Conjugation for regular verbs (- er , - ir , and –re)

1. Conjugation for regular verbs(-er, -ir, and –re)

2. Verbs are action words and you cannot speak French without them! There are three main verb categories in French: -er, -ir, and –re verbs

3. -er verbs are the most common Examples: visiter, voyager, parler, habiter, manger, aimer, adorer, détester, étudier, regarder, écouter

4. You also need to know pronouns • Je (J’) • Tu • Il/Elle • Nous • Vous • Ils/Elles • I • You (familiar) • He/She and “it” • We • Y’all (or you formal) • They

5. How to conjugate an -er verb Steps: Example: parler parler Je parle Tuparles Il/Elle parle Nous parlons Vousparlez Ils/Ellesparlent • Find verb • Drop –er to get stem • Put stem with pronouns and add endings

6. Common –er verbs Habiter Jouer Manger Montrer Parler Penser Pleurer Porter Sonner Tomber Travailler Trouver • Aider • Aimer • Chanter • Chercher • Commencer • Compter • Danser • Demeurer • Désirer • Donner • Entrer • Étudier • Fermer

7. Other –er verbs Oublier Passer Prêter Quitter Raconter Regarder Rencontrer Téléphoner Traverser Voler Voyager • Apporter • Couper • Coûter • Demander • Écouter • Emprunter • Essayer • Expliquer • Frapper • Garder • Gronder • Laisser • Laver

8. Translation French English I speak, I do speak, I am speaking You speak, you do speak, you are speaking He/She speaks, he/she does speak, he/she is speaking We speak, we do speak, we are speaking Y’all speak, y’all do speak, you are speaking They speak, do they speak, they are speaking • Je parle • Tuparles • Il/Elle parle • Nous parlons • Vousparlez • Ils/ellesparlent

9. Questions French questions can be made three ways Adding a question mark Inversion Adding est-ceque • Tuparlesfrançais? • Parles-tufrançais? • Est-cequetuparlesfrançais?

10. Negative Questions French questions can be made three ways The ne…pas goes around the verb and anything attached. Adding a question mark Inversion Adding est-ceque • Tu ne parlespas français? • Ne parles-tu pas français? • Est-cequetu ne parlesfrançais pas?

11. Negatives • Add ne…pas around the verb • Sometimes it is n’ • Negative question • Je neparlepasfrançais. • Tun’aimespasl’école. • N’aimes-tupasl’école?

12. How to conjugate an -ir verb Steps: Example: finir finir Je finis Tu finis Il/Elle finit Nous finissons Vousfinissez Ils/Ellesfinissent • Find verb • Drop –ir to get stem • Put stem with pronouns and add endings

13. How to conjugate an -re verb Steps: Example: vendre vendre Je vends Tu vends Il/Elle vend Nous vendons Vousvendez Ils/Ellesvendent • Find verb • Drop –re to get stem • Put stem with pronouns and add endings

14. Common –ir and –re verbs • Bâtir • Choisir • Finir • Grandir • Grossir • Guérir • Obéir • Punir • Remplir • Réussir • Rougir • Maigrir • Attendre • Défendre • Descendre • Entendre • Perdre • Rendre • Répondre • Vendre

15. The Pronoun “on” • The pronouns “on” is conjugated like il or elle in French. • It means many things that don’t really translate easily into English. • It can be used for “one” as in “One should do one’s best.” • It can be used as a general you as in “You have to be 18 in order to buy lottery tickets.” • It can replace the nous for saying “we.” • It can be used for invitations (Let’s) as in “Let’s do lunch.” • It can be used for talking about PEOPLE in general as in “People should be nice.” • It can be used for “they” when talking about generalizations as in “They say French is hard.”

16. Shortcut for endings