After the large -er verb family, the next most common regular pattern is the -ir verb group of the 'finir' type (also called second-group verbs): finir (to finish), choisir (to choose), réussir (to succeed), grandir (to grow up), remplir (to fill). To conjugate them, drop the -ir from the infinitive to get the stem, then add: -is (je), -is (tu), -it (il/elle/on), -issons (nous), -issez (vous), -issent (ils/elles). So finir becomes: je finis, tu finis, il/elle/on finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils/elles finissent. Notice the distinctive '-iss-' that appears in the plural forms (nous, vous, ils/elles) but not in the singular forms — this is the hallmark of this whole verb family and a useful way to recognize it in the wild.
Be careful: not every verb ending in -ir follows this pattern. There is a separate, smaller and irregular group of -ir verbs (like partir, sortir, dormir) that conjugate quite differently and don't take the -iss- infix at all. For this unit, focus on mastering the reliable finir-type pattern, since it applies predictably to dozens of common verbs, especially many related to completing or achieving something academically (finir un examen, réussir un cours, choisir une matière).
Pronunciation is more forgiving here than with -er verbs: in finir-type verbs, the singular endings (-is, -is, -it) are pronounced, unlike the silent -er endings, though the final written 's' and 't' themselves stay silent — you hear 'fi' with a short vowel change, not a strong consonant sound. The plural forms with -iss- are clearly and audibly different from the singular forms, which actually makes this verb family easier to distinguish by ear than -er verbs, where several forms sound identical.
Exemples
Je finis mes devoirs avant le dîner.
I finish my homework before dinner.
Stem 'fin-' + '-is' for je.
Tu choisis quel cours ?
Which course are you choosing?
Elle réussit toujours ses examens.
She always passes her exams.
Nous finissons la leçon à midi.
We finish the lesson at noon.
The '-iss-' infix appears in the nous/vous/ils forms.
Vous choisissez vos options ce semestre.
You are choosing your electives this semester.
Ils réussissent grâce à leurs efforts.
They succeed thanks to their efforts.
Les enfants grandissent vite.
Children grow up fast.
Le professeur remplit le tableau de notes.
The teacher fills the board with notes.
On finit l'année scolaire en juin.
The school year finishes in June.
'On' takes the il/elle-style ending: 'finit', not 'finissons'.
Je choisis le français comme langue étrangère.
I'm choosing French as my foreign language.
Erreurs fréquentes
- Adding '-iss-' to the singular forms by over-generalizing the plural pattern (saying 'je finiss' instead of the correct 'je finis').
- Treating all -ir verbs as one uniform group and applying the finir pattern to irregular -ir verbs like partir or dormir, which conjugate completely differently.
- Pronouncing the final -s or -t in 'finis' / 'finit' the way you might expect from English spelling instincts, when in fact both are silent.
- Forgetting the '-iss-' infix in the nous/vous/ils forms and instead just adding -ons/-ez/-ent directly to the bare stem (saying 'nous finons' instead of 'nous finissons').
Pourquoi ça trompe les anglophones
- English has no equivalent of an infix that appears only in some persons of a verb (-iss- shows up in plural forms but not singular), so this asymmetric pattern feels arbitrary to a learner used to uniform verb stems.
- Because -ir verbs split into a regular finir-type group and a separate irregular group (partir, sortir, dormir) that look similar on the surface, English speakers often assume all -ir verbs behave the same way.
- English verb endings are pronounced fairly literally, so the mix of pronounced singular endings (-is, -it) and clearly different plural endings (-issons, -issez, -issent) needs deliberate ear-training.