If you learn only a handful of French verbs at first, faire should be one of them.
It usually means “to do” or “to make,” but French speakers also use it to talk about weather, sports, chores, activities, and many everyday expressions.
The challenge is that faire is irregular, so you cannot conjugate it by following the usual patterns. The good news is that a few key forms appear again and again.
Here is a practical guide to the faire conjugations you are most likely to need.
Faire Conjugation at a Glance
Before looking at each tense, here are some important forms to recognize:
- Present: je fais
- Past participle: fait
- Imperfect: je faisais
- Future: je ferai
- Conditional: je ferais
- Subjunctive: que je fasse
- Imperative: fais
Notice two useful patterns: the future and conditional use fer-, while the past participle is simply fait.
Faire in the Present Tense
The present tense is the best place to start because you will hear it constantly.
- je fais — I do / make
- tu fais — you do / make
- il / elle / on fait — he / she / one does
- nous faisons — we do / make
- vous faites — you do / make
- ils / elles font — they do / make
Examples:
Je fais la cuisine.
I’m cooking.
Tu fais quoi ce soir ?
What are you doing tonight?
Il fait beau aujourd’hui.
The weather is nice today.
That last example shows why faire is so useful: French uses faire in many expressions where English would not use “do” or “make” at all.
Faire in the Passé Composé
To talk about a completed action in the past, French commonly uses the passé composé.
Faire uses avoir + fait.
- j’ai fait
- tu as fait
- il / elle / on a fait
- nous avons fait
- vous avez fait
- ils / elles ont fait
Examples:
J’ai fait mes devoirs.
I did my homework.
Qu’est-ce que tu as fait hier ?
What did you do yesterday?
The past participle fait stays the same in these examples.
Faire in the Imperfect
Use the imparfait for past habits, repeated actions, descriptions, or actions that were in progress.
- je faisais
- tu faisais
- il / elle / on faisait
- nous faisions
- vous faisiez
- ils / elles faisaient
For example:
Quand j’étais petit, je faisais du vélo tous les jours.
When I was little, I used to ride my bike every day.
Compare this with the passé composé:
J’ai fait du vélo hier.
I rode my bike yesterday.
The first describes a past habit; the second refers to a completed event.
Faire in the Near Future
For plans and things that are going to happen soon, French often uses aller + faire.
- je vais faire
- tu vas faire
- il / elle / on va faire
- nous allons faire
- vous allez faire
- ils / elles vont faire
Examples:
Je vais faire les courses.
I’m going to go shopping.
Qu’est-ce que vous allez faire ce week-end ?
What are you going to do this weekend?
This structure is extremely useful in everyday conversation.
Faire in the Simple Future
For the futur simple, faire changes to the stem fer-.
- je ferai
- tu feras
- il / elle / on fera
- nous ferons
- vous ferez
- ils / elles feront
Examples:
Je le ferai demain.
I’ll do it tomorrow.
Nous ferons de notre mieux.
We’ll do our best.
Remembering fer- will also help with the conditional.
Faire in the Conditional
The conditional is commonly used for hypothetical situations and polite statements.
- je ferais
- tu ferais
- il / elle / on ferait
- nous ferions
- vous feriez
- ils / elles feraient
For example:
Que ferais-tu à ma place ?
What would you do in my place?
Je ferais plus de sport si j’avais le temps.
I would exercise more if I had time.
Notice that the conditional also uses the fer- stem.
Faire in the Subjunctive
You will often see the subjunctive after expressions of necessity, emotion, doubt, or desire.
- que je fasse
- que tu fasses
- qu’il / elle / on fasse
- que nous fassions
- que vous fassiez
- qu’ils / elles fassent
Examples:
Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs.
I need to do my homework.
Je veux que vous fassiez attention.
I want you to pay attention.
The forms fasse and fassent may look unusual at first, so they are worth memorizing as a group.
Faire in the Imperative
The imperative is used for commands, instructions, and suggestions.
There are only three forms:
- fais — do / make
- faisons — let’s do / make
- faites — do / make
Examples:
Fais attention !
Be careful!
Faisons une pause.
Let’s take a break.
Faites comme chez vous.
Make yourself at home.
For negative commands, place ne…pas around the verb:
Ne fais pas ça !
Don’t do that!
Common Expressions with Faire
Learning conjugations is important, but faire becomes much more useful when you learn it inside common expressions.
Here are a few worth remembering:
- faire attention — to pay attention / be careful
- faire la cuisine — to cook
- faire les courses — to go shopping
- faire du sport — to exercise / play sports
- faire la queue — to stand in line
- faire de son mieux — to do one’s best
- faire chaud / froid — to be hot / cold, when talking about weather
For example:
Il fait froid aujourd’hui.
It’s cold today.
Je fais de mon mieux.
I’m doing my best.
Learning these as complete phrases is often more effective than translating faire as “do” or “make” every time.
Which Faire Conjugations Should Beginners Learn First?
You do not need to memorize every tense at once.
Start with:
- Present: je fais
- Passé composé: j’ai fait
- Near future: je vais faire
- Simple future: je ferai
- Imperfect: je faisais
These forms already allow you to talk about what you do, what you did, what you used to do, and what you are going to do.
Then add the conditional and subjunctive as your French becomes more advanced.
Final Thoughts
Faire is irregular, but its usefulness makes it worth learning early.
Instead of trying to memorize every form in one sitting, focus first on the patterns you will actually use in conversation: je fais, j’ai fait, je vais faire, je faisais, and je ferai.
Then learn common expressions such as faire attention, faire du sport, and faire de son mieux.
Once these forms and phrases become familiar, faire stops feeling like an irregular verb to memorize and starts becoming one of the most useful tools in your French.
