Common irregular verbs in the present tense

Kurz erklärt

Some very common French verbs do not follow the usual present-tense patterns. Their forms need to be learned individually. Four useful examples are aller (to go), faire (to do or make), venir (to come), and prendre (to take or have).

Bildung

aller: vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont; faire: fais, fais, fait, faisons, faites, font; venir: viens, viens, vient, venons, venez, viennent; prendre: prends, prends, prend, prenons, prenez, prennent. Use these forms after je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, and ils/elles respectively.

Verwendung

• Use aller to say where someone is going.
• Use faire for many everyday activities.
• Use venir to say where someone comes from.
• Use prendre for transport, food, and drinks.

Beispiele

• Je vais au travail en bus. — I go to work by bus.
• Nous faisons les courses le samedi. — We do the grocery shopping on Saturdays.
• Elle vient de Paris. — She comes from Paris.
• Tu prends un café ? — Are you having a coffee?

Typischer Fehler

❌ Je va au travail.

✅ Je vais au travail.

Do not use the il/elle form va with je. Each subject needs the matching irregular form.

Merke

Learn these verbs as complete sets of forms. The nous and vous forms can help you recognize the verb even when the stem changes.