1. Conjugation for regular verbs (-er, -ir, and –re)

2. Verbs are action words and you cannot speak French without them!
There are three main verb categories in French: -er, -ir, and –re verbs

3. -er verbs are the most common
Examples: visiter, voyager, parler, habiter, manger, aimer, adorer, détester, étudier, regarder, écouter

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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.”

16. 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