FRENCH VERBS
French verbs are formed by: a stem + an ending (-ER, -IR or –RE).
To use the verbs in different tenses, we need to know some rules.
These rules are simple and are applied to nearly all verbs. Unfortunately,
some verbs do not follow theses rules and it is therefore important to know
these IRREGULAR VERBS such as “aller” (to go), “faire” (to do), “avoir” (to
have) or “être” (to be).
Most of the time, the rule is: keep the stem, take away the ending and
replace it by another ending depending on the person/subject.
PRESENT TENSE (e.g.: I play)
To write in the present tense, we only change the ending (the stem
remains the same).
Let’s have a look at the endings: they are different according to the
ending of the infinitive: verbs in –ER are different from those in –IR or –RE.
JOUER
FINIR
ATTENDRE
Je
joue
finis
attends
Tu
Il/Elle/On
joues
joue
finis
finit
attends
attend
Nous
jouons
finissons
attendons
Vous
jouez
finissez
attendez
Ils/Elles
jouent
finissent
attendent
Can you think of the verbs you already know? With the help of your
neighbours, write them in the appropriate column.
-ER verbs
-IR verbs
-RE verbs
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Irregular in the present
tense
PERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I played)

Two groups
There are two groups of verbs for the perfect tense:
- the “être” verbs: refer to the MR AND MRS V.TAPE list in your
vocabulary book
- the “avoir” verbs: all the other verbs

Three parts
The perfect tense is made by 3 parts:
subject (I, you...) + “être” or “avoir” in the present + main verb
We already know how to do être” and “avoir” in the present tense.
The ending of the main verb changes in the perfect tense as well.

The ending
For example, “I played” will not be “J’ai jouer” but “J’ai joué”!
It is very simple, and you need to make sure you write this ending
properly as examiners are very strict on this.
So, how do we know how to change the endings? EASY!
-ER verbs: -er turns into -é (jouer
j’ai joué)
-IR verbs: -ir turns into -i (finir
j’ai fini)
-RE verbs: -re turns into -u (attendre
j’ai attendu)
Unfortunately, there are some irregular verbs, and we need to know
them. The main ones are: “être”(j’ai été), “avoir” (j’ai eu), “faire” (j’ai fait).
So all the “avoir” verbs are very easy to form.
Now, we need to concentrate on the “être” verbs, as they require a
bit more attention.

The “être” verbs
Do you remember what we need to add at the end of the adjectives if
they are feminine or plural? Yes, an -s or an -e (or even both).
For example, if we are talking about a tall boy, we would say “un
grand garcon”, but for a tall girl, we would say “grande”, and for more
than one girl, we would say “grandes”.
The “être” verbs work the same way: the ending of the main verb will
also need an -e or an -s depending on the subject.
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Let’s take an example: “rester” (to stay). As this is an –ER verb, we
already know the -er will turn into -é.
So, if a boy says “I stayed”, we would say “je suis resté”, but if a girl
says “I stayed”, we would say “je suis restée”. And if a group of boys
says it, we would say “nous sommes restés”, and a group of girls, “nous
sommes restées”.
Note: if we have a group of boys and girls, this will be in the
masculine form (no -e).
Summary: to write in the perfect tense, we need to answer these
questions:
- is it an “être” or “avoir” verb?
- if it is an “être” verb, who is the subject? (Masculine?
Feminine? Plural?)
Last but not least, never forget the accent on the -e for the –ER
verbs: if you write “j’ai joue” instead of “j’ai joué”, you will not be
awarded any mark!
Your turn now: do you remember “être” and “avoir” in the present
tense?
ÊTRE
Je.............................
Nous........................
Tu.............................
Vous.........................
Il/Elle/On..................
.
Ils/Elles.....................
AVOIR
J’..............................
Nous........................
Tu.............................
Vous.........................
Il/Elle/On..................
Ils/Elles.....................
.
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Now, an “avoir” verb in the perfect tense.TRAVAILLER
J’..............................
Nous........................
Tu.............................
Vous.........................
Il/Elle/On..................
Ils/Elles.....................
.
And an “être” verb.ALLER
Je (m)................................
Vous (m.)………..................
Je (f)..................................
Vous (f.).............................
Tu (m)................................
Nous (m)............................
Tu (f)..................................
Nous (f)...............................
Il........................................
Ils.......................................
Elle.....................................
Elles...................................
THE IMPERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I used to play)
Like for the present and simple future tenses, to do the
imperfect tense, we need to take the ending of the infinitive and
change it into:
Je
-ais
Nous
Tu
-ais
Vous
Il/Elle/On
-ait
Ils/Elles
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-ions
-iez
-aient
So we have:
TRAVAILLER
Je travaillais
Nous travaillions
Tu travaillais
Vous travailliez
Il/Elle/On travaillait
Ils/Elles travaillaient
This goes for most of the verbs: refer to your vocabulary lists for the
irregular ones.
THE FUTURE TENSE (e.g.:I will play/I am going to play)
In French, there are two future tenses, as in English: I am
going to play and I will play. Both are very easy: let’s have a look.
 First, the “simple” future (“I will...”): to form this tense, we keep
the whole infinitive and add the following endings
Je
-ai
Nous
-ons
Tu
-as
Vous
-ez
Il/Elle/On
-a
Ils/Elles
-ont
TRAVAILLER
Nous travaillerons
Vous travaillerez
Ils/Elles travailleront
Je travaillerai
Tu travailleras
Il/Elle/On travaillera
This pattern is used for all –ER and –IR verbs. For the –RE
verbs, we need to take the -e away: saying “j’attendreai” would not
be very easy to pronounce! This is why we will say “j’attendrai”
instead.
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Unfortunately, there are irregular verbs. These verbs will have
their stem changed, but the ending will follow the same pattern as all
the other verbs. You will have to refer to your vocabulary book to see
which verbs are irregular, but here are some:
Être
je serai
Avoir
j’aurai
Faire
je ferai
 The second future (“I am going to...”) is even simpler! All you
need to do is to know how to do “ALLER” in the present tense.
Do you remember it?
Je ..........................
Tu...........................
Il/Elle/On................
Nous......................
Vous......................
Ils/Elles....................
I am going to play
Je vais jouer
THE CONDITIONAL (e.g.: I would play)
This is the last tense we are going to have a look at and is
very easy.
You already know one by heart:
I would like = je voudrais.
But how do we get this? To form this tense, we take the stem
of the simple future (if you remember, in most of the case, this is the
whole infinitive), and add the endings of the imperfect tense.
Let’s take two examples.
First, a regular verb: “jouer”.
Future
tense
Imperfect
ending
Conditional: replace the
ending
Je jouerai
-ais
Je jouerais
Now, an irregular verb: “être”
Future
Imperfect
tense
ending
Je serai
Conditional: replace the
ending
-ais
Je serais
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Now, try to fill these tables:
Regular verbs
Subject
Je
Verb
Future tense
Imperfect
ending
Conditional
Future tense
Imperfect
ending
Conditional
Retourner
Tu
Descendre
Il/Elle/On
Nous
Vous
Ils/Elles
Rester
Sortir
Arriver
Partir
Irregular verbs
Subject
Je
Tu
Il/Elle/On
Nous
Vous
Ils/Elles
Verb
Aller
Avoir
Faire
Etre
Aller
Faire
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PRESENT TENSE (e.g.: I play) .................................................... 1
PERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I played) ................................................ 2
THE IMPERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I used to play) ............................... 4
THE FUTURE TENSE (e.g.:I will play/I am going to play) ............... 5
THE CONDITIONAL (e.g.: I would play) .................................... 6
REVIEW OF ALL TENSES ......................................................... 7
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