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. 

The subject of Lionel's latest video is Article 49-3 of the French Constitution, which gives the prime minister the power to push through legislation without a parliamentary vote. The government most recently invoked Article 49-3 to push through a labor reform bill that has sparked much controversy in France. Public outcry over the bill culminated in the Nuit Debout protest movement, which Lionel has also been covering for Yabla. 

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In his video, Lionel uses the verb phrase se passer de (to bypass, to do without) to describe the government's action: 

Au final le gouvernement a décidé de passer en force,

In the end, the government decided to force its passage,

et s'est passé du vote de l'Assemblée Nationale et du Sénat.

and bypassed the vote of the National Assembly and the Senate.

Captions 8-9, Lionel L - Le 49-3

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The de in se passer de is crucial. If you remove it, you'll get a completely different expression, as Lionel demonstrates later on in the video: 

...et que d'ores et déjà nous pouvons comparer à ce qui s'est passé en France.

...and that already we can compare it to what happened in France.

Caption 23, Lionel L - Le 49-3

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By itself, se passer means "to happen" or "occur," as in the expression, Qu'est-ce qui se passe? (What's happening?/What's going on?) You'll also hear it in the impersonal expression il s'est passé...: 
 

Et il s'est passé quelque chose de complètement inédit pour moi...

And something happened that was completely new for me...

Caption 45, Watt’s In - Indila : Dernière Danse Interview Exlu

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But that's not all! Se passer can also mean "to pass" or "pass by" when referring to a period of time:

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Six mois se sont passés depuis ma dernière visite. 
Six months have passed since my last visit.

Stay tuned to Yabla to learn more about ce qui se passe (what's happening) throughout the French-speaking world!