Faire (to do/make) in French

Overview

The verb faire (to do/make) is one of the most versatile and frequently used verbs in French. It is highly irregular, and its forms must be memorized individually. At the A1 level, faire is essential because it appears in a wide range of everyday expressions — from talking about the weather to describing sports, cooking, and household activities.

What makes faire particularly interesting is how many French expressions use it where English would use a completely different verb. French says faire du sport (to do sports), faire la cuisine (to cook — literally "to do the cooking"), faire les courses (to go shopping), and il fait beau (the weather is nice — literally "it makes beautiful"). Learning these expressions as set phrases is the most effective approach.

The nous form — nous faisons — has an unusual pronunciation: the ai sounds like "uh" rather than the expected "ay." Similarly, vous faites is one of those irregular forms that simply needs to be memorized.

How It Works

Present Tense Conjugation

Subject	Conjugation	Pronunciation (approx.)
je	fais	fay
tu	fais	fay
il / elle / on	fait	fay
nous	faisons	fuh-zon
vous	faites	fet
ils / elles	font	fon

Common Expressions with Faire

French	English	Category
faire du sport	to do sports	Activities
faire la cuisine	to cook	Household
faire les courses	to go grocery shopping	Errands
faire le ménage	to do housework	Household
faire ses devoirs	to do one's homework	School
faire une promenade	to take a walk	Leisure
faire attention	to pay attention	General
faire la fête	to party	Social

Weather Expressions with Faire

French	English
Il fait beau.	The weather is nice.
Il fait chaud.	It's hot.
Il fait froid.	It's cold.
Il fait mauvais.	The weather is bad.
Il fait du vent.	It's windy.
Il fait du soleil.	It's sunny.

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?	What are you doing?	Very common question
Je fais du sport le matin.	I do sports in the morning.	Activity
Il fait beau aujourd'hui.	The weather is nice today.	Weather
Nous faisons la cuisine ensemble.	We cook together.	Household
Vous faites quoi ce soir ?	What are you doing tonight?	Casual question
Ils font les courses le samedi.	They go shopping on Saturdays.	Routine
Elle fait attention en classe.	She pays attention in class.	Expression
On fait une promenade ?	Shall we take a walk?	Suggestion
Je fais mes devoirs.	I'm doing my homework.	School
Il fait très froid dehors.	It's very cold outside.	Weather + intensity

Common Mistakes

Using "faisons" with a regular pronunciation

• Wrong: Pronouncing faisons as "fay-zon"
• Right: Pronouncing it as "fuh-zon"
• Why: The ai in faisons is exceptionally pronounced as a schwa ("uh"), not as "ay." This is an irregularity specific to this form.

Translating English expressions directly

• Wrong: Je joue du sport. (literal: I play sports)
• Right: Je fais du sport.
• Why: French uses faire for sports in general. English uses "do" or "play," but French consistently uses faire.

Forgetting "il fait" for weather

• Wrong: Il est chaud aujourd'hui.
• Right: Il fait chaud aujourd'hui.
• Why: Weather expressions in French use il fait + adjective, not il est. Il est chaud would mean "he is hot" (referring to a person).

Practice Tips

1. Learn the faire expressions as complete phrases rather than translating word by word. Flashcard faire la cuisine = to cook, faire les courses = to go shopping, and so on.
2. Describe the weather every day using faire: Aujourd'hui il fait beau / il fait froid / il fait du vent. This daily practice reinforces both the verb and the weather vocabulary.
3. Describe your daily routine with faire: Je fais du sport. Je fais mes devoirs. Je fais le ménage. The repetition builds fluency.

Related Concepts

• Regular -ER Verbs — for comparison with the regular pattern
• Causative Construction — faire + infinitive to express "to have something done"