French Essential Verbs: 250 Verbs With Conjugation Notes

The infinitive is the easy half. This deck carries the pattern that goes with it.

250 cardsLast updated 2026-08-17

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Knowing that prendre means to take gets you nowhere mid-sentence, because French almost never leaves a verb in the infinitive. What you need at the moment of speaking is the pattern: whether the nous form doubles a consonant, whether the verb takes être in the perfect, whether it needs à or de before the next infinitive, whether it is one of the fixed avoir phrases where English uses to be. A word list that gives only the meaning leaves out exactly that half, and it is the half that stops you. This deck covers 250 verbs, and every card carries three things: the English meaning, the conjugation pattern in one line, and an original French sentence with its translation. Cards are tagged by pattern — regular -er, regular -ir, regular -re, irregular, reflexive — and by theme, so you can drill only reflexives, or only the verbs a trip needs. Import it and the deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule: the verbs whose pattern you can produce stretch out and disappear, and what stays in front of you is the set you still have to think about.

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What's inside

Showing 100 representative cards from the full 250-card deck.

Front	Back
être — what does it mean?	to be. Irregular: je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont.
aller — what does it mean?	to go. Irregular: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont.
faire — what does it mean?	to do, to make. Irregular: je fais, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font.
dire — what does it mean?	to say, to tell. Irregular: je dis, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent.
vouloir — what does it mean?	to want. Irregular: je veux, tu veux, il veut, ils veulent.
savoir — what does it mean?	to know (facts, how to). Irregular: je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons.
venir — what does it mean?	to come. Irregular: je viens, nous venons, ils viennent.
partir — what does it mean?	to leave. Irregular -ir: je pars, nous partons.
servir — what does it mean?	to serve. Irregular -ir: je sers, nous servons.
tenir — what does it mean?	to hold. Irregular like venir: je tiens, ils tiennent.
boire — what does it mean?	to drink. Irregular: je bois, nous buvons, ils boivent.
devenir — what does it mean?	to become. Irregular like venir: je deviens.
offrir — what does it mean?	to offer, to give as a gift. Irregular -ir with -er endings: j'offre.
souffrir — what does it mean?	to suffer. Irregular -ir with -er endings: je souffre.
mourir — what does it mean?	to die. Irregular: je meurs, nous mourons.
vivre — what does it mean?	to live. Irregular: je vis, nous vivons.
conduire — what does it mean?	to drive. Irregular: je conduis, nous conduisons.
traduire — what does it mean?	to translate. Irregular like conduire: je traduis.
falloir — what does it mean?	to be necessary. Impersonal: il faut only.
valoir — what does it mean?	to be worth. Irregular: il vaut, ils valent.
aimer — what does it mean?	to like, to love. Regular -er verb.
travailler — what does it mean?	to work. Regular -er verb.
regarder — what does it mean?	to look at, to watch. Regular -er verb; no preposition after it.
trouver — what does it mean?	to find. Regular -er verb.
demander — what does it mean?	to ask for. Regular -er verb; demander quelque chose à quelqu'un.
apporter — what does it mean?	to bring. Regular -er verb; for things, not people.
entrer — what does it mean?	to enter. Regular -er verb; takes être in the perfect.
rester — what does it mean?	to stay. Regular -er verb; takes être in the perfect.
arriver — what does it mean?	to arrive, to happen. Regular -er verb; takes être in the perfect.
marcher — what does it mean?	to walk, to work (of a machine). Regular -er verb.
commencer — what does it mean?	to begin. Regular -er; c becomes ç before a and o.
acheter — what does it mean?	to buy. Regular -er with an accent change: j'achète.
répéter — what does it mean?	to repeat. Accent change é to è: je répète.
appeler — what does it mean?	to call. Doubles the l: j'appelle.
payer — what does it mean?	to pay. y may become i: je paie or je paye.
envoyer — what does it mean?	to send. y becomes i: j'envoie; future j'enverrai.
finir — what does it mean?	to finish. Regular -ir: je finis, nous finissons.
remplir — what does it mean?	to fill, to fill in. Regular -ir verb.
réfléchir — what does it mean?	to think, to reflect. Regular -ir; takes à.
punir — what does it mean?	to punish. Regular -ir verb.
ralentir — what does it mean?	to slow down. Regular -ir verb.
établir — what does it mean?	to establish. Regular -ir verb.
vendre — what does it mean?	to sell. Regular -re: je vends, nous vendons.
entendre — what does it mean?	to hear. Regular -re verb.
perdre — what does it mean?	to lose. Regular -re verb.
dépendre — what does it mean?	to depend. Regular -re; takes de.
se coucher — what does it mean?	to go to bed. Reflexive; regular -er.
se laver — what does it mean?	to wash oneself. Reflexive; regular -er.
se souvenir — what does it mean?	to remember. Reflexive like venir; takes de.
s'inquiéter — what does it mean?	to worry. Reflexive with an accent change; takes pour or de.
se promener — what does it mean?	to go for a walk. Reflexive with an accent change: je me promène.
s'ennuyer — what does it mean?	to be bored. Reflexive; y becomes i: je m'ennuie.
se marier — what does it mean?	to get married. Reflexive; takes avec.
se tromper — what does it mean?	to be mistaken. Reflexive; takes de for the thing got wrong.
s'intéresser — what does it mean?	to be interested. Reflexive; takes à.
se sentir — what does it mean?	to feel. Reflexive; irregular -ir.
s'installer — what does it mean?	to settle in, to move in. Reflexive; regular -er.
aider — what does it mean?	to help. Regular -er; aider quelqu'un à faire.
remercier — what does it mean?	to thank. Regular -er; remercier quelqu'un de or pour.
saluer — what does it mean?	to greet. Regular -er verb.
raconter — what does it mean?	to tell (a story). Regular -er verb.
proposer — what does it mean?	to suggest, to offer. Regular -er verb.
refuser — what does it mean?	to refuse. Regular -er; takes de before an infinitive.
penser — what does it mean?	to think. Regular -er; penser à for about, penser de for an opinion.
préparer — what does it mean?	to prepare. Regular -er verb.
changer — what does it mean?	to change. Regular -er; keeps the e before a and o.
oser — what does it mean?	to dare. Regular -er; followed directly by an infinitive.
garder — what does it mean?	to keep. Regular -er verb.
ajouter — what does it mean?	to add. Regular -er verb.
allumer — what does it mean?	to turn on, to light. Regular -er verb.
utiliser — what does it mean?	to use. Regular -er verb.
louer — what does it mean?	to rent, to hire. Regular -er verb.
visiter — what does it mean?	to visit (a place). Regular -er; use rendre visite à for people.
dépenser — what does it mean?	to spend money. Regular -er verb.
prêter — what does it mean?	to lend. Regular -er; prêter quelque chose à quelqu'un.
économiser — what does it mean?	to save money. Regular -er verb.
baisser — what does it mean?	to lower, to go down. Regular -er verb.
retourner — what does it mean?	to go back, to return. Regular -er; takes être in the perfect when intransitive.
tourner — what does it mean?	to turn. Regular -er verb.
danser — what does it mean?	to dance. Regular -er verb.
jouer — what does it mean?	to play. Regular -er; jouer à for games, jouer de for instruments.
cuisiner — what does it mean?	to cook. Regular -er verb.
dîner — what does it mean?	to have dinner. Regular -er verb.
apprendre — what does it mean?	to learn. Irregular like prendre; apprendre à faire.
surprendre — what does it mean?	to surprise. Irregular like prendre.
remettre — what does it mean?	to hand in, to postpone. Irregular like mettre.
appartenir — what does it mean?	to belong. Irregular like tenir; takes à.
paraître — what does it mean?	to seem. Irregular like connaître.
craindre — what does it mean?	to fear. Irregular: je crains, nous craignons.
résoudre — what does it mean?	to solve. Irregular: je résous, nous résolvons.
suffire — what does it mean?	to be enough. Irregular; often impersonal: il suffit de.
cueillir — what does it mean?	to pick. Irregular -ir with -er endings: je cueille.
manquer — what does it mean?	to miss, to be lacking. Regular -er; manquer à someone means they miss you.
souhaiter — what does it mean?	to wish. Regular -er verb.
avoir besoin — what does it mean?	to need. Fixed phrase with avoir; takes de.
avoir peur — what does it mean?	to be afraid. Fixed phrase with avoir; takes de.
avoir chaud — what does it mean?	to be hot. Fixed phrase with avoir for people.
faire du sport — what does it mean?	to do sport. Fixed phrase with faire.
se mettre à — what does it mean?	to start doing. Reflexive form of mettre; takes à.
se taire — what does it mean?	to be quiet. Reflexive and irregular: je me tais.

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What is in the deck?

94 regular -er verbs, 17 regular -ir verbs, 11 regular -re verbs, 96 irregular verbs and 32 reflexive verbs, 250 in total. One verb per card, so no verb appears twice.

Are full conjugation tables included?

No, and that is deliberate. A table of six forms across every tense is something you look up, not something a flashcard can drill. Each card gives the pattern instead — which stem breaks, whether the perfect takes être, which preposition follows — because that is the part you have to recall while speaking. Keep a conjugator open for the tables.

Does it cover the avoir expressions?

Yes. Avoir faim, avoir raison, avoir envie and the rest are included as their own cards, because they are exactly where English speakers reach for être and get it wrong. The same goes for the faire phrases and for venir de, which is how French says you have just done something.

Is this enough on its own?

It covers the verb layer, which is the part most learners are missing when they stall. Import it and open it daily, and the only verbs that come up are the ones whose pattern you cannot yet produce. Spend the time that frees up on speaking practice and on reading real French.

Editorial method and sources

Memly's editors use the primary sources below to check scope and terminology, then independently write and review the cards.

France Education International: DELF A1