In our previous lesson, we covered the passé composé of first-group verbs, or -er verbs. In this lesson, we’ll explore second-group verbs, or verbs whose infinitives end in -ir. 

To make it easier to conjugate verbs, French grammarians divided them into three groups according to their infinitive endings. This broad classification also helps you determine their past participles, so it is worth noting which group a verb belongs to.

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First-group or -er verbs: past participle -é

Second-group or -ir verbs: past participle -i

Third-group or -re, -oir, and irregular -ir verbs: past participle -u

Regular -ir verbs belong to the second-largest group of verbs in French. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern, making them easier to conjugate than irregular verbs, which have their quirks.

Second-group -ir verbs follow the same basic rules as -er verbs in the passé composé, combining the auxiliaries avoir or être with the past participle.  

The main difference is that the past participle of regular -ir verbs ends in -i instead of -é.

For example, to form the past participle of finir (to finish), take out the r in finir and voilà! You have the past participle fini!

Après la mort de papa,

After dad's death,

elle a fini ses études

she finished her studies

Captions 7-8, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon père n'est pas mort

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Interestingly, the expression finir par in the passé composé doesn’t mean to finish something. Instead, it describes an outcome, something that eventually happened or ended up happening:

Elle a gagné et j'ai fini par être chanteuse

It won and I ended up being a singer

Caption 13, Watt’s In - Indila : Dernière Danse Interview Exlu

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In any case, finir is a typical second-group verb that is handy to know, as you will be able to use it as a model to conjugate other similar verbs, like choisir (to choose):

Nous avons choisi de passer une semaine sur place à Aulnay.

We chose to spend a week on-site in Aulnay.

Caption 9, Banlieues françaises - jeunes et policiers, l'impossible réconciliation?

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When describing where you grew up, you'll use the passé composé of the verb grandir:

J'ai grandi là.

I grew up here.

Caption 34, Actu Vingtième - Fête du quartier Python-Duvernois

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As you can see, conjugating second-group verbs in the passé composé is quite straightforward since they are regular verbs. 

Another thing worth noting is that in addition to being recognizable by their past participles, second-group verbs can also be classified by their present participles, which end in -issant: finissant (finishing), choisissant (choosing), grandissant (growing up), etc. This information will prove useful when you learn about irregular -ir verbs belonging to the third group. 

So, nous n'avons pas encore fini (we haven't finished yet), as there are more -ir verbs in store for you to explore in another lesson! For now, have a look at some of Patricia's videos on second-group verbs: Les verbes du 2ème groupe, Les verbes du 2ème groupe les plus utilisés. And for a list of common second-group verbs, click here. 

Animals are generally (and perhaps unjustly) considered to be less intelligent than humans, which explains why the French word bête can mean both "beast" and "stupid":

Après tout, c'est bête la guerre.

After all, war is stupid.

Caption 25, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 15. Bruce et les sources du Nil

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The related noun bêtise can mean anything along the lines of "stupidity" or "idiocy." You can use it in a general sense to talk about "something stupid":

Après les parents, ils me disent, quand ils font une bêtise...

Later the parents tell me, when they do something stupid...

Caption 56, Banlieues françaises - jeunes et policiers, l'impossible réconciliation?

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Or you might use it to refer to something more specific, such as a mistake. Une bêtise isn't just any old mistake, but a particularly stupid one:

Vous allez réparer vos bêtises.

You're going to repair your stupid mistakes.

Caption 31, Il était une fois: Notre Terre - 9. Les écosystèmes

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Of course, if you tell someone he or she has made a stupid mistake, you could be implying that the person him or herself is stupid. Une erreur is a more neutral word for "mistake" that doesn't connote stupidity:

Elle fait une terrible erreur.

She's making a terrible mistake.

Caption 4, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mes grands-parents sont infidèles

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The plural bêtises is often used to refer to "nonsense," "mischief," or any kind of naughty behavior:

Arrête tes bêtises.

Stop your nonsense.

Mais si on fait des bêtises, on sait jamais...

But if we get into mischief, you never know...

Caption 90, Actu Vingtième - Le Repas des anciens

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If you argue with someone over des bêtises, you're arguing over nothing:

Mes enfants se disputent toujours pour des bêtises.
My kids are always arguing with each other over nothing.

When it comes to learning a language, there's no such thing as a stupid mistake. So don't fret if you forget an accent mark or type in the wrong word in a Yabla game—you've just made a simple erreur, not une bêtise!

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For fun, here's an 80s throwback for you: Sabine Paturel's "Les Bêtises," which was a smash hit in France in 1986.