Regular Verb Formation
PRESENT TENSE
In French, regular verbs are conjugated
by following 2 simple steps:
Step 1:
Form a stem
Step 2:
Add the correct ending for
the subject of the verb
Regular –er Verbs
1. To form the stem, take the
–er off the end of the
infinitive.
2. Add the following endings
for the different subjects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Je 
Tu 
Il/Elle/On 
Nous 
Vous 
Ils/Elles 
-e
-es
-e
-ons
-ez
-ent
Example of an –er verb conjugation:
• Infinitive: parler (to speak)
• Stem:
parl-
parler
Je parle
Tu parles
Il/elle/on parle
Nous parlons
Vous parlez
Ils/elles parlent
NOTE: je _______
j’
when the following word begins with a ___________.
vowel
Regular –re Verbs
1. To form the stem, take the
–re off the end of the
infinitive.
2. Add the following endings
for the different subjects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Je 
Tu 
Il/Elle/On 
Nous 
Vous 
Ils/Elles 
-s
-s
-ons
-ez
-ent
Example of an –re verb conjugation:
• Infinitive: perdre (to lose)
• Stem:
perd-
perdre
Je perds
Tu perds
Il/elle/on perd
Nous perdons
Vous perdez
Ils/elles perdent
Regular –re verbs
perdre
vendre
to lose
rendre
to give back, return
rendre visite à
to visit (people)
attendre
to wait for
entendre
to hear
descendre
to go down, get off
répondre
to answer
dépendre
to depend
to sell
Regular –ir Verbs
1. To form the stem, take the
–ir off the end of the
infinitive.
2. Add the following endings
for the different subjects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Je 
Tu 
Il/Elle/On 
Nous 
Vous 
Ils/Elles 
-is
-is
-it
-issons
-issez
-issent
Example of an –ir verb conjugation:
• Infinitive: choisir (to choose)
• Stem:
chois-
choisir
Je choisis
Tu choisis
Il/elle/on choisit
Nous choisissons
Vous choisissez
Ils/elles choisissent
Regular –ir verbs
finir
choisir
to finish
grossir
to gain weight
maigrir
to lose weight
obéir à
to obey
réussir à
to succeed
grandir
to grow up
réfléchir à
to think, reflect
accomplir
to accomplish
to choose
Second Conjugation –ir Verbs
Some –ir verbs are conjugated differently than finir,
choisir, etc. They are called Second Conjugation –ir verbs,
MEMORIZED
and they must be ________________!
The following verbs are Second Conjugation –ir verbs:
• dormir
to sleep
• partir
to leave (for a place, at a certain time)
• sortir
to exit (a building), or to go out
to serve
• servir
to feel
• sentir
Second Conjugation –ir Verbs:
dormir, partir, sortir, servir, sentir
1. For the singular subjects
(___,
___,
take
je
il
tu ___/___),
elle
off the __________of
last 3 letters
the infinitive to form the
stem.
3. For the plural subjects
(____,
____/____),
nous ____,
ils
elles
vous
take off the _____
to
-ir
form the stem.
2. Add the following
endings to the stem:
4. Add the following
endings to the stem:
• Je 
• Tu 
• Il/Elle/On 
-s
_____
-s
_____
_____
-t
•
•
•
Nous 
Vous 
Ils/Elles 
_____
-ons
_____
-ez
-ent
_____
Second Conjugation –ir Verbs:
dormir, partir, sortir, servir, sentir
dormir
Stem:
dor-
Stem:
dorm-
Je dors
Nous dormons
Tu dors
Il/Elle/On dort
Vous dormez
Ils/Elles dorment
Boot Verbs
-er
regular
• Boot verbs are _____
verbs that have __________
-er verb
endings
___________
(-___,
-___,
-___,
e
e
es -___,
ons -___,
ent
ez -___)
regular stems for the subjects “out of the boot”
• Boot verbs have __________
(for ________
and ________).
nous
vous
-er
• The ONLY thing different from a boot verb and a regular ____
stem
change
verb is that the __________
has a small ___________
“in the
boot” (for ___,
____/_____/___,
tu
il
elle
ils
je ____,
on and _____/_____).
elles
Boot Verb Stem Changes
Infinitive
Stem change for in the boot
acheter
achèt-
préférer
préfèr-
payer
pai-
appeler
appell-
amener
lever
promener
Verbs like acheter: ________,
_________,
___________
espérer
répéter
accélérer
Verbs like préférer: ________,
__________,
__________
essayer
Verbs like payer: __________
Boot Verb Conjugation
acheter
J’ achète
Nous achetons
Tu achètes
Il/Elle/On achète
Vous achetez
Ils/Elles achètent
préférer
Je
préfère
Nous préférons
Tu
préfères
Vous préférez
Il/Elle/On préfère
Ils/Elles préfèrent
Regular –er Verbs
1. Form a _________ by taking the
______ off the end of the infinitive.
Example of an –er verb conjugation:
• Infinitive: parler (to speak)
• Stem:
2. Add the following __________ to
the ______ for the different subjects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Je 
Tu 
Il/Elle/On 
Nous 
Vous 
Ils/Elles 
parl-
parler
Je
Tu
Il/elle/on
Nous
Vous
Ils/elles
NOTE: je _______ when the following word begins with a ___________.
Second Conjugation –ir Verbs
Some –ir verbs are conjugated differently than finir,
choisir, etc. They are called Second Conjugation –ir verbs,
and they must be ________________!
The following verbs are Second Conjugation –ir verbs:
• dormir
• partir
• sortir
• servir
• sentir
Second Conjugation –ir Verbs:
dormir, partir, sortir, servir, sentir
1. For the singular subjects
(___, ___, ___/___), take
off the
of
the infinitive to form the
stem.
3. For the plural subjects
(____, ____, ____/____),
take off the
to form
the stem.
2. Add the following
endings to the stem:
• Je 
_____
• Tu 
_____
• Il/Elle/On 
_____
4. Add the following
endings to the stem:
• Nous 
_____
• Vous 
_____
• Ils/Elles 
_____
Second Conjugation –ir Verbs:
dormir, partir, sortir, servir, sentir
dormir
Stem:
Stem:
Je
Nous
Tu
Vous
Il/Elle/On
Ils/Elles
Boot Verbs
• Boot verbs are _____ verbs that have __________ -er verb
___________ (-___, -___, -___, -___, -___, -___)
• Boot verbs have __________ _______ for the subjects “out of
the boot” (for ________ and ________).
• The ONLY thing different from a boot verb and a regular ____
verb is that the __________ has a small ___________ “in the
boot” (for ___, ____, ____/_____/___, and _____/_____).
Boot Verb Stem Changes
Infinitive
Stem change for in the boot
acheter
préférer
payer
appeler
Verbs like acheter: ________, _________, ___________
Verbs like préférer: ________, __________, __________
Verbs like payer: __________