6.3 The Verb Faire
The verb faire (to do or to make) is an irregular verb, used both literally, meaning to do or to make, and in many expressions. For example, as you have just learned, for certain weather expressions we use faire. When we talk about sports, we can also use faire:
Tiger Woods fait du golf. Rafael Nadal fait du tennis.
Faire as a “substitute” verb
You can use the verb faire to ask a question: Qu’est-ce que vous faites? (“What are you doing?”). Usually you will reply not with the verb faire itself, but with the verb that describes the activity you are doing.
Q: Charles, que fais-tu? (Charles, what are you doing?)
R: Je mange un sandwich. (I’m eating a sandwich.)
Select the play button to hear an example.
Conjugation of Faire
| Person | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | Je fais | I do/make |
| 2nd person singular | Tu fais | You do/make |
| 3rd Person singular | Il/elle/on fait | He/she does/makes |
| 1st person plural | Nous faisons | We do/make |
| 2nd person plural | Vous faites | You do/make (formal or plural) |
| 3rd person plural | Ils/elles font | They make |
Important Notes
- The singular forms are all pronounced the same.
- The vous form does not finish in “ez“.
Exercise 4: Faire
Fill in the Blanks
Exercise 5: Qu’est-ce que vous faites ?
Fill in the Blanks
This section includes content derived from Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA.
