Regular -IR Verbs in French

In Brief

For regular French -ir verbs of the finir type, remove -ir from the infinitive (the dictionary form) and add -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. The singular forms have no -iss-, but all three plural forms do: je finis but nous finissons. Not every verb ending in -ir follows this pattern, so learn unfamiliar verbs with their conjugation group.

Overview

Regular -ir verbs such as finir (to finish), choisir (to choose), réussir (to succeed or pass), and rougir (to blush or turn red) form an important French verb group. At A1, the main goal is to use their present-tense forms with the correct subject: je choisis, nous choisissons, and so on. The subject is the person or thing that performs the action.

English verbs change very little in the present tense: “I finish,” “we finish,” but “she finishes.” French endings carry more information. You therefore need to connect each subject pronoun with its own written form, even when several forms sound alike. These verbs are often called regular second-group verbs in French grammar.

The present tense can describe what is happening now, a repeated action, or a general fact. Thus Je finis maintenant means “I’m finishing now,” while Je finis à cinq heures tous les jours means “I finish at five every day.” French does not use a separate “am finishing” form in these sentences.

How It Works

The basic pattern

Start with the infinitive, the unchanged form listed in a dictionary, such as finir. Remove the final -ir to find the stem, the part to which endings are added:

• finir → fin- + ending
• choisir → chois- + ending
• réussir → réuss- + ending
• rougir → roug- + ending

Then add the present-tense endings.

Subject	Ending	finir	English
je	-is	je finis	I finish / I am finishing
tu	-is	tu finis	you finish / you are finishing
il / elle / on	-it	il finit	he finishes / he is finishing
nous	-issons	nous finissons	we finish / we are finishing
vous	-issez	vous finissez	you finish / you are finishing
ils / elles	-issent	ils finissent	they finish / they are finishing

A useful visual shortcut is:

fin- + is, is, it → finiss- + ons, ez, ent

The spelling can look as though there are two stems, but this alternation is a regular part of the pattern. Do not add -iss- to the singular forms.

The same endings with other verbs

Subject	choisir	réussir	rougir
je	choisis	réussis	rougis
tu	choisis	réussis	rougis
il / elle / on	choisit	réussit	rougit
nous	choisissons	réussissons	rougissons
vous	choisissez	réussissez	rougissez
ils / elles	choisissent	réussissent	rougissent

Pronunciation

The written endings are easier to remember if you separate spelling from sound.

• je finis, tu finis, and il finit are normally pronounced alike. The final s and t are silent.
• In nous finissons and vous finissez, the ss is pronounced like the s in English “see.”
• In ils finissent, the final -ent is silent; the pronounced ending is essentially -iss.
• A liaison (a linking sound between words) may occur after ils or elles before a vowel sound, but the verb’s final -ent still remains silent.

This is why listening alone may not tell you whether someone said je finis, tu finis, or il finit. The subject and context do that work.

Questions and negatives

The conjugation itself does not change in a negative sentence. Put ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it:

• Je ne choisis pas ce dessert. — I’m not choosing this dessert.
• Nous ne finissons pas tard. — We do not finish late.

In everyday speech, speakers often omit ne: Je choisis pas ce dessert. For careful writing and beginner practice, use the full ne ... pas structure.

For a simple spoken question, intonation or est-ce que works well:

• Tu réussis l’examen ? — Are you passing the exam?
• Est-ce que vous choisissez une table ? — Are you choosing a table?

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Je finis le travail avant midi.	I finish the work before noon.	First-person singular
Tu choisis le menu végétarien.	You choose the vegetarian menu.	Informal singular “you”
Elle réussit tous ses exercices.	She completes all her exercises successfully.	Third-person singular
On finit à dix-huit heures.	We finish at six p.m.	Everyday on meaning “we”
Nous réussissons l’examen ensemble.	We pass the exam together.	Plural form with -issons
Vous choisissez une boisson ?	Are you choosing a drink?	Formal or plural “you”
Ils rougissent facilement.	They blush easily.	Plural form with -issent
Les feuilles jaunissent en automne.	The leaves turn yellow in autumn.	A general fact
Je ne remplis pas le formulaire maintenant.	I’m not filling out the form now.	Negative sentence
Est-ce que tu grandis vite ?	Are you growing quickly?	Question with est-ce que
Nous applaudissons à la fin du spectacle.	We applaud at the end of the show.	applaudir follows the pattern
Mes voisins bâtissent une maison.	My neighbors are building a house.	Action in progress
Vous réfléchissez avant de répondre.	You think before answering.	réfléchir follows the regular pattern
Le café refroidit sur la table.	The coffee is getting cold on the table.	Singular inanimate subject

Common Mistakes

Adding -iss- to every form

• Wrong: Je finiss le travail.
• Right: Je finis le travail.
• Why: The singular forms use the stem fin- plus -is, -is, -it. The expanded finiss- appears in nous, vous, and ils/elles forms.

Leaving -iss- out of a plural form

• Wrong: Nous finons à cinq heures.
• Right: Nous finissons à cinq heures.
• Why: Regular verbs of this type require -issons with nous, not simply -ons.

Pronouncing silent singular letters

• Wrong: Pronouncing the final s in tu finis or the final t in elle finit.
• Right: In normal pronunciation, finis and finit end in the same vowel sound.
• Why: The spelling distinguishes the grammatical forms, but those final consonants are silent.

Treating every -ir verb as regular

• Wrong: Nous partissons demain.
• Right: Nous partons demain.
• Why: Partir ends in -ir but belongs to a different pattern. The same warning applies to common verbs such as sortir, dormir, venir, and ouvrir. An -ir ending alone does not prove that a verb is regular.

Copying the English tense too literally

• Wrong idea: French must have different verb constructions for “I finish” and “I am finishing.”
• Right: Je finis can express either meaning, depending on context.
• Why: The French present tense covers both ordinary and progressive English present forms. If necessary, context such as maintenant makes the meaning clear.

Usage Notes

The pronoun on is extremely common in conversation with the meaning “we,” but it takes a third-person singular verb: On choisit une table rather than on choisissons. Nous choisissons is fully correct and remains common in formal speech and writing.

Vous can address one person politely or more than one person. In both cases, the verb form is the same: Vous finissez à quelle heure ? Context tells you whether the speaker means “What time do you finish?” to one person or to a group.

The meaning of réussir depends on what follows. Réussir un examen means “to pass an exam,” while réussir without a direct object (a person or thing directly affected by the verb) often means “to succeed”: Elle réussit dans son travail — “She succeeds in her work.” At a later stage, you will also meet réussir à + infinitive: Il réussit à ouvrir la porte — “He manages to open the door.”

Many regular verbs in this group describe a change: grandir (grow), grossir (gain weight or become larger), maigrir (lose weight), jaunir (turn yellow), and vieillir (grow old). English often uses “become,” “get,” or “turn” plus an adjective where French uses one verb.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following points at A1, but they help you recognize the limits and wider use of the pattern.

How to identify this regular group

Traditional French grammar calls these second-group verbs. A practical test is their nous form in the present and their present participle (an -ing-like verb form used in certain constructions):

• finir → nous finissons → finissant
• choisir → nous choisissons → choisissant

The -issons / -issant pattern confirms this group. By contrast, partir gives nous partons and partant, so it is not part of the regular group. Dictionaries often label verb groups or provide a conjugation link; check one when unsure.

The stem in other tenses

Once you know finiss-, you will recognize it elsewhere. The imperfect tense uses the stem from the present nous form: nous finissons → je finissais (“I was finishing” or “I used to finish”). The present subjunctive also includes forms such as que nous finissions. These are later topics, not extra present-tense endings.

Other common forms build differently but remain predictable:

• past participle: fini, choisi, réussi — used in J’ai fini (“I finished / I have finished”)
• future: je finirai, nous choisirons — generally built from the infinitive
• conditional: je finirais — also based on the future stem

Regularity has boundaries

Some verbs look similar but require individual attention. Haïr (“to hate”), for example, has spelling and pronunciation features connected with the diaeresis in ï. More importantly for beginners, very frequent -ir verbs such as venir, tenir, partir, sortir, dormir, servir, courir, and ouvrir do not use the full finir pattern. Learn them as separate families rather than trying to force -iss- into every form.

Practice Tips

1. Build forms in two steps. Write the stem first, then attach the ending: chois- + is, chois- + issons. This prevents both missing and misplaced -iss-.
2. Practice in three sound groups. Say je finis, tu finis, il finit together; then nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent. Notice that the three singular spellings share one pronunciation while the plural forms clearly contain the iss sound.
3. Check new verbs with a nous test. When you meet an unfamiliar -ir verb, look up its nous form. If it has -issons, add it to your regular-group list; if not, record its family separately.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — learn which pronoun selects each verb ending.