Before diving into the verbs themselves, it’s important to understand how verbs are classified in French. Imagine them as a video game with three levels of difficulty:
- Les verbes du 1ᵉʳ groupe (1st level) are the easiest to conjugate. They generally follow a pattern, with a few exceptions (mostly orthographic or phonetic). These verbs end in “-er” in the infinitive, such as parler or manger.
- Les verbes du 2ᵉ groupe (2nd level) follow two main rules:
- They end in -ir in the infinitive.
- They take the ending -issant in the present participle (for example, grandir → grandissant).
- Les verbes du 3ᵉ groupe (3rd level) are the most irregular. They don’t really follow fixed rules, although we can identify a few infinitive endings like:
- re (faire, dire),
- tre (mettre, battre),
- dre (comprendre, attendre),
- and even -ir (partir, venir).
The main difference between verbs in the 2nd group and those in the 3rd group ending in -ir lies in their present participle:
- grandir (2nd group) → grandissant,
- partir (3rd group) → partant.
With this structure in mind, let’s now look at the 10 essential verbs for beginner French learners. Here’s your revised and reorganized lesson, with a conclusion to wrap it up:
10 Essential Verbs for Beginner French Learners
1. Être et Avoir
The verbs être and avoir are indispensable in French. Not only are they used as main verbs, but they also serve as auxiliaries to form compound tenses (passé composé, futur antérieur, etc.). Learn them well, as you will use them often in everyday life and in all conversations.
If you want to deepen your understanding of these two essential verbs, I’ve written a book dedicated to their use, titled French for Beginners: The Verbs ‘Être et Avoir’, available on Amazon. This simple and practical guide will help you master these verbs, which are crucial for communicating well in French. Don’t hesitate to check it out to strengthen your foundations!
2. Aller
The verb aller is not only an essential movement verb, but it is also an auxiliary used to form the near future (e.g., je vais manger). Mastering it is crucial. This verb is indispensable for expressing your movements, for example, to indicate where you want to go when taking a taxi or asking for directions. That’s why I place it in third position.
3. Venir
In addition to the verb aller, let’s examine the verb venir. These two verbs have similar functions, but the difference lies in perspective. Aller expresses movement toward a place, while venir means someone or something is moving toward you.
Example: Brenda says je vais chez Alison because she’s going to Marie’s house, while Alison would say Brenda vient chez moi.
4. Prendre
The verb prendre is a third group verb, and it’s essential because it’s used in many contexts:
- prendre un train, un taxi, le bus
- prendre un médicament
- prendre un rendez-vous
Learning to conjugate prendre will also help you conjugate its derivatives like apprendre, comprendre, reprendre, and surprendre.
5. Faire
Faire is another very useful third group verb. It is used in many daily contexts: faire ses devoirs, faire du sport, faire la cuisine, etc. Knowing this verb from the start is important for good communication in French.
6. Parler
Finally, a first group verb, parler. It is easy to conjugate, like most first group verbs. You just need to change the ending based on the subject and the tense:
Sujet | Je | Tu | Il, elle, on | Nous | Vous | Ils, elles |
Terminaison | e | es | e | ons | ez | ent |
7. Vouloir
Vouloir is an essential verb for expressing desires or wants. It’s frequently used in restaurants or shops, allowing you to order politely. The conditional is often used in these contexts:
Examples:
- Je voudrais une baguette, s’il vous plaît.
- Nous voudrions une chambre pour deux personnes, s’il vous plaît.
8. Manger
Manger is a first group verb, but it has some spelling peculiarities. For example, we write nous mangeons with an “e” to keep the soft “g” sound, and je mangeais for the same reason. This is an important exception to remember.
9. Partir
After learning aller and venir, let’s take a look at partir, a third group verb. Partir expresses the idea of leaving one place to go to another.
Examples:
- Je pars en vacances dans 15 jours.
- David et moi partons à 20 h.
10. Grandir
Finally, here’s a second group verb: grandir. Second group verbs are those that end in -ir in the infinitive and -issant in the present participle. The conjugation of second group verbs follows a regular pattern and is easier to master than third group verbs.
Example: grandir → grandissant.
Conclusion
In summary, the distinction between aller and venir is essential for correctly expressing movement in French. While aller indicates moving toward another place, venir means approaching a place, often the one where the speaker is. By mastering this difference, you can structure your sentences better and avoid common misunderstandings.
If you want to deepen your knowledge of essential French verbs, I invite you to read my article Introducing Yourself in French: An Introduction to Essential Verbs. You’ll find additional tips to enrich your vocabulary and speak with more ease.
Thank you for reading, and see you soon for a new French lesson on Learn French with Lia!