lire

Irregular Verb Lire (To Read)

Level 1

lire (to read)
Singular: je lis, tu lis, il lit
Plural: nous lisons, vous lisez, ils lisent

How It Works

The verb lire belongs to the third group of French verbs (irregular). To conjugate it in the present tense, you must remember the stem change between the singular and plural forms:

  • Singular Stem (li-): Used for je, tu, and il/elle/on. The endings are -s, -s, and -t. Note that the final consonants are silent.
  • Plural Stem (lis-): Used for nous, vous, and ils/elles. The endings are the standard -ons, -ez, and -ent. The 's' in the stem is pronounced like a 'z' because it sits between two vowels.

Like most French present tense verbs, lire can mean both 'I read' (habitual) and 'I am reading' (right now). To emphasize that you are currently in the middle of reading, you can use the phrase être en train de lire.

Examples (4)

  1. Je lis un livre très intéressant.

    I am reading a very interesting book.

    Word by Word: I read a book very interesting.

    Uses the singular stem 'li-' with the ending '-s'. The 's' is silent.

  2. Nous lisons le journal tous les matins.

    We read the newspaper every morning.

    Word by Word: We read the newspaper all the mornings.

    Uses the plural stem 'lis-'. The 's' is pronounced like a 'z'.

  3. Est-ce que vous lisez souvent ?

    Do you read often?

    Word by Word: Is it that you read often?

    The 'vous' form uses the 'lis-' stem and the '-ez' ending.

  4. Mes enfants lisent déjà très bien.

    My children already read very well.

    Word by Word: My children read already very well.

    The third-person plural 'lisent' uses the 'lis-' stem. The '-ent' ending is silent.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the 's' in the plural forms.

    Nous lion le journal.
    Nous lisons le journal.

    Learners often confuse 'lire' with regular '-er' verbs or the verb 'lier' (to tie). Always remember the 's' stem for plural forms of 'lire'.

  • Pronouncing the final 's' or 't' in singular forms.

    Je lis (pronounced with an 's' sound).
    Je lis (pronounced /li/).

    In the forms 'lis', 'lis', and 'lit', the final consonant is always silent in French unless followed by a vowel (liaison).

  • Using the 'dites' pattern for 'lire'.

    Vous lites un livre.
    Vous lisez un livre.

    While 'dire' (to say) and 'lire' (to read) look similar, 'dire' is highly irregular in the 'vous' form (vous dites), whereas 'lire' follows the standard '-ez' ending (vous lisez).

How It Connects

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

lireLevel 1Irregular Verb Lire (To Read)

Learn This First

To learn the conjugation of the irregular verb 'lire', you first need to be familiar with French subject pronouns and the basic conjugation patterns for regular -re verbs.

Words in This Pattern

lire