Finir Conjugation in French
finir means “finish” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for talking about finishing work, for describing homework, and for ending a book. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of finir — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je finis le travail.” — “I finish the work.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: finir
- English: finish
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — it is regular in every tense
- Gerund: en finissant
- Past participle: fini
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for finir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for finir. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finis |
| tu | finis |
| il/elle | finit |
| nous | finissons |
| vous | finissez |
| ils/elles | finissent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finis |
| tu | finis |
| il/elle | finit |
| nous | finîmes |
| vous | finîtes |
| ils/elles | finirent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finissais |
| tu | finissais |
| il/elle | finissait |
| nous | finissions |
| vous | finissiez |
| ils/elles | finissaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finirai |
| tu | finiras |
| il/elle | finira |
| nous | finirons |
| vous | finirez |
| ils/elles | finiront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finirais |
| tu | finirais |
| il/elle | finirait |
| nous | finirions |
| vous | finiriez |
| ils/elles | finiraient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finisse |
| tu | finisses |
| il/elle | finisse |
| nous | finissions |
| vous | finissiez |
| ils/elles | finissent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | finisse |
| tu | finisses |
| il/elle | finît |
| nous | finissions |
| vous | finissiez |
| ils/elles | finissent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai fini |
| tu | as fini |
| il/elle | a fini |
| nous | avons fini |
| vous | avez fini |
| ils/elles | ont fini |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais fini |
| tu | avais fini |
| il/elle | avait fini |
| nous | avions fini |
| vous | aviez fini |
| ils/elles | avaient fini |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai fini |
| tu | auras fini |
| il/elle | aura fini |
| nous | aurons fini |
| vous | aurez fini |
| ils/elles | auront fini |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais fini |
| tu | aurais fini |
| il/elle | aurait fini |
| nous | aurions fini |
| vous | auriez fini |
| ils/elles | auraient fini |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | finis |
| nous | finissons |
| vous | finissez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | finis |
| nous | finissons |
| vous | finissez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en finissant |
| Past participle | fini |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je finis mes devoirs.” — “I finish my homework.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “Je finis mes devoirs hier.” — “I finished my homework yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je finissais mes devoirs avant.” — “I used to finish my homework before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je finirai mes devoirs demain.” — “I will finish my homework tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je finirais mes devoirs un jour.” — “I would finish my homework one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Bien que je finisse mes devoirs” — “Although I finish my homework.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je finisse mes devoirs” — “Although I finish my homework.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai fini mes devoirs cette semaine.” — “I have finished my homework this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais fini mes devoirs avant la fête.” — “I had finished my homework before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai fini mes devoirs pour demain.” — “I will have finished my homework by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais fini mes devoirs hier.” — “I would have finished my homework yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “finis mes devoirs !” — “Finish my homework!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne finis pas mes devoirs !” — “Don't finish my homework!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en finissant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle fini builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai fini le livre cette semaine.” — “I have finished the book this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with finir, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je finis le travail.” — “I finish the work.”
- “Tu finis mes devoirs hier.” — “You finished my homework yesterday.”
- “Il finissait le livre avant.” — “He used to finish the book before.”
- “Je finirai à temps demain.” — “I will finish on time tomorrow.”
- “Tu finirais le travail un jour.” — “You would finish the work one day.”
- “Il a fini mes devoirs cette semaine.” — “He has finished my homework this week.”
- “J'avais fini le livre avant la fête.” — “I had finished the book before the party.”
- “Tu auras fini à temps pour demain.” — “You will have finished on time by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il finisse le travail” — “Although he finishes the work.”
- “finis mes devoirs !” — “Finish my homework!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je finir le travail.”
✓ Right: “Je finis le travail.”
The infinitive finir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form finis.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je finissons mes devoirs.”
✓ Right: “Je finis mes devoirs.”
finissons is the nous form. With je the present form is finis — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je finis le travail.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai fini le travail.”
The present finis describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai fini.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je finis le livre.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai fini le livre.”
The passé simple finis belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai fini.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je finis le travail.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je finisse le travail.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use finisse here, not the indicative finis.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je finissais à temps avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'ai fini à temps avant.”
The imperfect finissais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai fini.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on finir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of finir in the Present indicative?
- A) finissons
- B) finis
- C) finit
- D) finissent
What is the il/elle form of finir in the Passé simple?
- A) finîtes
- B) finis
- C) finirent
- D) finit
What is the nous form of finir in the Imperfect?
- A) finissaient
- B) finissais
- C) finissions
- D) finissait
What is the tu form of finir in the Future?
- A) finiras
- B) finirons
- C) finira
- D) finirez
What is the je form of finir in the Conditional?
- A) finiriez
- B) finirions
- C) finiraient
- D) finirais
What is the il/elle form of finir in the Present subjunctive?
- A) finissiez
- B) finisse
- C) finissions
- D) finisses
What is the je form of finir in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) finisse
- B) finît
- C) finissions
- D) finisses
What is the gerund of finir?
- A) finissant
- B) dormant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of finir?
- A) bu
- B) fini
- C) dormi
What does finir mean in English?
- A) open
- B) finish
- C) drink
- D) sleep
Answer key
- B) finis — The je form of finir in the present indicative is finis.
- D) finit — The il/elle form of finir in the passé simple is finit.
- C) finissions — The nous form of finir in the imperfect is finissions.
- A) finiras — The tu form of finir in the future is finiras.
- D) finirais — The je form of finir in the conditional is finirais.
- B) finisse — The il/elle form of finir in the present subjunctive is finisse.
- A) finisse — The je form of finir in the imperfect subjunctive is finisse.
- A) finissant — The gerund of finir is en finissant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) fini — The past participle of finir is fini; perfect tenses use avoir + fini.
- B) finish — finir means “finish” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does finir mean in English?
finir means “finish”. You use it for talking about finishing work, for describing homework, and for ending a book. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is finir regular or irregular?
finir is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none — it is regular in every tense. The gerund is en finissant and the past participle is fini.
What are the gerund and past participle of finir?
The gerund is en finissant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is fini — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai fini.
How do I say “I finish” in French?
Say “Je finis le travail.” — “I finish the work.” The je form of the present is finis, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between finir and commencer?
finir means “finish” while commencer means “begin” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for commencer and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Finir Present Tense Conjugation in French
- Finir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Commencer conjugation
- Terminer conjugation
- Continuer conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise finir with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise finir with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise finir with the interactive tool.