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Other Irregular Present Tense Verbs

FoundationHigherAQA

Practise Other Irregular Present Tense Verbs for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Nine further high-frequency verbs including boire, connaître, courir, croire and voir have irregular singular forms.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Several more irregular verbs appear constantly and must be learned individually, since no pattern connects them.

Pouvoir means to be able to: je peux, tu peux, il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent. Vouloir means to want: je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent. Devoir means to have to: je dois, tu dois, il doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils doivent.

All three are modal verbs, taking a direct infinitive with no preposition — je peux venir, je veux partir, je dois travailler. Savoir means to know a fact: je sais. Boire, mettre and voir are also irregular and worth learning as a group.

Revision notes

The three modals

Pouvoir: je peux, tu peux, il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent.

Vouloir: je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent. Devoir: je dois, tu dois, il doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils doivent.

Modals take a direct infinitive

Je peux venir. Je veux partir. Je dois travailler.

No preposition comes between the modal and the infinitive. Adding one — je veux à partir — is wrong. This makes them straightforward to use once the forms are known.

Other common irregulars

Savoir: je sais, nous savons — to know a fact.

Boire: je bois, nous buvons. Mettre: je mets, nous mettons. Voir: je vois, nous voyons. Each must be learned individually.

Key points

  • Pouvoir means to be able to.
  • Vouloir means to want.
  • Devoir means to have to.
  • All three take a direct infinitive.
  • No preposition follows a modal verb.
  • Savoir means to know a fact.

Worked examples

Example 1

Give the je form of pouvoir. [2 marks]

Working

je peuxuse the irregular first person form
Pouvoir is irregular, so peux must be learned rather than derivedexplain the irregularity

Example 2

Translate: I must work. [2 marks]

Working

Je dois travailleruse devoir with a direct infinitive
No preposition comes between dois and travaillerexplain the structure

Example 3

Give the nous form of vouloir. [2 marks]

Working

nous voulonsuse the plural stem voul-
The stem changes from veu- in the singular to voul- in the nous formexplain the stem change

Common mistakes

  • Adding a preposition after a modal.

    Je veux partir, not je veux à partir.

  • Using the singular stem in the plural.

    Nous voulons, not nous veulons.

  • Confusing savoir with connaître.

    Savoir is for facts; connaître is for people and places.

  • Trying to derive irregular forms.

    They must be memorised.

Exam tips

  • Learn pouvoir, vouloir and devoir together.
  • Never add a preposition after a modal.
  • Watch the stem change between singular and plural.
  • Memorise each irregular verb individually.

Key terms

Modal verb
A verb such as pouvoir taking a direct infinitive.
Pouvoir
To be able to, or can.
Vouloir
To want.
Devoir
To have to, or must.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.