LinguaFinir, choisir: the family that grows -iss-
After the -er verbs, French has a second regular family: verbs in -ir such as finir (to finish) and choisir (to choose). In the singular they are as light as the -er verbs – je finis, tu finis, il finit all sound “fini” – but the plural grows a syllable, -iss-, that you hear clearly: nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent. Take the infinitive, remove -ir and add -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. Choisir, réussir (to succeed, to pass) and grossir (to put on weight) follow exactly the same pattern, and so do most verbs made from an adjective: grossir comes from gros, rougir from rouge.
| Subject | Form of finir | Form of choisir | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | je finis | je choisis | I finish, I choose |
| tu | tu finis | tu choisis | you finish, you choose (tu) |
| il / elle | il finit | elle choisit | he finishes, she chooses |
| nous | nous finissons | nous choisissons | we finish, we choose |
| vous | vous finissez | vous choisissez | you finish, you choose (vous) |
| ils / elles | ils finissent | elles choisissent | they finish, they choose |
Nous finissons le travail à cinq heures et nous choisissons un bon restaurant.We finish work at five and we choose a good restaurant.
Dormir, sortir, partir: the family that loses a letter
A handful of very common -ir verbs refuse the -iss-: dormir (to sleep), sortir (to go out), partir (to leave) and servir (to serve). Their trick is the opposite: in the singular they LOSE the last consonant of the stem, and only -s, -s, -t remain – je dors, tu dors, il dort; je sors, tu sors, il sort; je pars, tu pars, il part; je sers, il sert. In the plural the consonant comes back with the usual endings: nous dormons, vous dormez, ils dorment; nous sortons, ils sortent; nous partons, vous partez. So both families agree in the singular – always -s, -s, -t – and split in the plural: nous finissons but nous dormons. Which verb goes where is a matter of memory: the short family is small and made of everyday verbs, so learn these four and treat the rest as finir.
| Verb | With je | With il | With nous | With ils |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dormir | je dors | il dort | nous dormons | ils dorment |
| sortir | je sors | il sort | nous sortons | ils sortent |
| partir | je pars | il part | nous partons | ils partent |
| servir | je sers | il sert | nous servons | ils servent |
Le samedi, je sors avec mes amis, et le dimanche, je dors beaucoup.On Saturdays I go out with my friends, and on Sundays I sleep a lot.
Le week-end: outings, invitations and the plan for Saturday
The two families are the verbs of free time. Sortir is the evening out: sortir avec des amis, sortir le samedi soir. Partir is leaving a place for another: partir en week-end, partir à la mer, partir à huit heures. Finir takes what you finish – finir le travail, finir le dîner – and choisir what you pick: choisir un film, choisir un restaurant. Around them, the words of the weekend: le concert (you go au concert), le spectacle (a show: you voir un spectacle), le musée (you go au musée), and la soirée, which is both the whole evening and a party at someone’s place: une soirée chez Léa. What gets you there is une invitation: J’ai une invitation pour samedi. Notice servir: a restaurant sert le dîner à sept heures, and at home you servez le café.
| Outing | How you say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| le concert | aller au concert | to go to a concert |
| le spectacle | voir un spectacle | to see a show |
| le musée | aller au musée | to go to the museum |
| la soirée | aller à une soirée | to go to a party |
| l’invitation | avoir une invitation | to have an invitation |
– Vous partez en week-end ? – Oui, nous partons vendredi soir et nous rentrons dimanche.– Are you going away for the weekend? – Yes, we leave on Friday evening and come back on Sunday.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| finir | to finish | Le film finit à onze heures. The film finishes at eleven. |
| choisir | to choose | Vous choisissez le restaurant ce soir ? Are you choosing the restaurant tonight? |
| réussir | to succeed, to pass (an exam) | Ma sœur réussit toujours ses examens. My sister always passes her exams. |
| grossir | to put on weight | Le chat grossit : il mange trop ! The cat is putting on weight: he eats too much! |
| dormir | to sleep | Les enfants dorment déjà ? Are the children already asleep? |
| sortir | to go out | Le vendredi soir, nous sortons avec des amis. On Friday evenings we go out with friends. |
| partir | to leave | Vous partez à quelle heure demain ? What time are you leaving tomorrow? |
| servir | to serve | Le café sert des croissants le matin. The café serves croissants in the morning. |
| le week-end | the weekend, at the weekend | Qu’est-ce que tu fais ce week-end ? What are you doing this weekend? |
| la soirée | the party, the evening (as a whole) | Samedi, il y a une soirée chez Léa. On Saturday there is a party at Léa’s. |
| l’invitation | the invitation | Nous avons une invitation pour samedi soir. We have an invitation for Saturday evening. |
| le concert | the concert | Le concert commence à vingt heures. The concert starts at eight p.m. |
| le spectacle | the show | Le spectacle finit à dix heures et demie. The show ends at half past ten. |
| le musée | the museum | Tu viens au musée avec nous dimanche ? Are you coming to the museum with us on Sunday? |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Your friends are picking a restaurant for Saturday. Which sentence gives the correct ils form of choisir?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.