Irregular-re Verbs

The third category of verbs i.e. -re verbs has a mixture of regular-re verbs and irregular-re verbs. The conjugation varies as regular verbs follow a common set of patterns and irregular verbs has their own unique conjugations.

Regular-re verbs are quite predictable unlike irregular-re verbs as their conjugations don’t conform to the standard rules.

Let us see some of the irregular-re verbs with its conjugations:

Prendre- To take

Je prends	Nous prenons
Tu prends	Vous prenez
Il/Elle prend	Ils/Elles prennent

• Some more irregular-re verbs conjugate exactly like ‘prendre’ are: Apprendre- To learn, Comprendre- To understand.
• Notice the radical change in ils/elles form- (prennent)
• There is no modification to the radical in il/elle forms- (prend)

Mettre- To put

Je mets	Nous mettons
Tu mets	Vous mettez
Il/Elle met	Ils/Elles mettent

• Some more irregular-re verbs that conjugate exactly like ‘mettre’ are Battre- To fight, Permettre- To allow.
• Notice the Je and Tu forms having modification i.e. added ‘s’.
• The plural forms have modifications in their radical i.e. double of consonants.

Boire- To drink

Je bois	Nous buvons
Tu bois	Vous buvez
Il/Elle boit	Ils/Elles boivent

• The nous and vous forms have different radicals i.e. ”buv”- buvons, buvez.
• All other forms are quite similar to each other as the radical is the same.
• Notice the ils/elles form it has a different modification- boivent.

List of some irregular-re verbs are:

Connaître- to know	Répondre- to answer
Lire- to read	Perdre- to lose
Dire- to say	Rendre- to giveback
Écrire- to write	Fondre- to melt
Recevoir- to receive	Entendre- to hear
Croire- to believe	Défendre- to defend
Faire- to make/to do	Dépendre- to depend
Promettre- to promise	Confondre- to confuse
Entreprendre- to undertake	Rire- to laugh
Vendre- to sell	Suivre- to follow

These irregular-re verbs demands a lot of practice through regular exercises as it will help you solidify your command over them.