Learn First Conjugation Verbs in French Present Tense

FIRST CONJUGATION VERBS IN PRESENT TENSE

Many of the most frequently used verbs belong to the first conjugation. Regular first conjugation verbs are commonly referred to as er verbs since their infinitives end in er. In order to form the present tense of er verbs, the infinitive ending er is dropped. To the root, the following endings are added according to the personal pronouns: je -e, tu es, il/elle/on e, nous ons, vous ez, ils/ells ent.

Parler (to speak) Je parle Tu parles Il/elle/on parle Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils/elles parlent

Chanter (to sing) Je chante I sing/ I am singing Tu chantes- You sing/you are singing Il/elle/on chante- He/she/one sings/ is singing Nous chantons- We sing/we are singing Vous chantez- you sing/ you are singing Ils/elles chantent- they sing/they are singing

Travailler (to work) Je travaille- I work/ I am working Tu travailles You work/ you are working Il/elle/on travaille- He/she/one works Nous travaillons- we work/we are working Vous travaillez- You work/ you are working Ils/elles travaillent- They work/they are working

Regarder (to watch/look) Je regarde- I watch/I am watching Tu regardes- You watch/you are watching Il/elle/on regarde- He/she/one is watching Nous regardons- We are watching/we watch Vous regardez- You watch/you are watching Ils/elles regardent- They are watching

Des phrases: Je parle fran ais Nous parlons Yoruba Kemi travaille la banque Ils travaillent au minist re de la sant Elle chante des chansons indiennes Tu chantes le pop Je regarde la t l Vous regardez les films am ricains

Partial list of ER Verbs Adorer- to love Allumer- to put on the light Assister a- to attend Aider- to help Apporter- to bring Bruler- to burn Chercher- to look for Danser- to dance Dejeuner- to have lunch

Deranger- to disturb Discuter- to discuss Fermer- to close Gagner- to win/earn Jouer- to play Aimer- to love/like Arriver- to arrive Accoucher- to give birth

Ajouter- to add Bavarder- to chat Casser- to break Commander- to order D cider- to decide Demander- to ask Diner- to dine Donner- to give Flirter- to flirt

Hsiter- to hesitate Laisser- to leave Laver- to wash Passer- to spend time Pr parer- to prepare Rester- to stay Tomber- to fall Tromper- to deceive

Marcher- to walk Porter- to carry/wear Rencontrer- to meet Retourner- to return Traverser- to cross Visiter- to visit

Exercices Complete the following sentences with the correct forms of the indicated verb. Vous . la maison. (rester) La fille .. une histoire. (raconter) Nous .. beaucoup de questions. (poser) Kemi et Charles l cole. (Marcher) Mon fr re .. une bourse. (gagner) Elles souvent au restaurant. (diner) Tu .. des chansons populaires. (chanter) Les enfants . L escalier. (monter) Je . Mes livres fran ais. (chercher) Kelvin les vaisselles. (laver)

Verbs beginning with a vowel With verbs beginning with a vowel or silent h , the pronoun je becomes j . This is called elision. In the nous, vous, ils, and elles forms, a z sound is heard between the pronoun and a following verb. This is called liaison.

Aider- to help Aimer- to like/love Arriver- to arrive Ecouter- to listen to Embrasser- to kiss/embrace Enseigner- to teach Etudier- to study Entrer- to enter.

Verbs with spelling changes: Verbs ending in cer and ger . Verbs ending in -cer add a cedilla to the c before the letters a or o in order to retain the soft c sound. Examples Avancer- nous avan ons Commencer- nous commen ons Lancer- nous lan ons

Verbs ending in -ger add an e after the g before the letters a and o in order to maintain the soft g sound. Examples: Manger- Nous mangeons Changer- Nous changeons Nager- Nous nageons

Verbs with in the infinitive, in the next to the last syllable change to in all forms except the nous and vous forms. Examples: Compl ter- to complete C der- to cede/yield Consid rer- to consider C l brer- to celebrate R p ter- to repeat Pr f rer- to prefere

complter Je compl te Tu compl tes Il/elle/on compl te Nous compl tons Vous compl tez Ils/elles compl tent

Celebrer Je c l bre Tu c l bres Il/elle/on c l bre Nous c l brons Vous c l brez Ils/elles c l brent

Verbs with e in the infinitive, in the next to the last syllable, change e to in all forms except the nous and the vous form. Examples: Lever- to raise, to rise, to get up Acheter- to buy Amener- to bring Promener-to take a walk Enlever- to remove/take off Geler- to freeze

Acheter J ach te Tu ach tes Il/elle/on ach te Nous achetons Vous achetez Ils/elles ach tent

Lever Je l ve Tu l ves Il/elle/on l ve Nous levons Vous levez Ils/elles l vent

Some other verbs with e, double the final consonant in all forms except nous and vous forms. Examples: Jeter- To throw away Appeler- to call Renouveler- to renew

Jeter Je jette Tu jettes Il/elle/on jette Nous jetons Vous jetez Ils/elles jettent

renouveler Je renouvelle Tu renouvelles Il/elle/on renouvelle Nous renouvelons Vous renouvelez Ils/elles renouvellent

Verbs with - yer in the infinitive. Verbs with infinitive endings like -oyer and -uyer change -y to -i in all but the nous and vous forms. The verbs ending in -ayer may change the y to i before an e that is silent, but they can keep the y . Examples: Employer- to use Ennuyer- to bore Essayer- to try Envoyer- to send Essuyer- to wipe Nettoyer- to clean Payer- to pay Balayer- to sweep

Employer J emploie Tu emploies Il/elle emploie Nous employons Vous employez Ils/elles employent

Payer Je paye (paie) Tu payes (paies) Il/elle/on paye (paie) Nous payons Vous payez Ils/elles payent (paient)

Exercises Complete the following with the appropriate form of the verbs indicated and translate the phrases. Tu le gar on. (appeler) J .. une voiture. (acheter) Nous . la le on. (commencer) Jenny le devoir. (Commencer)

Nous . bien. (nager) Nous la f te. (c l brer) Nous le rideau. (lever) Vous .. la balle. (jeter) Ils les fen tres. (essuyer) Tu la lettre par avion. (envoyer)