French present tense: regular -ir and -re verbs (je finis, je vends)

Level A1 · Talk about habits, routines and facts using regular -ir and -re verbs.

Je finis à cinq heures et j'attends le bus.I finish at five and I wait for the bus.

After the big -er group, French has two smaller regular groups: verbs whose infinitive ends in -ir (finir, choisir) and verbs whose infinitive ends in -re (vendre, attendre). Each has its own set of endings on the stem.

Quick shortcut: -ir → -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. -re → -s, -s, –, -ons, -ez, -ent.

Regular -ir verbs (finir type)

Drop -ir from the infinitive and add the endings. The plural forms slot an -iss- between the stem and the ending — that's the mark of this group:


je finis	I finish	Je finis* mon travail.*
tu finis	you finish	Tu finis* quand ?*
il / elle / on finit	he / she / it finishes, we finish	Le film finit* tard.*
nous finissons	we finish	Nous finissons* le projet.*
vous finissez	you finish	Vous finissez* bientôt ?*
ils / elles finissent	they finish	Ils finissent* vite.*

Common verbs like this: choisir ("choose"), réfléchir ("reflect, think carefully"), grandir ("grow"), réussir ("succeed"), remplir ("fill"), obéir ("obey").

Regular -re verbs (vendre type)

Drop -re and add the endings. The third person singular has no ending at all — just the bare stem (il vend):


je vends	I sell	Je vends* ma voiture.*
tu vends	you sell	Tu vends* ta maison ?*
il / elle / on vend	he / she / it sells, we sell	Il vend* des fruits.*
nous vendons	we sell	Nous vendons* des livres.*
vous vendez	you sell	Vous vendez* ici ?*
ils / elles vendent	they sell	Ils vendent* tout.*

Common verbs like this: attendre ("wait for"), entendre ("hear"), répondre ("answer"), perdre ("lose"), descendre ("go down"), rendre ("give back").

Saying them

As with -er verbs, the singular endings are silent, so the three singular forms are homophones:

je finis, tu finis, il finit → all /fini/
je vends, tu vends, il vend → all /vɑ̃/

The plural forms sound different — for -ir verbs because of the -iss- (finissons /finisɔ̃/), for -re verbs because the stem consonant is now heard (ils vendent /vɑ̃d/). Before a vowel there's a liaison: nous‿attendons, ils‿obéissent. And je becomes j': j'attends, j'obéis.

Not every -ir or -re verb is regular

Several of the most common -ir and -re verbs do not follow these patterns:

❌ nous partissons → ✅ nous partons (partir, sortir, dormir have no -iss-)
❌ je prends is fine, but ❌ nous prendons → ✅ nous prenons (prendre is irregular)
Also irregular: venir, tenir, ouvrir, courir, faire, dire, écrire, lire, mettre

These belong to common irregular verbs — learn them separately.

Common mistakes

❌ nous finons → ✅ nous finissons (the -iss- appears in the plural)
❌ il finis → ✅ il finit (third person singular of an -ir verb ends in -t)
❌ il vends → ✅ il vend (no ending on the -re third person singular)
❌ je réponde → ✅ je réponds (-re verbs take -s in the je form, not -e)
❌ treating partir like finir → ✅ je pars, nous partons (no -iss-; it's irregular)

Quick check

Give the right present-tense form.

finir — nous ____
choisir — tu ____
vendre — il ____
attendre — je ____
réussir — ils ____

Show answers

nous finissons 2. tu choisis 3. il vend 4. j'attends 5. ils réussissent

Key takeaways

Regular -ir verbs (finir type): -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent — the -iss- shows up in the plural.
Regular -re verbs (vendre type): -s, -s, –, -ons, -ez, -ent — the third person singular is the bare stem (il vend).
The three singular verb forms are homophones — the written endings aren't pronounced — just like -er verbs; the pronoun carries the person.
Before a vowel: liaison (nous‿attendons) and je → j' (j'attends).
Many common -ir / -re verbs (partir, prendre, faire, venir…) are irregular — a separate topic.