French Grammar For Dummies
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The meanings of the French verbs lire (to read), dire (to say/tell), and conduire (to drive) have nothing in common. However, they have a similar irregularity, so if you group them together, you may have more luck remembering them. This is how you form their present tense:

  1. Drop the -re of the infinitive to get the stem.

  2. Add the ending for the subject you need: -s, -s, -t, -sons, -sez, or -sent.

    The one exception in this group of irregular verbs is the vous form of dire. It is dites, not disez.

The following tables give you the present tense conjugation of lire, dire, and conduire.

je lis nous lisons
tu lis vous lisez
il/elle/on lit ils/elles lisent
je dis nous disons
tu dis vous dites*
il/elle/on dit ils/elles disent
je conduis nous conduisons
tu conduis vous conduisez
il/elle/on conduit ils/elles consduisent

About This Article

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About the book author:

Véronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas.

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