« Je peux pratique souvent ». « Je vais continue à travailler ». « Il faut essayer de partage ». These three sentences all have the same problem: the second verb should be in the infinitive form.
It's one of the most common mistakes I correct, and one of the easiest to fix once you understand the rule.
In French, when a conjugated verb is followed by another verb, that second verb is generally in the infinitive - either directly, or after a preposition like à, de, pour or sans. This is especially true after pouvoir, devoir, vouloir, aller and venir de, as well as with the impersonal expression « il faut ». The only real exception is the preposition « après », which requires the past infinitive. In compound tenses, however, the second element is a past participle, and in a subordinate clause introduced by « que » - such as « il faut que » - the verb is conjugated in the mood the construction requires. The infinitive itself never changes, no matter the subject: « je peux parler », « tu peux parler », « ils peuvent parler ».
The basic rule: conjugated verb + infinitive
When a conjugated verb is followed by another verb, the second one generally goes in the infinitive - either directly, or through a structure with a preposition.
Careful - this rule does not concern compound tenses. In « j'ai mangé » (I ate) or « elle est partie » (she left), you do have two verb forms side by side, but the second is a past participle, not an infinitive. The rule we're talking about here targets direct constructions with pouvoir, devoir, vouloir, aller, venir de, and sequences with a preposition - not the formation of compound tenses.
The infinitive is the form of the verb you find in the dictionary. For the vast majority of verbs, it ends in -er (parler, manger, chanter), -ir (finir, partir, sortir) or -re (prendre, attendre, boire).
A few simple examples:
- Je peux parler français (not « je peux parle »)
- Tu dois finir tes devoirs (not « tu dois finis »)
- Elle veut prendre le bus (not « elle veut prend »)
- Nous allons manger au restaurant (not « nous allons mangeons »)
Modal verbs: pouvoir, devoir, vouloir, savoir
Pouvoir, devoir, vouloir and savoir are often presented as the main modal verbs in French: they express, respectively, ability, obligation, will and knowledge. In this type of construction, they are followed by an infinitive. You can add the impersonal expression il faut, which - without being a modal verb in the strict sense - behaves the same way in this structure: it's typically followed by an infinitive.
In this construction, the infinitive is mandatory.
Here are real mistakes I correct every week:
- ❌ Je peux pratique souvent
✅ Je peux pratiquer souvent - ❌ Je peux règle mes dépenses
✅ Je peux régler mes dépenses - ❌ Je peux gére l'équipe
✅ Je peux gérer l'équipe - ❌ Tu peux vient me voir demain ?
✅ Tu peux venir me voir demain ?
What's tricky is that « pratique », « règle » and « gère » are actual forms in French. But they are conjugated present-tense forms: « je pratique », « je règle », « je gère ». After a modal verb, you absolutely need the infinitive: pratiquer, régler, gérer.
Motion verbs: aller, venir
« Aller » (to go) and « venir » (to come) followed by another verb work the same way in this construction. The second verb stays in the infinitive.
- Je vais manger au restaurant (I'm going to eat at the restaurant)
- Elle va partir demain (She's going to leave tomorrow)
- Nous venons voir ta sœur (We're coming to see your sister)
- Ils viennent chercher leurs enfants (They're coming to pick up their children)
Real mistakes I see often:
- ❌ Je vais continue à travailler
✅ Je vais continuer à travailler - ❌ Je vais travaille pendant la journée
✅ Je vais travailler pendant la journée - ❌ Le médecin va prescrit des exercices
✅ Le médecin va prescrire des exercices
Bonus: « venir de » + infinitive expresses the recent past. « Je viens de manger » means you ate just a few minutes ago. « Elle vient de partir » = she just left. Very useful to remember.
After prepositions: de, à, pour, sans
Almost all prepositions followed by a verb require the infinitive - the only real exception being « après », which we'll see below. After de, à, pour, sans, avant de, afin de, the verb is not conjugated.
- J'essaie de comprendre (I'm trying to understand)
- Il commence à parler français (He's starting to speak French)
- Je travaille pour gagner ma vie (I work to earn a living)
- Elle est partie sans dire au revoir (She left without saying goodbye)
- Lave-toi les mains avant de manger (Wash your hands before eating)
Typical mistake:
- ❌ Il faut essayer de partage
✅ Il faut essayer de partager
« Essayer » is followed by the preposition « de », so the verb that follows stays in the infinitive. No conjugation, no past participle, nothing. Just the infinitive.
The exception: « après ». This preposition is the only one that works differently. You don't use the simple infinitive, but the past infinitive (avoir or être in the infinitive + past participle):
- Après avoir mangé, nous sommes partis (After eating, we left)
- Après être arrivé à Paris, j'ai appelé ma famille (After arriving in Paris, I called my family)
You never say « après manger » (except in a few fixed expressions). It's the only preposition that breaks the usual pattern.
The trap: « il faut » vs « il faut que »
Careful - « il faut que » belongs to a different grammatical structure: a subordinate clause introduced by « que », which calls for the subjunctive. Compare these two sentences:
- Il faut partir tout de suite (We must leave right now - infinitive)
- Il faut que tu partes tout de suite (You must leave right now - subjunctive)
« Il faut » alone = infinitive. « Il faut que » + subject = subjunctive. It's a rule that breaks every learner's reflexes, because sometimes you see the opposite mistake:
- ❌ Il faut que je me forcer
✅ Il faut que je me force
Here, the learner applied the « conjugated verb + infinitive » rule, but this isn't the same grammatical structure: « il faut que » introduces a subordinate clause with a new subject, and it's this specific construction that calls for the subjunctive.
Simple rule to remember: after « il faut que », « il est nécessaire que », « je veux que », the following verb goes in the subjunctive. Careful though - not all « que » subordinate clauses take the subjunctive: « je sais que », « je pense que » stay in the indicative. It's mostly expressions of obligation, wish or doubt that trigger the subjunctive.
Why this mistake is so common
In English, « I can practice », « I must work », « I want to go »: the second verb stays in its base form. English speakers naturally translate word for word and keep the verb as it would be in English.
The issue is that in French « je pratique » is already a conjugated form (present tense of pratiquer). So when you write « je peux pratique », you're putting two conjugated verbs next to each other, which is grammatically impossible.
Tip: when you hesitate, ask yourself whether the verb form exists as such in the dictionary. « Pratiquer », yes (that's the dictionary entry). « Pratique » is a conjugated present-tense form. After a modal, you always take the dictionary entry: « je peux pratiquer ».
The special case: « practice » in French
A very common mistake from English speakers: « je dois practice mon français ». The English verb « to practice » has slipped into a French sentence.
In French, the verb is pratiquer. It's conjugated like every -er verb: je pratique, tu pratiques, il pratique, nous pratiquons, vous pratiquez, ils pratiquent. After a modal, use the infinitive: « je dois pratiquer mon français ».
NB: this rule about two verbs in a row is one of the most rewarding to master. Once it's internalized, it removes a mistake that shows up in almost every sentence. Practice by reading your own texts out loud: as soon as you see two verbs side by side, check that the second one is really in the infinitive.
