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French verb table - finir

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  Group 2 verbs: verbs in -ir

This page covers the main group of French verbs whose infinitive ends in  -ir - on the model of finir. These have mostly evolved from Latin verbs ending in -ire .

► Exceptions: there are plenty of verbs in -ir that do not follow the standard group 2 pattern. See below for list of main irregular verbs in -ir .

Sample verb finir  - to finish  

This is the standard model. 
For each tense, a sample English equivalent is given for the first person singular. 

Table 1.
Tenses (indicative) :
Person Present
(I finish, I am finishing)
Future
(I will finish )
Imperfect
(I was finishing )
1st singular. je finis je finirai je finissais
2nd singular tu finis tu finiras tu finissais
3rd singular il elle on ... finit il (..) finira il (..) finissait
1st plural nous finissons nous finirons nous finissions
2nd plural vous finissez vous finirez vous finissiez
3rd plural ils elles finissent ils finiront ils finissaient
Notes

Table 2
Tenses (indicative):
Person Preterite
(I finished )
Perfect (passé composé)
(I have finished )
Pluperfect
(I'd finished )
1st singular. je finis j'ai finis j'avais fini
2nd singular tu finis tu as finis tu avais fini
3rd singular il (..) finit il (..) a finis il avait fini
1st plural nous finîmes nous avons finis nous avions fini
2nd plural vous finiîtes vous avez finis vous aviez fini
3rd plural ils finirent ils ont finis ils avaient fini
Notes rare except in 3rd person
Table 3
Tenses (indicative):
Person Future perfect
(I will have finished )
Conditional
(I would finish )
Past conditional
(I would have finished )
1st singular. j'aurai fini je finirais  j'aurais fini
2nd singular tu auras fini tu finirais  tu aurais fini
3rd singular il aura fini il finirait  il aurait fini
1st plural nous aurons fini nous finirions  nous aurions fini
2nd plural vous aurez fini vous finiriez  vous auriez fini
3rd plural ils auront fini ils finiraient  ils auraient fini
Notes

Table 4
Imperative Present participle
Person (finish )
finishing
2nd singular fini finissant
1st plural finissons
2nd plural finissez
Notes

Table 5
Tenses (subjunctive) :
Person Present
(may finish , may be finishing)
preterite
(might finish)
Perfect (parfait)
(may have finished )
1st singular. je finisse je finisse j'aie fini
2nd singular tu finisses tu finisses tu aies fini
3rd singular il, elle... finisse il finît il ait fini
1st plural nous finissions nous finissions nous ayons fini
2nd plural vous finissiez vous finissiez vous ayez fini
3rd plural ils finissent ils finissent ils aient fini
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 fini.
The pluperfect subjunctive - on the model:  j'eusse fini
The second past conditional - on the model: j'eusse fini


Examples:
Je finis mon dîner
    I'm finishing my dinner.
Il finissait toujours son travail avant les autres.
    He always finished his work before the others.
Finis-le aussi vite que possible !
    Finish it  as soon as possible!!
Il se peut que la fête finisse tôt s'il y a trop de bruit.
    The party may finish early if there's too much noise.
J'ai peur qu'il n'ait tout fini avant notre arrivée.
    I fear that he may have finished everything before we arrive.
       (Subjunctive + the particle ne after J'ai peur que....)


► Irregular verbs in -ir

There are a number of common - and less common - verbs in ir that are not conjugated according to the standard type 2 finir model .    See Irregular verbs in -ir
► 1. Verbs on the model of  sortir and dormir.  
► 2. Verbs in -oir.  
► 3. Several dozen verbs with irregular and sometimes unique tense forms:
tenir, venir, courir, faillir, bouillir, acquérir, bouillir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir, and other verbs based on these, such as devenir, soutenir etc.
Check out  savoir, voir, and falloir  among twelve important French irregular verbs



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