1. Boot verbs!
Aim: to be able to recognise a pattern in a verb conjugation.
With the help of Tex’s French grammar and Frenchabout.com
and
Special thanks to Madame H Desmier for sharing her ideas.
par Madame D Reed

2. A reminder: There are three major groups of regular verbs in French:
verbs with infinitives ending in -er,
verbs with infinitives ending in -ir, and
verbs with infinitives ending in -re.
par Madame D Reed

3. Since -er verbs are the most numerous,
they are considered the first conjugation.
To conjugate these verbs:
drop the -er from the infinitive to form the stem.
Next, add the –er endings to the stem.
(Different tenses have different endings.)
par Madame D Reed

4. The following endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent
are for forming the present tense.
What pattern can you see?
1. The endings (-e, -es, -e, and -ent) are all silent.
2. The only endings that are pronounced are the nous (-ons) and the vous (-ez) endings.
par Madame D Reed

5. Read and listen to the following example.
The four silent endings form a boot shape in the verb conjugation. if you draw the pattern with one continuous line,
it looks like a boot.
Read and listen to the following example.
par Madame D Reed

6. Parler = to speak Je parle Nous parlons Tu parles Vous parlez
Il/elle/on parle
Ils/elles parlent
Past participle: parlé
par Madame D Reed

7. Now give examples of other verbs you know that follow a boot pattern.
Can you find different boot patterns?
Stem-changing verbs are also known as boot verbs, because the irregular stems occur in all the singular forms as well as the third person plural.
par Madame D Reed

8. 1. Verbs in –ayer Payer* = to pay Je paie Nous payons Tu paies
Vous payez
Il/elle/on paie
Ils/elles paient
*Note: -ayer verbs have an optional stem change in which y changes to an i in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed

9. 2. Verbs in –oyer nettoyer = to clean Je nettoie Nous nettoyons
Tu nettoies
Vous nettoyez
Il/elle/on nettoie
Ils/elles nettoient
*Note: in the present tense requires stem change y to i in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed

10. ennuyer* = to annoy / bore J’ennuie Nous ennuyons Tu ennuies
3. Verbs in –uyer
ennuyer* = to annoy / bore
J’ennuie
Nous ennuyons
Tu ennuies
Vous ennuyez
Il/elle/on ennuie
Ils/elles ennuient
*Note: -uyer verbs have an optional stem change in which y changes to an i in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed

11. *Note: present tense: l becomes ll in all forms but nous and vous.
4. Verbs in –eler
appeler = to call
J’appelle
Nous appelons
Tu appelles
Vous appelez
Il/elle/on appelle
Ils/elles appellent
*Note: present tense: l becomes ll in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed

12. *Note: present tense: t becomes tt in all forms but nous and vous.
5. Verbs in –eter
jeter = to throw
Je jette
Nous jetons
Tu jettes
Vous jetez
Il/elle/on jette
Ils/elles jettent
*Note: present tense: t becomes tt in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed

13. 6. Verbs with e in the penultimate syllable
(except for the -eler and -eter verbs, above)
lever = to lift / to raise
Je lève
Nous levons
Tu lèves
Vous levez
Il/elle/on lève
Ils/elles lèvent
*Note: present tense: e in the penultimate syllable changes to è in all forms but nous and vous.
Present tense: e in the penultimate syllable
par Madame D Reed

14. 6. Verbs with é in the penultimate syllable
considérer = to consider
Je considère
Nous considérons
Tu considères
Vous considérez
Il/elle/on considère
Ils/elles considèrent
*Note: present tense: é in the penultimate syllable changes to è in all forms but nous and vous.
par Madame D Reed