#32-64 Most Used French Verbs

In May 2009, Bright Hub reviewed the first portion of the 100 most commonly used French verbs in the article "#1-31 Most Used French Verbs." The second installment of this series will review 33 additional commonly used verbs in the French language. Lingo Lex as well as other foreign language learning websites regularly publish the most common verbs in English, French, Spanish, and other languages. This guide will give definitions for the French verbs and also additional conjugation lessons.

give: donner

go: aller

have: avoir

hear: écouter

hurt: faire du mal/blesser

know: savoir/connaître

learn: apprendre

leave: sortir/partir

listen: écouter

live: vivre

look: regarder

lose: perdre

make or do: faire

need: avoir besoin

organize: organiser

pay: payer

play: jouer

put: poser

rain: pleuvoir

read: lire

reply: répondre

run: courir

say: dire

see: voir

sell: vendre

send: envoyer

shut or close: fermer

sign: signer

sing: chanter

sit: s'asseoir

sleep: dormir

smoke: fumer

speak: parler

spell: épeler

spend: dépenser

In most cases, French verbs can be successfully conjugated using the last two letters of the appropriate vocabulary term (such as ER and IR verbs.) However, not all words will follow this rule of thumb. Parler (to speak) is a regular ER verb in the French language. A couple of common cases for conjugation of such verbs are as follows:

PERFECT TENSE:

j': ai parlé

tu: as parlé

il: a parlé

nous: avons parlé

vous: avez parlé

ils: ont parlé

IMPERFECT TENSE:

je: parlais

tu: parlais

il: parlait

nous: parlions

vous: parliez

ils: parlaient

The French word dormir (to sleep) is a regular IR verb. Two of its common conjugations are as follows:

PERFECT TENSE:

j': ai dormi

tu: as dormi

il: a dormi

nous: avons dormi

vous: avez dormi

ils: ont dormi

IMPERFECT TENSE:

je: dormais

tu: dormais

il: dormait

nous: dormions

vous: dormiez

ils: dormaient

One of the irregular verbs mentioned in this installment of the 100 most commonly used French verbs is lire (to read.) Two of its common conjugation tenses are the following:

IMPERFECT TENSE:

je: lisais

tu: lisais

il: lisait

nous: lisions

vous: lisiez

ils: lisaient

SUBJUNCTIVE TENSE:

je: lise

tu: lises

il: lise

nous: lisions

vous: lisiez

ils: lisent

Proper pronunciation is an essential component of any foreign language study, and French can be an especially tricky dialect to learn. Each French-speaking country has slightly different pronunciation. However, there are a number of online French pronunciation guides to help you improve your speaking before that trip to Canada, France, Belgium, or Switzerland. LanguageGuide French publishes a free audio and printed guide to spoken French.