Les Verbes Irréguliers Communs (Common Irregulars)

Learning ObjectivesRecognize and correctly use the present tense of the irregular verbs: être (to be) [ET-ruh], avoir (to have) [ah-VWAR], aller (to go) [ah-LAY], vouloir (to want) [voo-LWAR], pouvoir (to be able to) [poo-VWAR], and prendre (to take) [PRAHN-druh].Use these verbs to talk about yourself, what you have, your actions, and what you want.Form simple sentences in the near future tense (using aller (to go) [ah-LAY] + another verb).Form simple sentences in the past tense (using avoir (to have) [ah-VWAR]).Imagine you want to order poutine 🍟, say you're going to play hockey 🏒, or tell someone you got a gift for your birthday 🎁. To do all that, you need special verbs called irregular verbs. Ready to discover them?Real-World ApplicationsSaying how you feel: Je suis content (I am hap...

Here are the most important irregular verbs in the present tense. It's time to memorize them!VerbI (Je [zhuh])You (informal) (Tu [too])He/She/One (Il/Elle/On [eel/el/ohn])We (Nous [noo])You (formal/plural) (Vous [voo])They (Ils/Elles [eel/el])être (to be) [ET-ruh]suis [swee]es [eh]est [eh]sommes [som]êtes [et]sont [sohn]avoir (to have) [ah-VWAR]ai [ay]as [ah]a [ah]avons [ah-VOHN]avez [ah-VAY]ont [ohn]aller (to go) [ah-LAY]vais [vay]vas [vah]va [vah]allons [ah-LOHN]allez [ah-LAY]vont [vohn]vouloir (to want) [voo-LWAR]veux [vuh]veux [vuh]veut [vuh]voulons [voo-LOHN]voulez [voo-LAY]veulent [vuhl]pouvoir (to be able to) [poo-VWAR]peux [puh]peux [puh]peut [puh]pouvons [poo-VOHN]pouvez [poo-VAY]peuvent [puv]prendre (to take) [PRAHN-druh]prends [prahn]prends [prahn]prend [prahn]prenons [pruh-NOHN...

1. The Big Three: être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go)Rule: These three verbs are very common and completely irregular. Their forms change a lot. There's no secret, you just have to learn them by heart!Example (être): Je suis à la maison (I am at home) [zhuh swee ah lah may-ZOHN].Example (avoir): Tu as un chat (You have a cat) [too ah uhn shah].Example (aller): Elle va au parc (She is going to the park) [el vah oh park].2. Verbs ending in -oir: vouloir (to want) and pouvoir (to be able to)Rule: These verbs look similar. For 'I' (je [zhuh]) and 'you' (tu [too]), they end in 'x'. For 'he/she/one' (il/elle/on [eel/el/ohn]), they end in 't'.Example (vouloir): Je veux (I want) [zhuh vuh], tu veux (you want) [too vuh], il veut (he wants) [eel vuh].Example (pouvoir): Je peux (I can) [zhuh...