Français I – Leçon 2A Structures
Present tense of regular –er verbs
In English, verbs are words that
express actions or states of being.
You have already learned one verb
in French: être (to be).
Être is an irregular verb because it
does not follow a pattern.
There are also regular verbs in
French. Regular verbs follow a
pattern. The most common regular
verbs in French end with –er.
These are called
“regular -er verbs”
To form “regular –er verbs,” you have
to remove the –er from the verb, and
add new endings to the stem to match
the subject pronouns. This is called
“conjugating.”
[Look at the example on the next slide. The verb
is parler (to talk). Notice how the spelling
changes depending on the subject pronoun.]
Parler = to speak
Je parle (I speak)
Tu parles (you speak)
Il parle (he speaks)
Elle parle (she speaks)
On parle (one speaks)
nous parlons (we speak)
vous parlez (you speak)
ils parlent (they speak)
elles parlent (they speak)
Other regular –er verbs will be
conjugated the same way. Remove
the –er and add the new endings
that match the subject pronouns.
adorer = to love
J’adore (I love)
Tu adores (you love)
Il adore (he loves)
Elle adore (she loves)
On adore (one loves)
nous adorons (we love)
vous adorez (you love)
ils adorent (they love)
elles adorent (they love)
Common –er verbs
Adorer = to love
Aimer = to like, to love
Aimer mieux = to prefer (to like better)
arriver = to arrive
chercher = to look for
commencer = to begin
dessiner = to draw
détester = to hate
donner = to give
étudier = to study
habiter (à/en) = to live in
manger = to eat
oublier = to forget
partager = to share
penser (que/qu’…) = to think (that)
regarder = to look at
rencontrer = to meet
retrouver = to meet up with; to find (again)
travailler = to work
jouer = to play
danser = to dance
chanter = to sing
voyager = to travel
Other rules of –er verbs…
• Verbs ending in –ger (manger, voyager) and
–cer (commencer) have a spelling change in
the nous form.
manger  nous mangeons
commencer  nous commençons
• Je becomes J’ when it appears before a verb
that begins with a vowel sound.
– J’adore
-J’habite
Forming Questions
There are several ways to ask a
question in French.
1. Intonation
• The simplest way to ask a question is to use
the same wording as a statement, but
changing the tone of your voice. This is called
intonation.
• In writing, you add a question mark at the end
of the statement.
• This method is informal.
Vous habitez à Paris?
(You live in Paris?)
Tu aimes le pizza?
(You like pizza?)
2. Est-ce que…
• A second way is to place the phrase Est-ce
que… directly before a statement.
• If the next word begins with a vowel sound,
use Est-ce qu’…
• Questions w/ est-ce que are formal.
Est-ce que vous habitez à Las Vegas?
(Do you live in Las Vegas?)
Est-ce qu’il aime le pizza?
(Does he like pizza?)
3. Tag question
• Place a tag question at the end of a statement.
• This can be formal or informal.
On commence à 2h, d’accord?
(We’re starting at 2:00, OK?)
Nous mangeons à midi, n’est-ce pas?
(We eat at noon, don’t we?)
4. Inversion
• Invert the order of the subject pronoun and the
verb and hyphenate them.
• If the verb ends in a vowel and the subject
pronoun is il, elle, or on, -t- is inserted between
the verb and the pronoun.
• Inversion is considered formal.
Parlez-vous français?
(Do you speak French?)
Mange-t-il à midi?
(Does he eat at noon?)
Expressing Negation
Ne…pas
• To make a sentence negative, place ne before the
conjugated verb and pas after it.
• If the verb has a vowel sound, place n’ before it
instead of ne.
Je ne danse pas bien.
Je n’aime pas les maths.
Expressions of agreement and
disagreement
• Use these expressions to respond to a
statement or a question that requires a yes or
no answer.
Oui = yes
Bien sûr = of course
Moi/toi non plus = me/you neither
(mais) non = no (but of course not)
Pas du tout = not at all
Peut-être = maybe, perhaps