French · A1 · Grammar
French Present Tense: Conjugating Regular -ER Verbs
To conjugate a regular French verb ending in -er in the present, remove -er and add the ending for the subject. With parler, say je parle, tu parles and elle parle. Several written endings sound the same, so the subject pronoun helps listeners tell who is doing the action.
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Examples
| French | English |
|---|---|
| je parle / tu parles | I speak / you speak |
| nous parlons / vous parlez | we speak / you speak |
| ils parlent | they speak |
The six endings
The written endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez and -ent. Build a pair with regarder: Nous regardons un film and Vous regardez un film. In Ils regardent un film, the written -ent is silent.
Use the same pattern twice
Compare Je travaille à Paris and Mes amis travaillent à Lyon. The singular and plural forms sound alike in isolation, even though they are spelled differently. Verbs such as manger have a spelling adjustment in nous mangeons, and aller is irregular despite ending in -er.
Try it
Fill in the endings: Nous regard___ la carte. Elles parl___ français.
Show answer
Nous regardons la carte. Elles parlent français.
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