pronunciation.
There are 4 important rules to take into account when you want to pronounce regular verbs that end with -ir in French.
- The je, tu, and il/elle/on verb forms all have the same pronunciation. The -s and –t endings are not pronounced. In this case, it is just the “choisi” part that gets pronounced.
Je choisis
Tu choisis
Il choisit
These verbs are all pronounced in the same exact way.
The last letter that you hear is the “i“,
You don’t pronounce the letters in red.
- In the ils/elles verb form, you don’t pronounce the -ent ending. In this case, it is just the “choisiss” part that gets pronounced.
Ils choisissent
The last letter that you hear is the “s“.
You don’t pronounce the letters in red.
- In the je form, there’s a special rule. If the first letter of the verb is a vowel or a silent “h“, then you must remove the “e” of “je” and replace this with an apostrophe.
investir
J‘investis
Because the “e” of “je” disappeared, you then don’t have to pronounce that “e” anymore.
Please note how it is NOT “je investis“. This would be wrong.
- If the first letter of the verb is a vowel or a silent “h“, then we must perform a liaison. This happens in the nous, vous, and ils/elles form. This means that the final “s” of nous, vous, and ils/elles will have a “z” sound.
investir
Nous investissons
Vous investissons
Ils investissent
Please note how the final “s” in all of the subject pronouns sounds like a “z”
Example Sentences with Regular ir Verbs Conjugation
The final section of this lesson on regular ir verbs conjugation is about seeing the verbs in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of regular ir verbs conjugation through examples.
choisir
Je choisis Oberyn pour mon champion.
I choose Oberyn as my champion.
finir
À quelle heure finis-tu ton travail ?
What time do you finish work?
grandir
On sait qu’elle grandit vite.
We know that she is growing up fast.
investir
C’est pourquoi nous investissons dans l’armée.
That is why we are investing in the military.
réfléchir
Un esprit actif montre que vous réfléchissez.
An active mind shows you’re thinking.
réussir
Je voudrais qu’ils réussissent tous.
I would like to see them all succeed.
Quiz Yourself on Regular ir Verbs Conjugation
It’s not enough to just read this lesson.
You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.
It is also for this reason that it is recommended to download the Anki Decks and practice them.
At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!
Anki File for Regular ir Verbs Conjugation
It is important to do the Anki exercises for this lesson so that you can better remember what you just studied.
By downloading the Anki File for French A1, you can practice every French A1 lesson that is on Language Atlas.
You can also choose to just get the Anki File for French A1 Verbs. This only has the verbs for French A1.
If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or if you don’t know what Anki is, then please click here.
Anki can be downloaded from here.
