français · A1 · verb · 4 minutes
Finir: regular -ir present
Use the productive -is, -issons pattern for completed actions.
Understand the choice
Finir represents the productive second group of French verbs, recognized by -issons in the nous form and -issant in the present participle. Not every infinitive ending in -ir belongs to this group.
Core rule: Regular finir-type -ir endings are -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent.
Notice it in context
Je finis tôt et nous finissons le travail ensemble.
I finish early and we finish the work together.
Finis is first-person singular; finissons shows the expanded -iss- stem used in plural forms.
Tu finis à quelle heure ?
What time do you finish?
Finis is the tu form in an informal question.
Les cours finissent en juin.
Classes end in June.
Finissent agrees with plural cours; written -ent stays silent.
What to remember
- Choisir, réussir, grandir, and réfléchir share the finir pattern.
- Partir, dormir, venir, and many other -ir verbs do not use -issons and must be learned separately.
Common trap: Do not apply the finir pattern to every -ir infinitive: nous partissons is wrong; the verb partir gives nous partons.