📖LearnModule 3 · Lesson 8 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2, first halfUnit 2 · Le futur proche, and new verb families
Finir, choisir — the -ir family
Module 3 of the free French course (CEFR A2, first half), lesson 8 of 30: The second verb family ends in -ir: je finis, tu finis, il finit. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 8.
The words
French
English
Say it
finir
to finish
fee-NEER
je finis
I finish
zhuh fee-NEE
nous finissons
we finish
noo fee-nee-SOH(n)
choisir
to choose
shwah-ZEER
je choisis
I choose
zhuh shwah-ZEE
j'ai fini
I finished
zhay fee-NEE
elle a choisi
she chose
eh-lah shwah-ZEE
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
The second verb family ends in -ir: je finis, tu finis, il finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent. Choisir (to choose) matches exactly.
Et aussi · And also
Its participle ends in -i: j'ai fini, elle a choisi.
Attention · Watch out
The plural -ir endings double the s: nous finissons, ils finissent — and finissent sounds fee-NEESS, its -ent silent.
finir — the table
je finis · tu finis · il/elle finit · nous finissons · vous finissez · ils/elles finissent
choisir — the table
je choisis · tu choisis · il/elle choisit · nous choisissons · vous choisissez · ils/elles choisissent
finir, passé composé — the table
je ai fini · tu as fini · il/elle a fini · nous avons fini · vous avez fini · ils/elles ont fini
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with finir.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out finir and choisir and finir, passé composé in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.