écrire

Irregular Verb Ecrire (To Write)

Level 1

écrire (to write)
Singular: j'écris, tu écris, il écrit
Plural: nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils écrivent

How It Works

The verb écrire is a high-frequency verb used for all types of writing. To use it correctly in the present tense, you must remember two key changes:

1. The Stem Change: In the singular forms (I, you, he/she), the stem is écri-. In the plural forms (we, you all, they), a v is added to create the stem écriv-. This 'v' is audible and helps distinguish the plural from the singular.

2. Elision: Because écrire starts with a vowel, the pronoun je always contracts to j' (j'écris).

3. Preposition Usage: Unlike English, where you can 'write someone,' in French you must write to someone using the preposition à (écrire à quelqu'un).

Conjugation Table:

  • j'écris (I write)
  • tu écris (you write)
  • il/elle/on écrit (he/she/one writes)
  • nous écrivons (we write)
  • vous écrivez (you write)
  • ils/elles écrivent (they write)

Examples (4)

  1. J'écris une lettre à mon ami.

    I am writing a letter to my friend.

    Word by Word: I write a letter to my friend.

    Notice the elision (j') and the use of the preposition 'à' before the recipient.

  2. Nous écrivons souvent des e-mails.

    We often write emails.

    Word by Word: We write often some e-mails.

    This shows the plural stem 'écriv-' used with the 'nous' form.

  3. Est-ce que vous écrivez un livre ?

    Are you writing a book?

    Word by Word: Is it that you write a book?

    The 'vous' form also uses the 'écriv-' stem.

  4. Ils écrivent un nouveau roman ensemble.

    They are writing a new novel together.

    Word by Word: They write a new novel together.

    In 'ils écrivent', the 'v' is clearly pronounced, unlike the singular 'il écrit'.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the 'v' in plural forms.

    Nous écrions un message.
    Nous écrivons un message.

    Learners often try to treat it like a regular -re verb, but 'écrire' requires the 'v' in all plural forms.

  • Omitting the preposition 'à' when writing to a person.

    J'écris ma mère.
    J'écris à ma mère.

    In French, you write 'to' someone. Without 'à', it sounds like you are physically writing the person's name or body.

  • Forgetting elision with 'je'.

    Je écris tous les jours.
    J'écris tous les jours.

    Because 'écrire' starts with a vowel, 'je' must become 'j'.'

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

écrireLevel 1Irregular Verb Ecrire (To Write)

Learn This First

To learn the conjugation of 'écrire', you first need to be familiar with French subject pronouns and the concept of elision for the 'je' form. Understanding the regular -re verb pattern is also helpful as a baseline for recognizing how 'écrire' deviates in its plural forms.

Words in This Pattern

écrire