French Second-Group Verbs: What Defines Them?

11/21/2025 Learning & Grammar created by Sprachcaffe Team

How to Recognize Verbs of Group 2 in French: Rules and Endings | Verbs are the most important element of a language: they are the key to expressing every single different concept, and they are so fundamental that a verb alone can represent an entire sentence. If I say "I run," in fact, I'm already expressing what I mean: a simple word is enough, incredible but true.

This, of course, also applies to the French language.

After tackling the first group, today in this Sprachcaffe lesson we'll discover and analyze the verbs of the second group in French : what are they? And how can we distinguish them from the others?

Discover all the characteristics of these verbs: at the end, we'll also provide you with a list of the most common and used verbs from group 2 in French, so you can memorize the ones you need most initially. We'll also provide a list of examples so you can see them in context. This will greatly help you better understand them and memorize them more easily.

Second-group French Verbs: What are they?

As we have already discovered by analyzing the verbs in the first group, French grammar is very organized and divides verbs into different categories, making them more distinguishable and recognizable.

We divide them based on the ending they display and, consequently, the conjugation they follow.

First group: these are verbs that end with the ending -er;
Second group : these are verbs that end with the ending -ir;
Third group : these are all verbs that cannot be classified in either the first or second group. This is because they can have variable stems, and therefore are likely to follow irregular conjugations.

In light of this, then, the verbs of the second group in French are a category of verbs that follow a specific conjugation pattern.

These verbs end in "-ir" in the infinitive and have a stem that ends in "- iss- ".

Some examples of verbs in the second group include:

terminer → finish;
choisir → to choose;
réfléchir → reflect;
grandir → to grow

There's nothing to fear, then: the verbs in the second group in French follow a regular conjugation pattern, which may vary slightly among themselves but maintains a certain consistency within the group itself.

The first group is the easiest to study, but at the same time, the second, being regular, doesn't present any major difficulties and is important to understand right from the start of your learning journey to begin expressing sentences with more complex meanings.

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French Verbs Group 2: How to Tell Them Apart

At this point it should be pretty clear: the verbs of the second group in French are those that end in -ir and follow a specific conjugation pattern.

The verb stem always remains the same, while only its ending, also called the termination, changes. This, of course, varies depending on the mood and tense in which the verb is conjugated.

To distinguish them, here are some points to keep in mind:

Termination in -ir : Verbs in the second group begin with a stem ending in -iss or -iv. For example, "finir" (to finish), "choisir" (to choose), "dormir" (to sleep).
Conjugation : Verbs in the second group follow a regular conjugation pattern. The stem remains unchanged, while verb endings are added based on the person, tense, and mood.
Present participle ending with -issant : Verbs in the second group form their present participle by adding -issant to the verb stem. For example, "finissant" (finishing), "choisissant" (choosing), "dormissant" (sleeping).
Present tense form: Some verbs in the second group may have a particular present tense form, such as "dormir" which becomes "je dors" (I sleep). These, of course, are to be considered exceptions, and it's essential to memorize them so you can recognize, identify, and conjugate them correctly when necessary.
Irregularities : Although verbs in the second group are generally regular, there are some exceptions and irregular verbs that you need to learn by heart, just as we have just discovered.

Remember that practice is essential to mastering French verb conjugation. And it's not difficult at all. Let's take an example with the following sentence:

Je choisis toujours du chocolat comme dessert. → I always choose chocolate for dessert.

In this sentence, "choisis" is the present tense conjugated form of the verb " choisir " (to choose) in the first person singular. As we can see, the root -chois remains unchanged: the only thing that changes is the ending, which changes from the infinitive form -ir to -is.

With time and experience, however, it will become easier to distinguish verbs in the second group and conjugate them correctly.

Second-Group Verbs in French: List and Examples

At this point in the lesson, the theory should be fairly clear: it's a simple topic, after all, and fortunately, there aren't any irregularities involved. For this very reason, it's time to discover the verbs in the second group in French.

Naturally, here you'll find a list of the most common and widespread ones, those you're likely to encounter in everyday sentences and discussions: it would be impossible to include them all! Studying these should be enough not only to practice and begin speaking French with confidence, but also to learn to recognize first-group French verbs in context.

Because once you understand the mechanism, there's no stopping you!

Here, then, is a list of the most common verbs in the second group in French with their corresponding translations.

Here is the list of verbs in the second group in French with their translations into Italian:

to finish - to finish
choisir - to choose
grossir - to fatten
réfléchir - to reflect
punish - to punish
réussir - succeed
rougir - to blush
bâtir - to build
remplir - to fill
réunir - to reunite
to grow - to grow
obéir - to obey
rouvrir - to reopen
jaunir - to turn yellow
établir - to establish
réussir - succeed
rougir - to blush
remplir - to fill
obéir - to obey
grossir - to fatten
to grow - to grow
fournir - to provide
investir - to invest
réagir - to react
ravir - to kidnap
éblouir - to dazzle
répartir - to start again
s'amaigrir - to lose weight (reflexive)
to love - to love
applaudir - to applaud
to enslave - to subjugate
s'asservir - to enslave oneself (reflexive)
to obscure - to obscure
s'assombrir - to darken (reflexive)
to land - to land
resplendir - to shine
saisir - to grasp
se saisir - to grasp (reflexive)
vomir - to vomit

We strongly recommend that you try to learn them by heart , perhaps dividing them into subgroups, so that you always have the word you are looking for and can speak French wherever you are and with anyone, with a certain degree of fluency.

And, to understand them even better and learn to recognize them at first glance, here are some example sentences to see them in context.

Here are 15 sentences that use verbs from the second group in French:

Elle choisit une robe pour les occasions spéciales. → She chooses a dress for special occasions. (Verb: Choisir - to choose)
Les enfants réfléchissent avant de répondre. → The children think before answering. (Verb: Réfléchir - to reflect/think)
Le public applaudit à la fin du spectacle. → The audience applauds at the end of the show. (Verb: Applaudir - to applaud)
Le tyran cherche à asservir son peuple. → The tyrant seeks to subjugate his people. (Verb: Asservir - to enslave/subjugate)
Le ciel s'assombrit quand l'orage approche. → The sky darkens as the storm approaches. (Verb: S'assombrir - to darken)
Les passagers applaudissent quand l'avion atterrit. → The passengers applaud when the plane lands. (Verbs: Applaudir - to applaud / Atterrir - to land)
Il réussit toujours à remplir les conditions. → He always succeeds in meeting the requirements. (Verb: Réussir - to succeed/manage)
Le soleil resplendit dans le ciel d'été. → The sun shines brilliantly in the summer sky. (Verb: Resplendir - to glow/shine brilliantly)
Le joueur saisit le ballon avant qu'il ne touche le sol. → The player grabs the ball before it hits the ground. (Verb: Saisir - to seize/grab)
Elle saisit l'opportunité qui se présente. → She seizes the opportunity that presents itself. (Verb: Saisir - to seize)
Elle grandit vite depuis qu'elle fait du sport. → She is growing fast since she started playing sports. (Verb: Grandir - to grow tall)
Les enfants choisissent toujours les mêmes jeux pendant la récréation. → Children always choose the same games during recess. (Verb: Choisir - to choose)
Le professeur réfléchit avant de répondre à l'étudiant. → The professor reflects before answering the student. (Verb: Réfléchir - to think)
Les fruits mûrissent sous le chaud soleil d'été. → The fruits ripen under the hot summer sun. (Verb: Mûrir - to ripen)
Le chef finit de préparer un délicieux repas. → The chef finishes preparing a delicious meal. (Verb: Finir - to finish)

At this point in the lesson, the topic should be clear: we've seen together what the verbs of group 2 are in French, how to distinguish and recognize them both in their infinitive form and conjugated in the various tenses and moods, and we've also provided you with a list of the most common verbs in this grammatical group.

After memorizing them and completing a few skills tests, you're ready to move on to the next lesson with Sprachcaffe: together we'll discover the use and formation of the gerund!

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