Reusable stem and ending patterns reduce repetition, but they do not replace irregular forms, tense choice or practice in context. This chart summarizes selected common patterns rather than every form in French.
This is that cheat sheet.
How to use this
Every French regular verb conjugation works the same way:
- Find the stem. Usually some transformation of the infinitive.
- Add the ending. Determined by tense, mood, and person.
The cheat sheet below is organized by tense, then by verb group. Each cell is the ending you append to the stem. For irregular verbs, the same endings often still work, only the stem changes.
Présent indicatif
The everyday "I do / I am doing" tense. Detailed page: French present tense.
| Person | -er (parler) | -ir (finir) | -re (attendre) |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | -e | -is | -s |
| tu | -es | -is | -s |
| il / elle | -e | -it | none |
| nous | -ons | -issons | -ons |
| vous | -ez | -issez | -ez |
| ils / elles | -ent | -issent | -ent |
Stem: drop the infinitive ending. Parler → parl-, finir → fin-, attendre → attend-.
Imparfait
The "was ___ing / used to ___" past tense. Detailed page: French imparfait.
| Person | All verbs |
|---|---|
| je | -ais |
| tu | -ais |
| il / elle | -ait |
| nous | -ions |
| vous | -iez |
| ils / elles | -aient |
Stem: take the nous form of the present, drop -ons. Parlons → parl-, finissons → finiss-, attendons → attend-, prenons → pren-, faisons → fais-. Exception: être → ét-.
Futur simple
The "will ___" tense. Detailed page: French futur simple.
| Person | All verbs |
|---|---|
| je | -ai |
| tu | -as |
| il / elle | -a |
| nous | -ons |
| vous | -ez |
| ils / elles | -ont |
Stem: the full infinitive (drop final -e on -re verbs). Parler-, finir-, attendr-. Irregular stems to memorize: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, pouvoir → pourr-, vouloir → voudr-, savoir → saur-, voir → verr-, venir → viendr-, tenir → tiendr-, devoir → devr-, falloir → faudr-, recevoir → recevr-.
Conditionnel présent
The "would ___" mood. Same stem as futur simple, with imparfait endings.
| Person | All verbs |
|---|---|
| je | -ais |
| tu | -ais |
| il / elle | -ait |
| nous | -ions |
| vous | -iez |
| ils / elles | -aient |
Stem: identical to futur simple. Je parlerai (futur) → je parlerais (conditionnel).
Subjonctif présent
The "doubt / wish / necessity" mood. Detailed page: French subjonctif.
| Person | All verbs |
|---|---|
| que je | -e |
| que tu | -es |
| qu'il / elle | -e |
| que nous | -ions |
| que vous | -iez |
| qu'ils / elles | -ent |
Stem: take the ils form of the present, drop -ent. Parlent → parl-, finissent → finiss-, attendent → attend-. The nous and vous forms typically share the imparfait stem (que nous parlions, que vous parliez).
Irregular subjunctives to memorize: être (que je sois), avoir (que j'aie), aller (que j'aille), faire (que je fasse), savoir (que je sache), pouvoir (que je puisse), vouloir (que je veuille), falloir (qu'il faille), valoir (qu'il vaille).
Passé composé
Compound tense, auxiliary + past participle. Detailed page: French passé composé.
Past participle endings
| Group | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -er | -é | parler → parlé |
| -ir (regular) | -i | finir → fini |
| -re (regular) | -u | attendre → attendu |
| irregular | varies | été, eu, fait, dit, pris, mis, vu, su, pu, voulu, lu, écrit, ouvert, mort, né… |
Auxiliary choice
Most verbs use avoir: j'ai parlé, j'ai fini, j'ai attendu.
A specific list of intransitive motion / state-change verbs uses être (and the past participle agrees with the subject): aller, venir (+ compounds: devenir, revenir), partir, sortir, arriver, entrer, rentrer, monter, descendre, tomber, rester, retourner, naître, mourir, plus all pronominal verbs (se laver, se lever, etc.).
Impératif
Commands. Only three forms, tu, nous, vous, and no subject pronoun.
| Form | -er (parle) | -ir (finis) | -re (attends) |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | parle | finis | attends |
| nous | parlons | finissons | attendons |
| vous | parlez | finissez | attendez |
Note: regular -er tu imperatives have no final s: parle. An extra s appears when y/en attaches to that imperative: parles-en, vas-y. Distinguish va en chercher, where en belongs to the infinitive and does not trigger the same addition.
How to actually internalize this
A chart helps you understand and check patterns; recall and contextual use test different skills. The website conjugator covers 330 published verbs, separate from the app's larger library.
- Pick one verb-group / tense combo per day. Don't try to learn all 36 cells at once.
- Drill it with typed answers. The free practice tool on this site does exactly this: random verb, random tense, random pronoun.
- Check forms without looking, then mix familiar and new examples. Adjust the difficulty instead of requiring perfect recall before any next step.
- Revisit weekly. The endings fade fast if you don't use them.
A laminated copy of this page on the wall above your desk is also not the worst idea.
Related
- The 100 most common French verbs, what to drill these endings on first.
- Passé composé vs imparfait, the big A2 grammar fork.
- Subjunctive triggers, when do I need the subjunctive at all?
- All French tenses chart, every tense with a one-line "when to use it".
