Key takeaways
- The four main irregular verbs in French are avoir (to have), être (to be), aller (to go), and faire (to do/make). Every French learner needs to know all four by heart.
- These verbs are irregular in the present tense and must be memorized: their forms do not follow any regular pattern.
- Avoir and être also serve as auxiliary verbs in compound tenses like the passé composé.
- Aller forms the futur proche with a present tense form plus an infinitive: je vais manger.
- Faire appears in dozens of fixed expressions including all weather expressions.
This guide covers the present tense conjugations of all four verbs, their role in compound tenses, passé composé forms, and the most important fixed expressions for each verb. For over 15+ years and across 150+ languages, italki has connected learners with French tutors who help students internalize these verb forms through conversation rather than rote memorization.
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Avoir (to have)
| Pronoun | avoir |
|---|---|
| j’ | ai |
| tu | as |
| il/elle/on | a |
| nous | avons |
| vous | avez |
| ils/elles | ont |
Avoir is the auxiliary for the passé composé of most French verbs: J’ai mangé (I have eaten). Elle a parlé (She has spoken). Common expressions: avoir faim (be hungry), avoir soif (be thirsty), avoir peur (be afraid), avoir besoin de (need), avoir raison/tort (be right/wrong). These expressions use avoir where English uses “to be,” which is why learning them as complete units matters far more than translating word-by-word from English. For exploration of how French grammar handles states and possession, this guide on how to learn French grammar covers the foundational patterns.
Être (to be)
| Pronoun | être |
|---|---|
| je | suis |
| tu | es |
| il/elle/on | est |
| nous | sommes |
| vous | êtes |
| ils/elles | sont |
Être is the auxiliary for a specific group of intransitive verbs known by the acronym DR MRS VANDERTRAMP. These verbs are verbs of motion and state change: Devenir, Revenir, Monter, Rester, Sortir, Venir, Arriver, Naître, Descendre, Entrer, Retourner, Tomber, Aller, Mourir, Partir. Être is also the auxiliary for all reflexive verbs. When être is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Understanding which movement verbs use être as their auxiliary is foundational to mastering the future tense in French and the conditional, both of which build on the same verb stems. For reflexive verbs using être, see how to conjugate reflexive verbs in French.
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Aller (to go)
| Pronoun | aller |
|---|---|
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il/elle/on | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils/elles | vont |
Aller plus infinitive creates the futur proche (near future): Je vais manger ce soir (I’m going to eat tonight). Common expressions: aller bien (be well), Ça va? (How are you?), Allons-y (Let’s go). The futur proche is far more common in everyday French than the true future tense in French, which is why learning aller early pays dividends in real conversation. Aller also combines with the conditional to form “j’irais” (I would go), bridging present and hypothetical action.
Faire (to do / to make)
| Pronoun | faire |
|---|---|
| je | fais |
| tu | fais |
| il/elle/on | fait |
| nous | faisons |
| vous | faites |
| ils/elles | font |
Note: vous faites (not vous faisez). Weather expressions use faire: Il fait beau (It is nice weather), Il fait froid (It is cold), Il fait chaud (It is hot), Il fait du vent (It is windy), Il fait du soleil (It is sunny). Common expressions: faire du sport (do sports), faire la cuisine (cook), faire les courses (do shopping), faire attention (pay attention). The conditional tense in French builds on faire’s irregular stem (fer-), so mastering faire in present tense gives you a foundation for expressing hypothetical actions. For -IR verb conjugation including irregular verbs like partir and venir, see this guide on how to conjugate -IR verbs in French.
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Passé composé of the four verbs
| Verb | Passé Composé | Example |
|---|---|---|
| avoir | j’ai eu | J’ai eu un problème. (I had a problem.) |
| être | j’ai été | J’ai été malade. (I was sick.) |
| aller | je suis allé(e) | Je suis allé au bureau. (I went to the office.) |
| faire | j’ai fait | J’ai fait une erreur. (I made a mistake.) |
Notice that avoir and être use avoir as the auxiliary in the passé composé, while aller uses être. This exception is why learning these four verbs as a distinct group matters: they do not follow the regular rules that govern other verbs. With 30,000+ expert tutors trusted by over 10 million learners worldwide, italki connects you with French teachers who focus specifically on these four verbs and who build sessions around the exact expressions you need for real conversation. Book a trial lesson and tell your teacher you want to focus on production drills for avoir, être, aller, and faire in real sentences, using dialogue and role-play rather than isolated exercises.
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FAQ
Why do avoir and être both mean “to be” in some contexts?
French uses avoir where English uses “to be” in expressions: avoir faim (be hungry), avoir peur (be scared). Learn the full expression rather than translating from English. How do I know whether to use avoir or être for the passé composé? Être is used with DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs and all reflexive verbs. Every other verb uses avoir. If you cannot remember the acronym, learn the most common ones by exposure through conversation. Is faire used in any tenses other than present and passé composé? Yes. The future stem is fer-: je ferai (I will do). The imperfect: je faisais (I was doing/I used to do). The subjunctive present: que je fasse, que tu fasses, qu’il fasse, que nous fassions, que vous fassiez, qu’ils fassent.
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