There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and
irregular. Once you've learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of
verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The
smallest category of regular French verbs -RE verbs - see the next page for a list of some
common -RE verbs.
The verb form that ends in -RE is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb
preceded by the word "to"), and -RE is the infinitive ending. The verb with the infinitive ending
removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -RE verbs, remove the infinitive ending to
find the stem and add the endings in the table below.
French regular -RE verb conjugations
To conjugate an -RE verb in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending and then add the
appropriate endings. For example, here are the present tense conjugations for the regular -RE
verbs descendre (to descend), perdre (to lose), and vendre (to sell):
Pronoun
Ending
descendre > descend-
perdre > perd-
vendre > vend-
je
-s
descends
perds
vends
tu
-s
descends
perds
vends
il
-
descend
perd
vend
nous
-ons
descendons
perdons
vendons
vous
-ez
descendez
perdez
vendez
ils
-ent
descendent
perdent
vendent
Regular -RE verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods.
Previous
French regular -RE verbs are a small group of French verbs which share a conjugation pattern.
Here are the most common regular -RE verbs:
attendre
to wait (for)
défendre
to defend
descendre
entendre
étendre
to descend
to to hear
to stretch
fondre
to melt
pendre
to hang, suspend
perdre
to lose
prétendre
rendre
to claim
to give back, return
répandre
to spread, scatter
répondre
to answer
vendre
to sell