Conjugation for regular verbs
(-er, -ir, and –re)
Verbs are action words and you
cannot speak French without them!
There are three main verb categories
in French: -er, -ir, and –re verbs
-er verbs are the most common
Examples: visiter, voyager, parler,
habiter, manger, aimer, adorer,
détester, étudier, regarder, écouter
You also need to know pronouns
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Je (J’)
Tu
Il/Elle
Nous
Vous
Ils/Elles
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I
You (familiar)
He/She and “it”
We
Y’all (or you formal)
They
How to conjugate an -er verb
Steps:
• Find verb
• Drop –er to get stem
• Put stem with pronouns and
add endings
Example:
• parler
• parler
• Je parle
• Tu parles
• Il/Elle parle
• Nous parlons
• Vous parlez
• Ils/Elles parlent
Common –er verbs
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Aider
Aimer
Chanter
Chercher
Commencer
Compter
Danser
Demeurer
Désirer
Donner
Entrer
Étudier
Fermer
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Habiter
Jouer
Manger
Montrer
Parler
Penser
Pleurer
Porter
Sonner
Tomber
Travailler
Trouver
Other –er verbs
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Apporter
Couper
Coûter
Demander
Écouter
Emprunter
Essayer
Expliquer
Frapper
Garder
Gronder
Laisser
Laver
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Oublier
Passer
Prêter
Quitter
Raconter
Regarder
Rencontrer
Téléphoner
Traverser
Voler
Voyager
Translation
French
• Je parle
• Tu parles
• Il/Elle parle
• Nous parlons
• Vous parlez
• Ils/elles parlent
English
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I speak, I do speak, I am speaking
You speak, you do speak, you are
speaking
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He/She speaks, he/she does speak, he/she
is speaking
We speak, we do speak, we are speaking
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Y’all speak, y’all do speak, you are
speaking
They speak, do they speak, they are
speaking
Questions
French questions can be made
three ways
• Tu parles français?
• Parles-tu français?
• Est-ce que tu parles
français?
• Adding a question mark
• Inversion
• Adding est-ce que
Negative Questions
French questions can be made
three ways
The ne…pas goes around the
verb and anything attached.
• Tu ne parles pas français?
• Ne parles-tu pas français?
• Est-ce que tu ne parles
français pas?
• Adding a question mark
• Inversion
• Adding est-ce que
Negatives
• Add ne…pas around the
verb
• Sometimes it is n’
• Negative question
• Je ne parle pas français.
• Tu n’aimes pas l’école.
• N’aimes-tu pas l’école?
How to conjugate an -ir verb
Steps:
• Find verb
• Drop –ir to get stem
• Put stem with pronouns and
add endings
Example:
• finir
• finir
• Je finis
• Tu finis
• Il/Elle finit
• Nous finissons
• Vous finissez
• Ils/Elles finissent
How to conjugate an -re verb
Steps:
• Find verb
• Drop –re to get stem
• Put stem with pronouns and
add endings
Example:
• vendre
• vendre
• Je vends
• Tu vends
• Il/Elle vend
• Nous vendons
• Vous vendez
• Ils/Elles vendent
Common –ir and –re verbs
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Bâtir
Choisir
Finir
Grandir
Grossir
Guérir
Obéir
Punir
Remplir
Réussir
Rougir
Maigrir
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Attendre
Défendre
Descendre
Entendre
Perdre
Rendre
Répondre
Vendre
The Pronoun “on”
• The pronouns “on” is
conjugated like il or elle in
French.
• It means many things that
don’t really translate
easily into English.
• It can be used for “one”
as in “One should do
one’s best.”
• It can be used as a
general you as in “You
have to be 18 in order to
buy lottery tickets.”
• It can replace the nous for
saying “we.”
• It can be used for
invitations (Let’s) as in
“Let’s do lunch.”
• It can be used for talking
about PEOPLE in general
as in “People should be
nice.”
• It can be used for “they”
when talking about
generalizations as in
“They say French is hard.”
Shortcut for endings
-er verb
-ir verb
-re verb
Être
Avoir
Je
-e
-is
-s
suis
ai
Tu
-es
-is
-s
es
as
Il/Elle/On
-e
-is
__
est
a
Nous
-ons
-issons
-ons
sommes
avons
Vous
-ez
-issez
-ez
êtes
avez
Ils/Elles
-ent
-issent
-enz
sont
ont