French Grammar Rules How to Conjugate Regular Verbs

French Grammar Rules How to Conjugate Regular Verbs Sign up successful I run, becomes he runs. But often times, English verbs are a little more constant than their French equivalents. For example: I do je fais we do nous faisons they do vous faites French grammar is not totally unpredictable, however. Most French verbs actually follow regular patterns according to three groupings: verbs ending in -er, in -ir, and in -re. Of these three groups, -er verbs are by far the most common. Sometimes people will even create their own verbs by adding -er to another common word! A few examples of regular -er verbs include: aimer to like chercher to search or look for compter to count conseiller to advise continuer to continue donner to give écouter to listen (to) parler to talk sauter to jump tutoyer to address someone using “tu” vousvoyer to address someone using “vous” essayer to try encourager to encourage nager to swim manger to eat In the present tense, these verbs are conjugated by removing the -er ending and adding different endings (see the bold below) for each subject pronoun as follows: je (I) parle tu (you singular) parles il / elle / on (he / she / one) parle nous (we) parlons vous (you plural) parlez ils / elles (they) parlent There are two exceptions of which to be aware (and dedicated students of French know that French loves exceptions). The first involves those -er verbs ending in -ger. As in English, French pronunciation includes the concept of the hard and soft “g.” Like us, the French often denote their soft “g”s by adding an -e after the -g. For the “nous” forms of such verbs, the ending therefore changes from -ons to -eons. For example, the correct “nous” form of “encourager” is not “encouragons,” but “encourageons.” The second involves those verbs ending in -yer. For English nouns ending in -y, the plural form changes -y to -i and adds -es. Likewise here, -yer verbs will change -y to -i in addition to replacing -er with the appropriate ending â€" except (because French loves exceptions!) for the nous and vous forms. For example, the verb “essayer” would be conjugated as follows: J essaie Tu essaies Il / elle / on essaie Nous essayons Vous essayez Ils / elles essaient The second largest category in French, -ir verbs, include: choisir to choose finir to finish grossir to gain weight maigrir to lose weight réussir to succeed rougir to blush vieillir to grow old(er) In the present tense, they are conjugated by removing the -ir and adding the endings in bold in the example below: Je finis Tu finis Il / elle / on finit Nous finissons Vous finissez Ils / elles finissent Some common -ir verbs are irregular, such as sortir (to go out) and venir (to come). Most are conjugated as above. The third and smallest group of regular verbs ends in -re, and include: rendre to return entendre to hear attendre to wait (for) perdre to lose défendre to forbid In the present tense, they are conjugated by removing the -re and adding the endings in the example below: Je rends Tu rends Il / elle / on rend Nous rendons Vous rendez Ils / elles rendent As with the other groupings, there are some irregular -re verbs, such as prendre (to take), connaitre (to be familiar with), lire (to read), mettre (to put down), and boire (to drink). To practice our French grammar, lets try a few examples. In each of the following sentences, try to conjugate the correct form of the verb in parenthesis: 1) Nous _____________ (compter) de 1 à 100. We count from 1 to 100. 2) Vous _____________ (finir) vos devoirs. You are finishing your homework. 3) Je _____________ (conseiller) les étudiants de francais de visiter la France au moins une fois. I advise all French students to visit France at least once. 4) Ils _____________ (parler) avec leurs amis. They talk with their friends. 5) Tu _____________ (maigrir)! You are losing weight! 6) Elle _____________ (nager) tous les jours. She swims every day. 7) Je _____________ (rendre) le livre à la bibliothèque. I am returning the book to the library. 8) Nous _____________ (encourager) les uns les autres. We encourage each other. 9) Tu _____________ (chercher) ton livre de francais. You are looking for your French book. Want to check your answers? Here they are: 1) comptons 2) finissez 3) conseille 4) parlent 5) maigris 6) nage 7) rends 8) encourageons 9) cherches Practice makes perfect, so keep on practicing with your tutor and checking yourself. Check out this list of common regular French verbs for even more vocabulary to practice. Soon enough, youll be the expert! Study more French verbs check out our Ultimate French Verb Guide! Post Author:  Carol Beth L. Carol Beth teaches  French lessons in San Francisco, CA. She has her Masters in French language education from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has been teaching since 2009.  Learn more about Carol Beth here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Thomas D.