The Basics of French Verb Conjugation Robert J. LaRocque CEP 811 The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an opportunity to learn, practice, or review French verb conjugation in the affirmative. Click on a unit below to focus on a specific topic or begin with ‘The Basics of French Verb Conjugation’ and work your way through all four units. There are some quizzes along the way to help monitor your progress. The Basics of French Verb Conjugation –ER Verbs -IR Verbs -RE Verbs

Why do we conjugate verbs in French? Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show person and number The three persons are: The speaker or 1st person (I) The person spoken too or 2nd person (you) The person or thing referred to or 3rd person (he, she, it) The two number in English and French are: Singular Plural Next 

French Subject Pronouns The subject pronouns in French do not correspond exactly to the English system. The French verb forms designated by person and number are summarized in the chart below with their English equivalent in parentheses.   SINGULAR PLURAL FIRST PERSON je (I) nous (we) SECOND PERSON tu (you) vous (you) THIRD PERSON il (he) ils (they (m.)) elle (she) elles (they (f.)) Next 

Some Things to Remember About French Subject Pronouns French has two subject pronouns meaning you, tu and vous. Tu is used when addressing one person to show an informal relationship. Use this pronoun with relatives, friends, classmates, etc. Vous is used when addressing one person to show a formal relationship. Use this pronoun with strangers, neighbors, adult colleagues, persons of authority, etc. Vous can also be used to address more than one person in informal and formal relationships. The third-person plural pronouns in French distinguish gender: ils v. elles The masculine form, ils, is used for groups of males or groups of males and females. The feminine from, elles, is used for groups consisting of only females. Next 

French Verb Classes French verbs have more endings than English verbs. The endings in French reflect the subject and show tense and mood. There are 3 major classes, called conjugations. Each conjugation has its own set of endings. The conjugation to which a verb belongs is shown by the infinitive, the form ending in –er, -ir, or –re. For Example: parler (to speak) -er verb or first-conjugation verb finir (to finish) -ir verb or second-conjugation verb vendre (to sell) -re verb or third-conjugation verb ✔ For Understanding

The Basics of Conjugation Question # 1 Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show: Day & Time Person and Feelings Person and Number I’m not sure, I need to review the basics again. A B C D

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The Basics of Conjugation Question # 2 Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular and plural first person forms. Tu & Ils Elle & Elles Je & Tu Ils & Elles Je & Nous Il & Elle Nous & Vous

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The Basics of Conjugation Question # 3 Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular third person forms. Tu & Ils Il & Ils Je & Vous Il & Elle Je & Nous Nous & Elles Tu & Vous

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The Basics of Conjugation Question # 4 There are two subject pronouns, tu and vous that can be used for ‘you’. What is the difference between these to forms or when is it appropriate to use each form? Tu is used for informal relationships. Vous is used for formal relationships. Vous is used with referring to strangers, adults, persons of authority. Tu is used for people you know well, friends, and family. All of the above A B C D

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The Basics of Conjugation Question # 5 Ils is the third person plural subject pronoun. It can be used to identify a group of males or a group of males & females. True False

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What is an –er verb? -er verbs are considered first conjugation verbs -er verbs are the most numerous among French verbs The infinitive of the verb ends in –er. Next 

Examples of –er Verbs adorer- to love regarder- to watch danser- to dance regarder- to watch aimer- to like adorer- to love nager- to swim écouter- to listen manger- to eat parler- to talk penser- to think étudier- to study Next 

-ER Verb Conjugation Most –er verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –er verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb aimer. Remember, the –er verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –er verb will be conjugated using this process. Next 

aimer aim ✕ – ER Verb Conjugation Step 1 The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –er off of the infinitive. aimer aim The infinitive ✕ Drop the –er ending The stem Next 

– ER Verb Conjugation je (j’) -e nous -ons tu -es vous -ez Step 2 Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –er verbs, the endings we add are: je (j’) -e nous -ons tu -es vous -ez il -e ils -ent elle -e elles -ent Next 

Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel. – ER Verb Conjugation Using the stem, aim- , and the endings for regular –er verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb aimer will look like. je (j’) aime nous aimons tu aimes vous aimez il aime ils aiment elle aime elles aiment Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel. TEST YOUR SKILLS

Test Your Skills -ER Verbs For each question, the –er verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank. Example Question Il __________ les escargots. (aimer) a. aimes b. aiment c. aime d. aimons Ready to Begin? Click Here to Start

Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 1 Elles _______________ la télévision. (regarder) regarde regardent regardez regardes A B C D

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Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 2 Je _______________ la pizza. (manger) mange mangent mangeons mangez A B C D

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Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 3 Nous _______________ au téléphone. (parler) parle parlent parlez parlons A B C D

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Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 4 Vous _______________ la musique française. (écouter) écoutez écoutent écoutes écoutons A B C D

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-ER Verb Conjugation Video In Review Test Your Skills -ER Verbs Question # 5 J’ _______________ le français! aime aiment aimes aimez A B C D Click here… -ER Verb Conjugation Video In Review

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– ER Verb Conjugation Video in Review Click Here to open video in youtube -IR Verbs

What is an –ir verb? -er verbs are considered second conjugation verbs The infinitive of the verb ends in –ir. Next 

Examples of –ir Verbs agir to act choisir to choose finir to finish grossir to gain weight maigrir to lose weight réfléchir to reflect réussir to succeed Next 

-IR Verb Conjugation Most –ir verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –ir verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb finir. Remember, the –ir verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –ir verb will be conjugated using this process. Next 

finir fin ✕ – IR Verb Conjugation Step 1 The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –ir off of the infinitive. finir fin The infinitive ✕ Drop the –ir ending The stem Next 

– IR Verb Conjugation je (j’) -is nous -issons tu -is vous -issez Step 2 Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –ir verbs, the endings we add are: je (j’) -is nous -issons tu -is vous -issez il -it ils -issent elle -it elles -issent Next 

Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel. – IR Verb Conjugation Using the stem, fin- , and the endings for regular –ir verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb finir will look like. je (j’) finis nous finissons tu finis vous finissez il finit ils finissent elle finit elles finissent Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel. TEST YOUR SKILLS

Test Your Skills -IR Verbs For each question, the –ir verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank. Example Question Il __________ les escargots. (choisir) a. choisis b. choisissons c. choisit d. choisissent Ready to Begin? Click Here to Start

Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 1 Il _______________ ses devoirs. (finir) finit finissent finissons finis A B C D

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Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 2 Je _______________ un bon restaurant pour le dèjeuner. (chosir) choisit choisis choisissez choisissent A B C D

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Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 3 Ils _______________. (réfléchir) réfléchit réfléchis réfléchissons réfléchissent A B C D

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Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 4 Il_______________ après il mange le gâteau. (grossir) grossit grossis grossissez grossissons A B C D

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-IR Verb Conjugation Video In Review Test Your Skills -IR Verbs Question # 5 Tu _______________ à tout ce que fait. (réussir) réussissent réussis réussit réussissons A B C D Click here… -IR Verb Conjugation Video In Review

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– IR Verb Conjugation Video in Review Click Here to open video in youtube -RE Verbs

What is an –re verb? -re verbs are considered third conjugation verbs The infinitive of the verb ends in –re. Next 

Examples of –re Verbs prétendre to pretend répondre to respond attendre to wait descendre to descend vendre to sell perdre to lose écrire to write Next 

-RE Verb Conjugation Most –re verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –re verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb vendre. Remember, the –re verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –re verb will be conjugated using this process. Next 

vendre vend ✕ – RE Verb Conjugation Step 1 The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –re off of the infinitive. vendre vend The infinitive ✕ Drop the –re ending The stem Next 

– RE Verb Conjugation je (j’) -s nous -ons tu -s vous -ez Step 2 Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –re verbs, the endings we add are: je (j’) -s nous -ons tu -s vous -ez il - ils -ent elle - elles -ent Next 

Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel. – RE Verb Conjugation Using the stem, vend, and the endings for regular –re verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb vendre will look like. je (j’) vends nous vendons tu vends vous vendez il vend ils vendent elle vend elles vendent Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel. TEST YOUR SKILLS

Test Your Skills -RE Verbs For each question, the –re verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank. Example Question Il __________ les escargots. (perdre) a. perd b. perds c. perdons d. perdez Ready to Begin? Click Here to Start

Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 1 Nous _______________ une lettre à nos amis. (écrire) écrit écrivez écrivons écrivent A B C D

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Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 2 Je _______________ les escargots. (vendre) vendons vend vends vendent A B C D

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Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 3 Elle_______________ l’autobus. (attendre) attends attendent attendons attend A B C D

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Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 4 Ils_______________ l’escalier. (descendre) descends descendent descend descendons A B C D

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-REVerb Conjugation Video In Review Test Your Skills -RE Verbs Question # 5 Je _______________ être le français! (prétendre) prétends prétend prétendons prétendez A B C D Click here… -REVerb Conjugation Video In Review

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– RE Verb Conjugation Video in Review Click Here to open video in youtube Main Menu