The Basics of French Verb Conjugation
–ER Verbs
-RE Verbs
-IR Verbs
Robert J. LaRocque
CEP 811
The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an opportunity to learn, practice, or review French verb conjugation in the affirmative. Click on a unit below to focus on a specific topic or begin with ‘The Basics of French Verb Conjugation’ and work your way through all four units. There are some quizzes along the way to help monitor your progress.
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Why do we conjugate verbs in French?
Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show person and number
The three persons are:
The two number in English and French are:
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French Subject Pronouns
The subject pronouns in French do not correspond exactly to the English system. The French verb forms designated by person and number are summarized in the chart below with their English equivalent in parentheses.
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
FIRST PERSON | je (I) | nous (we) |
SECOND PERSON | tu (you) | vous (you) |
THIRD PERSON | il (he) | ils (they (m.)) |
| elle (she) | elles (they (f.)) |
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Some Things to Remember About French Subject Pronouns
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French Verb Classes
French verbs have more endings than English verbs. The endings in French reflect the subject and show tense and mood. There are 3 major classes, called conjugations. Each conjugation has its own set of endings. The conjugation to which a verb belongs is shown by the infinitive, the form ending in –er, -ir, or –re.
For Example:
parler (to speak) -er verb or first-conjugation verb
finir (to finish) -ir verb or second-conjugation verb
vendre (to sell) -re verb or third-conjugation verb
✔ For Understanding
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The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 1
Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show:
Day & Time
Person and Feelings
Person and Number
I’m not sure, I need to review the basics again.
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The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 2
Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular and plural first person forms.
Tu & Ils
Ils & Elles
Je & Tu
Je & Nous
Il & Elle
Nous & Vous
Elle & Elles
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The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 3
Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular third person forms.
Tu & Ils
Il & Elle
Je & Nous
Nous & Elles
Tu & Vous
Il & Ils
Je & Vous
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The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 4
There are two subject pronouns, tu and vous that can be used for ‘you’. What is the difference between these to forms or when is it appropriate to use each form?
Tu is used for informal relationships. Vous is used for formal relationships.
Vous is used with referring to strangers, adults, persons of authority.
Tu is used for people you know well, friends, and family.
All of the above
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The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 5
Ils is the third person plural subject pronoun. It can be used to identify a group of males or a group of males & females.
True
False
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Click Here to Learn about –ER Verbs
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What is an –er verb?
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Examples of –er Verbs
nager- to swim
étudier- to study
parler- to talk
penser- to think
manger- to eat
danser- to dance
écouter- to listen
regarder- to watch
aimer- to like
adorer- to love
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-ER Verb Conjugation
Most –er verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –er verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb aimer. Remember, the –er verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –er verb will be conjugated using this process.
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– ER Verb Conjugation
Step 1
The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –er off of the infinitive.
aimer
aimer
aim
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The infinitive
Drop the –er ending
The stem
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– ER Verb Conjugation
Step 2
Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –er verbs, the endings we add are:
je (j’) -e nous -ons
tu -es vous -ez
il -e ils -ent
elle -e elles -ent
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– ER Verb Conjugation
Using the stem, aim- , and the endings for regular –er verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb aimer will look like.
je (j’) aime nous aimons
tu aimes vous aimez
il aime ils aiment
elle aime elles aiment
Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.
TEST YOUR SKILLS
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Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs
For each question, the –er verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank.
Example Question
Il __________ les escargots. (aimer)
a. aimes b. aiment c. aime d. aimons
Ready to Begin?
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Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs
Question # 1
Elles _______________ la télévision. (regarder)
regarde regardent regardez regardes
A
B
C
D
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Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs
Question # 2
Je _______________ la pizza. (manger)
mange mangent mangeons mangez
A
B
C
D
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-ER Verbs
Question # 3
Nous _______________ au téléphone. (parler)
parle parlent parlez parlons
A
B
C
D
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-ER Verbs
Question # 4
Vous _______________ la musique française. (écouter)
écoutez écoutent écoutes écoutons
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-ER Verbs
Question # 5
J’ _______________ le français!
aime aiment aimes aimez
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-ER Verb Conjugation Video In Review
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– ER Verb Conjugation
Video in Review
-IR Verbs➔
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What is an –ir verb?
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Examples of –ir Verbs
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agir
to act
choisir
to choose
finir
to finish
grossir
to gain weight
réussir
to succeed
réfléchir
to reflect
maigrir
to lose weight
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-IR Verb Conjugation
Most –ir verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –ir verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb finir. Remember, the –ir verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –ir verb will be conjugated using this process.
Next ➔
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– IR Verb Conjugation
Step 1
The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –ir off of the infinitive.
finir
finir
fin
Next ➔
✕
The infinitive
Drop the –ir ending
The stem
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– IR Verb Conjugation
Step 2
Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –ir verbs, the endings we add are:
je (j’) -is nous -issons tu -is vous -issez
il -it ils -issent
elle -it elles -issent
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– IR Verb Conjugation
Using the stem, fin- , and the endings for regular –ir verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb finir will look like.
je (j’) finis nous finissons
tu finis vous finissez
il finit ils finissent
elle finit elles finissent
Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.
TEST YOUR SKILLS
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Test Your Skills
-IR Verbs
For each question, the –ir verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank.
Example Question
Il __________ les escargots. (choisir)
a. choisis b. choisissons c. choisit d. choisissent
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Test Your Skills
-IR Verbs
Question # 1
Il _______________ ses devoirs. (finir)
finit finissent finissons finis
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D
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Test Your Skills
-IR Verbs
Question # 2
Je _______________ un bon restaurant pour le dèjeuner. (chosir)
choisit choisis choisissez choisissent
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-IR Verbs
Question # 3
Ils _______________. (réfléchir)
réfléchit réfléchis réfléchissons réfléchissent
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-IR Verbs
Question # 4
Il_______________ après il mange le gâteau. (grossir)
grossit grossis grossissez grossissons
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Test Your Skills
-IR Verbs
Question # 5
Tu _______________ à tout ce que fait. (réussir)
réussissent réussis réussit réussissons
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-IR Verb Conjugation Video In Review
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-IR Verb Conjugation Video In Review
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– IR Verb Conjugation
Video in Review
-RE Verbs➔
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What is an –re verb?
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Examples of –re Verbs
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prétendre
to pretend
répondre
to respond
attendre
to wait
descendre
to descend
vendre
to sell
perdre
to lose
écrire
to write
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-RE Verb Conjugation
Most –re verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –re verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the verb vendre. Remember, the –re verbs listed on the last slide and any regular –re verb will be conjugated using this process.
Next ➔
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– RE Verb Conjugation
Step 1
The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –re off of the infinitive.
vendre
vendre
vend
Next ➔
✕
The infinitive
Drop the –re ending
The stem
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– RE Verb Conjugation
Step 2
Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –re verbs, the endings we add are:
je (j’) -s nous -ons
tu -s vous -ez
il - ils -ent
elle - elles -ent
Next ➔
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– RE Verb Conjugation
Using the stem, vend, and the endings for regular –re verbs, this is what the conjugation for the verb vendre will look like.
je (j’) vends nous vendons
tu vends vous vendez
il vend ils vendent
elle vend elles vendent
Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.
TEST YOUR SKILLS
•
Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs
For each question, the –re verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the blank.
Example Question
Il __________ les escargots. (perdre)
a. perd b. perds c. perdons d. perdez
Ready to Begin?
Click Here to Start
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Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs
Question # 1
Nous _______________ une lettre à nos amis. (écrire)
écrit écrivez écrivons écrivent
A
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D
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Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs
Question # 2
Je _______________ les escargots. (vendre)
vendons vend vends vendent
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-RE Verbs
Question # 3
Elle_______________ l’autobus. (attendre)
attends attendent attendons attend
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-RE Verbs
Question # 4
Ils_______________ l’escalier. (descendre)
descends descendent descend descendons
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-RE Verbs
Question # 5
Je _______________ être le français! (prétendre)
prétends prétend prétendons prétendez
Click here…
-REVerb Conjugation Video In Review
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-REVerb Conjugation Video In Review
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– RE Verb Conjugation
Video in Review
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