Grammaire 1: -ER verbs
Before going further, let’s review a few grammatical terminologies.
When a verb is not conjugated, it does not have a subject that is performing the action. This is called the infinitive form (i.e. aimer, danser, dormir).
To make infinitives in English we place the word to in front of verb: “to study, to like, to walk, to dream”, etc.
The infinitives of most French words end in -er: étudier, aimer, danser, marcher, etc. These are called “regular -er verbs.”
Present tense of regular -er verbs
We have been practicing the verb aimer (to like, to love) along with different subjects since section 7.
Conjugaison au présent du verbe aimer (to like, to love):
| pronoms sujets au singulier | pronoms sujets au pluriel |
|---|---|
| j’aime | nous aimons |
| tu aimes | vous aimez |
| il/elle/on aime | ils/elles aiment |
We have been specifically using aimer along with a second verb in the infinitive form (un infinitif) to indicate likes and dislikes:
| sujets | verbe aimer | infinitif | (translation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Je (j’) | aime | danser | (I like to danse) | |||
| Tu | aimes | dormir | (You like to sleep) |
|
||
| Elles | n’aiment pas | étudier | (They don’t like to study) |
Conjugating any regular -er verb is easy! You need to identify the stem (le radical) by removing -er from the infinitive form and remember the six present tense endings specific to -er verbs:-e,-es,-e,-ons,-ez,-ent
1) Identify the stem:
| infinitive form (translation) | stem |
|---|---|
| aimer (to like) | aim- |
| étudier (to study)
travailler (to work) etc. |
étudi-
travaill- etc. |
| Sujets | Terminaisons |
|---|---|
| je | -e |
| tu | -es |
| il, elle, on | -e |
| nous | -ons |
| vous | -ez |
| ils, elles | -ent |
All regular -er verbs are conjugated in the same way. So, if you remember how to match the endings with the subjects of the verb, then you will be able to use thousands of verbs correctly such as the ones below. Familiarize yourself with the list of common -er verb in the vocabulary section.
| Pronoms sujets | Terminaisons | Exemples | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | -e → | je danse | I dance |
| tu | -es → | tu chantes | you sing |
| il/elle/on | -e → | elle habite | she lives |
| nous | -ons → | nous arrivons | we arrive |
| vous | -ez → | vous mangez | you (all) eat |
| ils/elles | -ent → | ils voyagent | they travel |
The following tables conjugate the regular -er verb étudier and parler with the same familiar endings.
ÉTUDIER (to study)
| pronoms sujets au singulier | pronoms sujets au pluriel |
|---|---|
| j’étudie | nous étudions |
| tu étudies | vous étudiez |
| il/elle/on étudie | ils/elles étudient |
| pronoms sujets au singulier | pronoms sujets au pluriel |
|---|---|
| je parle | nous parlons |
| tu parles | vous parlez |
| il/elle/on parle | ils/elles parlent |
Notes
- Notice that je becomes j’ when a verb starts with a vowel (or mute h). I.e. j’étudie, j’habite. (I study, I live.)
- You will notice that all the forms in the left column (je, tu, il/elle/on) and the ils/elles forms are all pronounced the same: the endings -e, -es, and -ent are all silent: thus, étudie, étudies and étudient sound exactly the same even though the spelling is different.
- Because the verbs aimer and étudier both start with vowels (a-, é-), the subjects on, nous, vous, ils and elles will be pronounced differently! The last letter for each of these subject-pronouns is normally silent (-n, – s), but with verbs that start with a vowel, they must be pronounced. This is called making liaisons.
- Verbs like manger (to eat) and commencer (to start) have a spelling change in the nous form: nous mangeons, nous commençons to preserve the soft g and c sound.
- French present tense indicates an action that is either actually occurring at the time of speaking, or that happens in general. The French present may be translated in three different ways in English depending on the intended meaning. For example:
Craig parle français.
=Craig is speaking French. (right now, progressive action)
or
=Craig speaks French. (in general, habitual action)
or
=Craig does speak French. (emphatic or contrastive)
