About-France.com
French grammar online

  French verb table - vendre

About-France.com  - the connoisseur's guide to France 
Versailles
About- France home page French grammar French institutions Guide to Paris
  About-France.com, the connoisseur's guide to France 
You are  here:   France   › French grammar  ›  Verbs › Group 3 verbs like vendre 
logo
About-France.com - French grammar 

 French group 3 verbs -  verbs in -re


Several hundred French verbs have an infinitive ending in -re.
But unfortunately for students of French - and that includes native French speakers! - they follow a multitude of different conjugation patterns. Some linguists have concluded that the best solution is to consider all these verbs as irregular verbs.
   Nevertheless, within the -re group of verbs, there are several groups of verbs that are conjugated according to the same pattern.

Group 3.1. More than twenty common verbs conjugated on the model of vendre
attendre,  confondre,  correspondre,  défendre ,  dépendre,  descendre,  détendre,  entendre ,  étendre,  fendre,  fondre ,  mordre,  pendre,  perdre,  prétendre,  rendre,  répandre,  répondre,  suspendre,  tendre ,  tordre ,  vendre and verbs based on these.  See Verb table vendre below.


Group 3.2.  Verbs formed on the  root prendre.
See irregular verbs in -re
Group 3.3   Verbs ending in -uire, such as conduire.   See irregular verbs in -re 

Plus dozens more groups with one or just a few examples. These have to be learned one by one or group by group.  See irregular verbs in -re  

Sample verb vendre  - to sell   

This is the standard model only for the verbs listed above and their derivatives: many other verbs in -re form some of their tenses on the same model, but not others.
    
For each tense, a sample English equivalent is given for the first person singular. 

Table 1.
Tenses (indicative) :
Person Present
(I sell, I am selling)
Future
(I will sell )
Imperfect
(I was selling )
1st singular. je vends je vendrai je vendais
2nd singular tu vends tu vendras tu vendais
3rd singular il elle on ... vend il (..) vendra il (..) vendait
1st plural nous vendons nous vendrons nous vendions
2nd plural vous vendez vous vendrez vous vendiez
3rd plural ils elles vendent ils vendront ils vendaient
Notes

Table 2
Tenses (indicative):
Person Preterite
(I sold )
Perfect (passé composé)
(I have sold )
Pluperfect
(I'd sold )
1st singular. je vendis j'ai vendu j'avais vendu
2nd singular tu vendis tu as vendu tu avais vendu
3rd singular il (..) vendit il (..) a vendu il avait vendu
1st plural nous vendîmes nous avons vendu nous avions vendu
2nd plural vous vendîtes vous avez vendu vous aviez vendu
3rd plural ils vendirent ils ont vendu ils avaient vendu
Notes rare except in 3rd person

Table 3
Tenses (indicative):
Person Future perfect
(I will have sold )
Conditional
(I would sell )
Past conditional
(I would have sold )
1st singular. j'aurai vendu je vendrais  j'aurais vendu
2nd singular tu auras vendu tu vendrais  tu aurais vendu
3rd singular il aura vendu il vendrait  il aurait vendu
1st plural nous aurons vendu nous vendrions  nous aurions vendu
2nd plural vous aurez vendu vous vendriez  vous auriez vendu
3rd plural ils auront vendu ils vendraient  ils auraient vendu
Notes

Table 4
Imperative Present participle
Person (sell )
selling
2nd singular vends vendant
1st plural vendons
2nd plural vendez
Notes

Table 5
Tenses (subjunctive) :
Person Present
(may sell , may be selling)
preterite
(might sell)
Perfect (parfait)
(may have sold )
1st singular. je vende je vendisse j'aie vendu
2nd singular tu vendes tu vendisses tu aies vendu
3rd singular il, elle... vende il vendît il ait vendu
1st plural nous vendions nous vendissions nous ayons vendu
2nd plural vous vendiez vous vendissiez vous ayez vendu
3rd plural ils vendent ils vendissent ils aient vendu
Notes (very rare)

There are a few other tenses that are hardly ever used in modern French, except in very literary style.
The second pluperfect (passé antérieur) - which can be used instead of the pluperfect, and is formed on the model:  j'eus vendu.
The pluperfect subjunctive - on the model:  j'eusse vendu
The second past conditional - on the model: j'eusse vendu


Examples:
Je vends ma maison
    I'm selling my house.
Il vendait toujours ses tableaux avant les autres.
    He always sold his paintings before the others.
Vends-le aussi vite que possible !
    Sell it as soon as possible!!
Je pense qu'il aura vendu sa collection avant  la fin de l'exposition.
    I think he'll have sold his collection before the exhibition's over..
J'ai peur qu'ils ne vendront rien à ces prix-là !
    I'm afraid they won't sell anything at those prices.


Return to French grammar pages : index Full site index Essential French words and phrases for travellers 


 Printer-friendly page
Map of France

Train jaune
The remarkable Train jaune tourist train in the Pyrenees





►► French civilisation and culture
►► Site guide
About-France.com home
Full site index
About-France.com site search
►► Principal chapters on About-France.com :
The regions of France
Beyond Paris, a guide to the French regions and their tourist attractions.
Guide to Paris
Make the most of your trip to Paris; Information on attractions, Paris hotels, transport,  and lots more. 
Tourism in France
The main tourist attractions and places to visit in France - historic monuments, art galleries, seasides, and more
Planning a trip to France 
Information on things to do before starting your trip to France..
Driving in France 
Tips and useful information on driving in and through France - motorways, tolls, where to stay....
Maps of France
Cities, towns, departments, regions, climate, wine areas and other themes.
The French way of life 
A mine of information about life and living in France, including working in France, living in France, food and eating, education, shopping.
A-Z dictionary of France
Encyclopedic dictionary of modern France - key figures, institutions, acronyms, culture, icons, etc.



Copyright © About-France.com  2007 - 2023

About-France.com does not collect any data from users. Cookies are used only to track anonymous audience statistics and to enable certain essential page functions. To remove this message, click or get more details