French grammar · Beginner (A1)
The present tense of -er verbs
How to conjugate regular -er verbs like parler in the present tense, plus the small spelling changes in manger and appeler.
One pattern for most verbs
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb, the one you find in a dictionary, like (to speak). Most French verbs end in -er, and almost all of them follow the same pattern.
To conjugate the verb (change it for each person), take off -er and add the endings below. The French present covers both “I speak” and “I am speaking”.
| Person | Ending | (to speak) |
|---|---|---|
| -e | ||
| -es | ||
| / / | -e | |
| -ons | ||
| -ez | ||
| / | -ent |
What you hear
The endings -e, -es and -ent are silent. So , and all sound exactly the same. Only and sound different.
With a verb that starts with a vowel or a silent h, becomes j', and you link the s of , , and with a z sound, as in and .
- J'habite à Toulouse.I live in Toulouse.
- Vous travaillez aujourd'hui ?Are you working today?
- Ils aiment beaucoup le sport.They really like sport.
Small spelling changes
Some -er verbs are regular in sound but change their spelling a little. Verbs in -ger keep an e before -ons: . Verbs in -cer add a ç: .
Some verbs change a letter when the ending is silent. doubles the l and (to buy) adds an accent: , , but , .
| Verb | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (to eat) | |||
| (to start) | |||
| (to call) | |||
| (to buy) |
The big exception: aller
(to go) ends in -er but is completely irregular: , , , , , . It is the one really irregular -er verb, so learn it by heart.
- Je vais au travail à vélo.I go to work by bike.