Simple Conjugations for the French Verb, Ouvrir, Meaning to Open

Simple Conjugations for the French Verb, 'Ouvrir,' Meaning 'to Open' The French verb  ouvrir  means to open. It is  an  irregular  -ir  verb. Conjugating irregular French verbs can difficult for most students, but there is some good news: There are distinct patterns in the conjugations of  irregular -ir verbs, which French grammarians have anointed  le troisià ¨me groupe  (the third group).  So while  there are roughly 50 irregular French  -ir  verbs,  these shared patterns mean that you will only have to learn about 16 conjugations. Conjugating Irregular -ir verbs There are three groups of irregular  -ir  verbs. The verb  ouvrir falls into the second group, which  consists of verbs that end in  -llir,  -frir, or -vrir. Almost all are conjugated like  regular French  -er  verbs. In addition to ouvrir, this group includes the following verbs, plus their derivatives: Couvrir  Ã‚  to cover  Cueillir  Ã‚  to pick  Ã‚  Dà ©couvrir   to discoverEntrouvrir  Ã‚  to half-openOffrir  Ã‚  to offer  Recueillir   to collectRecouvrir   to recover, concealRouvrir   to reopen  Souffrir  Ã‚  to suffer Conjugating Ouvrir With regular  -ir  verb conjugations, the stem remains intact; in irregular  -ir  verb conjugations, by contrast, the stem does not remain intact throughout. The conjugations below include the  passà © composà ©, meaning the  perfect tense, and the  passà © simple, the simple past. The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is the most common French past tense, often used in conjunction with the  imperfect. The  passà © simple, which can also be translated into English as the preterite,  is also used alongside the  imperfect.  You will probably never need to use the  passà © simple, but it is important to recognize it, especially if you read many French  fiction or nonfiction works. Present Future Imperfect Present participle j ouvre ouvrirai ouvrais ouvrant tu ouvres ouvriras ouvrais il ouvre ouvrira ouvrait nous ouvrons ouvrirons ouvrions vous ouvrez ouvrirez ouvriez ils ouvrent ouvriront ouvraient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle ouvert Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive j ouvre ouvrirais ouvris ouvrisse tu ouvres ouvrirais ouvris ouvrisses il ouvre ouvrirait ouvrit ouvrt nous ouvrions ouvririons ouvrmes ouvrissions vous ouvriez ouvririez ouvrtes ouvrissiez ils ouvrent ouvriraient ouvrirent ouvrissent Imperative (tu) ouvre (nous) ouvrons (vous) ouvrez Verb conjugation pattern  Ouvrir is an irregular verb All French verbs that end in -frir or -vrir are conjugatedthis way. Using Ouvrir There is probably no better use for the word  ouvrir than during the holidays, especially at  Christmastime. Just as in the United States, Christmas is an important holiday in France, and the thought of opening presents brings great excitement. A common way to describe the festive time might be: Comme dans le reste du monde, les Franà §ais se rà ©unissent en famille autour du sapin de Noà «l, et souvent dune petite crà ¨che, et les enfants attendent que le Pà ¨re Noà «l soit passà © pour ouvrir les cadeaux le 25 au matin. This translates as: As in the rest of the world, the French gather around the Christmas tree, and often a little manger, and the children wait for Santa Claus to pass by so they can open presents on the morning of the 25th. Learning to use the verb  ouvrir, then, can help open doors to you as you discuss and take part in many French cultural discussions and celebrations.