How to Teach the French Verb Faire – A French Teacher’s Guide
Faire is one of the French verbs I like to introduce early because students encounter it everywhere.
The basic translation is “to do” or “to make,” but that’s only the beginning. Once students start encountering common expressions with faire, they quickly realize that they can’t always translate it word for word from English.
As with être, avoir, aller, and other essential French verbs, I want students to learn the present-tense conjugation of faire by heart. Then I start putting it to work in useful sentences.
French Verb Faire Bundle | Worksheets & Games
Start With the Present-Tense Conjugation
I begin with the conjugation because students are going to see these forms constantly.
FAIRE — to do / to make
je fais
I do / I make
tu fais
you do / you make
il / elle / on fait
he / she / one does; we do / make
nous faisons
we do / we make
vous faites
you do / you make
ils / elles font
they do / they make
There isn’t much of a shortcut here. Faire is irregular, so I have students learn the forms rather than trying to fit the verb into a regular conjugation pattern.
I also make sure students get plenty of exposure to the three forms that tend to look particularly different:
je fais
nous faisons
ils / elles font
Those are the forms students often need the most reinforcement with.
Remind Students That Faire Can Mean “Do” or “Make”
One of the first things I point out is that faire doesn’t always translate the same way in English.
Je fais mes devoirs.
I’m doing my homework.
Je fais un gâteau.
I’m making a cake.
The French verb stays the same even though English uses do in one sentence and make in the other.
This is a good early lesson in an important principle for French students: don’t assume that every French verb has one English equivalent that works in every situation.
Teach Faire Through Expressions
This is where I think faire becomes much more interesting for beginners.
Rather than giving students a huge list of translations, I like to introduce faire + noun expressions as useful chunks of language.
For example:
faire les devoirs
to do homework
faire du sport
to play sports / exercise
faire une promenade
to take a walk
faire les courses
to go grocery shopping
faire la cuisine
to cook
faire attention
to pay attention / be careful
These expressions are much more useful to students than simply memorizing that faire = to do / to make.
French Faire – Expressions Jeopardy Review Game
Faire and Activities
Another easy way to practice the verb is with activities.
Students can build sentences like:
Je fais du vélo.
I ride my bike.
Tu fais du sport.
You play sports.
Elle fait de la natation.
She swims.
Nous faisons une promenade.
We are taking a walk.
Vous faites de la randonnée.
You go hiking.
This also gives students repeated exposure to du, de la, and other French articles in a meaningful context.
I don’t try to make students analyze every grammar point at once. I want them to start recognizing the expressions as natural French.
Faire With the Weather
I make sure to teach faire as part of weather expressions because this is another place where English-speaking students can’t simply translate word for word.
French uses:
Il fait chaud.
It’s hot.
Il fait froid.
It’s cold.
Il fait beau.
The weather is nice.
Il fait mauvais.
The weather is bad.
This is a great example of why students need to learn French expressions as expressions.
They shouldn’t be trying to figure out why French says “it does hot.”
They simply need to recognize: Il fait + weather expression.
French Weather – La Météo – PowerPoint Jeopardy Game
Faire + Infinitive
As students become comfortable with the basic verb, another useful structure is faire + infinitive.
This construction allows students to express the idea of having or making someone do something.
For example:
Je fais travailler les élèves.
I make the students work.
Elle fait rire ses amis.
She makes her friends laugh.
I don’t necessarily introduce every use of this structure at the beginning. I simply like students to start recognizing it when they encounter it.
Watch for the Pronunciation
There is another reason I like spending some time on faire rather than simply giving students a conjugation chart.
Several forms sound very similar.
je fais
tu fais
il fait
All have essentially the same pronunciation.
Then:
nous faisons
vous faites
ils font
sound quite different from what students might expect from the spelling.
This is a good verb to practice both recognizing in writing and understanding when spoken.
I don’t want students to rely only on the written endings. They need to become familiar with the sounds of the different forms as well.
Give Students Sentence Building Practice
Once students know the conjugation and a few expressions, I like to have them build their own sentences.
Give them a subject:
je
tu
elle
nous
vous
ils
Then give them a faire expression:
faire du sport
faire les courses
faire la cuisine
faire une promenade
faire attention
Students conjugate faire and build the sentence.
For example:
Je fais du sport.
Tu fais les courses.
Elle fait la cuisine.
Nous faisons une promenade.
Vous faites attention.
Ils font du sport.
This gives them meaningful repetition without feeling like they’re simply filling in conjugation blanks.
Don’t Try to Teach Every Faire Expression at Once
There are so many expressions with faire that it can be tempting to give students an enormous vocabulary list.
I would rather have students really learn ten useful expressions than memorize thirty-five expressions that they can’t actually use.
Then, as their vocabulary develops, I can keep adding new expressions built around a verb they already know.
That’s one of the reasons faire is such a valuable verb to teach early. It keeps coming back.
Why I Teach Faire Early
For beginning students, faire is another one of those essential verbs that gives them access to a surprisingly large amount of everyday French.
Once they know:
je fais
tu fais
il / elle / on fait
nous faisons
vous faites
ils / elles font
they can start talking about what they do, what they make, activities they enjoy, the weather, and dozens of common expressions.
The important thing is not to stop at the conjugation chart.
I want students to move quickly from:
Je fais.
to:
Je fais du sport.
Je fais mes devoirs.
Je fais la cuisine.
Je fais attention.
Il fait chaud.
That’s when faire starts becoming a useful communication tool rather than just another irregular verb to memorize.
French Faire Resources for Teachers
If you’re teaching faire to beginning French students, I have resources that provide structured practice with the present-tense conjugation and common uses of this essential irregular verb.
French Verb Faire Bundle – Worksheets & Games
French Verb Faire – Beginner Level Big Bundle
I find that the most effective way to teach faire is to give students the conjugation they need, but then immediately give them useful language to build with it. The more they encounter faire in real expressions and sentences, the more natural this very irregular verb becomes.
