Je fais du sport le matin — il fait beau aujourd'hui ! Nous prenons le bus pour aller au travail. Tu viens d'où ? — Je viens de Lyon. Ils prennent un café et font leurs courses ensuite.
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GrammarA1fairevenir
Key irregulars: faire, venir, prendre
Verbes irréguliers clés : faire, venir, prendre
A1fr25 min
What you'll learn
- Conjugate faire, venir, prendre
- Use their fixed expressions
- Distinguish weather from feeling
Tips for this lesson
- These three verbs don't follow the -er pattern — memorise each one separately.
- faire is used for weather (il fait beau) and activities (faire du sport).
- venir de + place = where you're from; you'll meet venir de + infinitive (just did) in A2.
Step 1 of 6
1Reading
In context
Read. Notice three different irregular verbs, each with its own pattern.
Step 2 of 6
2The pattern
The pattern — three high-frequency irregulars
faire, venir and prendre each conjugate differently — learn all three tables and their fixed expressions.
faire (to do/make), venir (to come) and prendre (to take) are three of the most useful irregular verbs in French — each has its own conjugation pattern, so they need to be learned individually rather than guessed from the infinitive. Beyond their literal meaning, each has important fixed expressions: faire covers weather (il fait beau) and activities (faire du sport, faire la cuisine); prendre covers ordering and transport (prendre un café, prendre le bus); venir + a place tells you where someone is from (je viens de Lyon) — and later you'll learn venir de + infinitive for something that just happened.
| Pronoun | faire | venir | prendre |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | fais | viens | prends |
| tu | fais | viens | prends |
| il / elle / on | fait | vient | prend |
| nous | faisons | venons | prenons |
| vous | faites | venez | prenez |
| ils / elles | font | viennent | prennent |
| Fixed expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| faire du sport / la cuisine / les courses | to do sport / cooking / shopping |
| il fait beau / froid / chaud | the weather is nice / cold / hot |
| prendre un café / le bus / une décision | to have a coffee / take the bus / make a decision |
| venir de + place | to come from (a place) |
Il fait beau aujourd'hui.
The weather is nice today.
il fait — impersonal, for weather. Not about a person's feeling.
J'ai chaud.
I'm hot (I feel hot).
Contrast with il fait chaud — a person's state uses avoir, not faire.
Nous prenons le métro.
We take the metro.
Je viens de Lyon.
I'm from Lyon.
venir de + city/place = origin.
Erreurs fréquentes
- Vous faisez du sport ?Vous faites du sport ?
faire doesn't regularise — the vous form is faites, not 'faisez'.
- Ils prendent le bus.Ils prennent le bus.
prendre doubles the n in the ils/elles form: prennent, not prendent.
- Je fais chaud.J'ai chaud. / Il fait chaud.
A person's feeling = avoir (j'ai chaud); the weather = faire (il fait chaud). Never je fais chaud.
Exceptions & à retenir
prendre's cousins share its pattern
apprendre (to learn) and comprendre (to understand) follow prendre exactly: j'apprends, tu comprends, ils comprennent. Master prendre and you get three verbs for the price of one.
venir's cousins double the pattern too
devenir (to become) and revenir (to come back) conjugate like venir: je deviens, tu reviens, ils deviennent.
faire in questions means 'to do' generally
Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? (What are you doing?) is one of the most common questions in French — faire is the default 'do' verb for activities in general.
Astuces & mémo
- Learn each verb as its own six-form chant — don't try to derive them from a pattern, they don't share one.
- The weather/feeling trio to remember: il fait chaud (weather), j'ai chaud (I feel hot), je suis chaud is not used this way in standard French.
- prendre's cousins (apprendre 'to learn', comprendre 'to understand') conjugate exactly the same way — learning prendre unlocks all three.
Step 3 of 6
3Q&A drill
Which verb fits?
Match each situation to the verb it uses.
- Q1the weather is niceA____________
- Q2I'm hot (my body)A____________
- Q3taking the busA____________
- Q4where you're fromA____________
- Q5doing sportA____________
- Q6ordering a coffeeA____________
Step 4 of 6
4Fill the blanks
Guided practice — choose the verb
Complete with the correct form of faire, venir, or prendre.
Example
Vous (1) (faire) du sport ?
→ Vous faites du sport ?
Exercice
Ils (1) (prendre) le train.
Exercice
Tu (2) (venir) d'où ?
Exercice
Nous (3) (faire) les courses.
Answer pool — drag onto a blank (or tap to fill the next one)
Next empty blank: 1
Step 5 of 6
5Word order
Build the sentence
Put the words in the correct order.
Example
faisjedusport→Je fais du sport.
- Sentence 1Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 2Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 3Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 4Tap the words below to build the sentence.
Step 6 of 6
6Speak freely
Produce it
Use all three verbs — say what you do (faire), where you're from (venir), and what you take/order (prendre).
Ex.Je viens de Londres. Je fais du sport le matin et je prends un café avant le travail.
- 1.Vous venez d'où ?
- 2.Qu'est-ce que vous faites le week-end ?
- 3.Qu'est-ce que vous prenez le matin ?