Priority Forms to Memorise

Part of The 25 core verbs · Section 3 of 4

Key FactsUnit: The 25 Core Verbs and the Present TenseGCSE

This key facts covers Priority Forms to Memorise within The 25 core verbs for GCSE French. Revise The 25 core verbs in The 25 Core Verbs and the Present Tense for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 3 of 4 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

📌 Priority Forms to Memorise

  • suis / est — être: je suis content, il est sympa
  • ai / a — avoir: j'ai un chien, elle a seize ans
  • vais / va — aller: je vais au parc, il va bien
  • fais / fait — faire: je fais du sport, il fait chaud
  • peux / peut — pouvoir: je peux sortir, elle peut venir
  • veux / veut — vouloir: je veux manger, il veut partir
  • One verb = two forms — learning the je and il/elle forms of each verb covers roughly 90% of all use in AQA tasks
  • Modals take an infinitive — pouvoir, vouloir, and devoir are always followed by another verb in the infinitive: je veux manger, elle peut venir, on doit travailler

Practice questions for The 25 core verbs

What does the French verb 'être' mean in English?

  • A. to be
  • B. to have
  • C. to do
  • D. to go
1 markfoundation

Which of the following is a correct use of the verb 'faire'?

  • A. Il fait chaud. (It is hot.)
  • B. Il est chaud. (It is hot.)
  • C. Il a chaud. (It is hot.)
  • D. Il va chaud. (It is hot.)
1 markfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

être
to be — the most common French verb; used for descriptions, nationality, and forming the past tense with some verbs
dire
to say / to tell — irregular; je dis, tu dis, il dit, nous disons, vous dites, ils disent

15 questions on The 25 core verbs — practise free

Instant marking, adaptive difficulty and spaced-repetition flashcards — all aligned to your exam board.

Start revising free →