Boot verbs!
Aim: to be able to recognise a pattern in a
verb conjugation.
With the help of Tex’s French grammar and Frenchabout.com
and
Special thanks to Madame H Desmier for sharing her ideas.
par Madame D Reed
A reminder:
There are three major groups of regular
verbs in French:
• verbs with infinitives ending in -er,
• verbs with infinitives ending in -ir, and
• verbs with infinitives ending in -re.
par Madame D Reed
Since -er verbs are the most numerous,
they are considered the first conjugation.
To conjugate these verbs:
1. drop the -er from the infinitive to form the
stem.
2. Next, add the –er endings to the stem.
(Different tenses have different endings.)
par Madame D Reed
The following endings:
-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent
are for forming the present tense.
What pattern can you see?
1. The endings (-e, -es, -e, and -ent) are all silent.
2. The only endings that are pronounced are the
nous (-ons) and the vous (-ez) endings.
par Madame D Reed
The four silent endings form a boot shape in the
verb conjugation.
if you draw the pattern with one continuous line,
it looks like a boot.
Read and listen to the following example.
par Madame D Reed
Parler = to speak
Je parle
Nous parlons
Tu parles
Vous parlez
Il/elle/on parle
Ils/elles parlent
Past participle: parlé
par Madame D Reed
• Now give examples of other verbs you know that
follow a boot pattern.
• Can you find different boot patterns?
Stem-changing verbs are also known as boot
verbs, because the irregular stems occur in all
the singular forms as well as the third person
plural.
par Madame D Reed
1. Verbs in –ayer
Payer* = to pay
Je paie
Nous payons
Tu paies
Vous payez
Il/elle/on paie
Ils/elles paient
*Note: -ayer verbs have an optional stem change in
which y changes to an i in all forms but nous and
vous.
par Madame D Reed
2. Verbs in –oyer
nettoyer = to clean
Je nettoie
Nous nettoyons
Tu nettoies
Vous nettoyez
Il/elle/on nettoie
Ils/elles nettoient
*Note: in the present tense requires stem change y
to i in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed
3. Verbs in –uyer
ennuyer* = to annoy / bore
J’ennuie
Nous ennuyons
Tu ennuies
Vous ennuyez
Il/elle/on ennuie
Ils/elles ennuient
*Note: -uyer verbs have an optional stem change in
which y changes to an i in all forms but nous and
vous.
par Madame D Reed
4. Verbs in –eler
appeler = to call
J’appelle
Nous appelons
Tu appelles
Vous appelez
Il/elle/on appelle
Ils/elles appellent
*Note: present tense: l becomes ll in all forms but
nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed
5. Verbs in –eter
jeter = to throw
Je jette
Nous jetons
Tu jettes
Vous jetez
Il/elle/on jette
Ils/elles jettent
*Note: present tense: t becomes tt in all forms but
nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed
6. Verbs with e in the penultimate syllable
(except for the -eler and -eter verbs, above)
lever = to lift / to raise
Je lève
Nous levons
Tu lèves
Vous levez
Il/elle/on lève
Ils/elles lèvent
*Note: present tense: e in the penultimate syllable
changes to è in all forms but nous and vous.
Present tense: e in the penultimate syllable
par Madame D Reed
6. Verbs with é in the penultimate syllable
considérer = to consider
Je considère
Nous considérons
Tu considères
Vous considérez
Il/elle/on considère
Ils/elles considèrent
*Note: present tense: é in the penultimate syllable
changes to è in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed