lire
to readIrregularਇਹ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਨਿਯਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ — ਹਰ ਰੂਪ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਨਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
| Person | Presentnow, habits | Passé composécompleted past | Imparfaitongoing past | Futur procheabout to | Futur simplewill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | lissounds the same as another form in this tense | ai lu | lisaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vais lire | liraisounds the same as another form in this tense |
| tu | lissounds the same as another form in this tense | as lusounds the same as another form in this tense | lisaissounds the same as another form in this tense | vas liresounds the same as another form in this tense | lirassounds the same as another form in this tense |
| il/elle | litsounds the same as another form in this tense | a lusounds the same as another form in this tense | lisaitsounds the same as another form in this tense | va liresounds the same as another form in this tense | lirasounds the same as another form in this tense |
| nous | lisons | avons lu | lisions | allons lire | lironssounds the same as another form in this tense |
| vous | lisez | avez lu | lisiez | allez lire | lirezsounds the same as another form in this tense |
| ils/elles | lisent | ont lu | lisaientsounds the same as another form in this tense | vont lire | lirontsounds the same as another form in this tense |
Now, and habits. lis covers both "I read" and "I am reading" — French has no separate continuous form.
A completed past action. avoir conjugates and lu does not — ai lu.
An ongoing or habitual past. Built on the nous-present stem, so lisons gives you lisais.
About to happen. aller conjugates; lire never moves — the easier future to produce under pressure.
Will happen. Built on lir-, which is just the infinitive, so only the endings are new.
Three more forms worth knowing
Not among the five TEF/TCF-scored tenses above, but common past A1–A2.
Passé récentjust happened
| je | viens de lire |
|---|---|
| tu | viens de lire |
| il/elle | vient de lire |
| nous | venons de lire |
| vous | venez de lire |
| ils/elles | viennent de lire |
Impératifcommands — no je/il/ils form
| tu | lis |
|---|---|
| nous | lisons |
| vous | lisez |
Gérondifwhile doing — one invariant form
en lisant
What this table tells you about lire
The past participle is lu, and it takes avoir in the passé composé — so it never changes shape, whoever the subject is. No agreement to remember here.
The futur simple is built on lir-, which is just the infinitive — the endings are the whole story, nothing new to learn for this tense.
In the present, je, tu and il/elle are one sound: lis, lit — indistinguishable spoken. Only nous, vous and ils/elles carry an audible ending.
The imparfait is built on the nous-present stem, so once you know lisons you already know lisais, lisait and lisaient. Futur proche keeps lire untouched.