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 Je (J’) Tu Il/Elle Nous Vous Ils/Elles I You (familiar) He/She and “it” We Y’all (or you formal) They

How to conjugate an -er verb Steps: Example: Find verb Drop –er to get stem Put stem with pronouns and add endings parler Je parle Tu parles Il/Elle parle Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils/Elles parlent

Common –er verbs Habiter Jouer Manger Montrer Parler Penser Pleurer Aider Aimer Chanter Chercher Commencer Compter Danser Demeurer Désirer Donner Entrer Étudier Fermer Habiter Jouer Manger Montrer Parler Penser Pleurer Porter Sonner Tomber Travailler Trouver

Other –er verbs Oublier Passer Prêter Quitter Raconter Regarder Apporter Couper Coûter Demander Écouter Emprunter Essayer Expliquer Frapper Garder Gronder Laisser Laver Oublier Passer Prêter Quitter Raconter Regarder Rencontrer Téléphoner Traverser Voler Voyager

Translation French English Je parle Tu parles Il/Elle parle Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils/elles parlent I speak, I do speak, I am speaking You speak, you do speak, you are speaking He/She speaks, he/she does speak, he/she is speaking We speak, we do speak, we are speaking Y’all speak, y’all do speak, you are speaking They speak, do they speak, they are speaking

Questions Tu parles français? Parles-tu français? 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 Tu ne parles pas français? 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: Example: Find verb Drop –ir to get stem Put stem with pronouns and add endings finir Je finis Tu finis Il/Elle finit Nous finissons Vous finissez Ils/Elles finissent

How to conjugate an -re verb Steps: Example: Find verb Drop –re to get stem Put stem with pronouns and add endings vendre Je vends Tu vends Il/Elle vend Nous vendons Vous vendez Ils/Elles vendent

Common –ir and –re verbs Bâtir Choisir Finir Grandir Grossir Guérir Obéir Punir Remplir Réussir Rougir Maigrir 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 suis ai Tu -es es as Il/Elle/On __ est a Nous -ons -issons sommes avons Vous -ez -issez êtes avez Ils/Elles -ent -issent -enz sont ont