Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense
Verbs in French end in -er, -re, or -ir. The verb before it is conjugated is called the infinitive. Removing the last two letters leaves you with the stem (aimer is the infinitive, aim- is the stem.) The present indicative tense indicates an ongoing action, general state, or habitual activity. Besides the simple present tense (I write, I run, I see); there are two other forms of the present tense in English: the progressive (I am writing, I am running, etc.) and the emphatic (I do write, I do run, etc.) However, these three English present tenses are all translated by the present indicative tense in French.
To conjugate verbs in the present tense, use the stem and add the following endings.
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-er |
-re |
1st -ir |
2nd -ir* |
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|
-e |
-ons |
-s |
-ons |
-is |
-issons |
-s |
-ons |
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|
-es |
-ez |
-s |
-ez |
-is |
-issez |
-s |
-ez |
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|
-e |
-ent |
- |
-ent |
-it |
-issent |
-t |
-ent |
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Sample Regular Verbs |
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|
aimer -to like, love |
vendre - to sell |
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j'aime |
zhem |
aimons |
em-ohn |
vends |
vawn |
vendons |
vawn-dohn |
|
|
aimes |
em |
aimez |
em-ay |
vends |
vawn |
vendez |
vawn-day |
|
|
aime |
em |
aiment |
em |
vend |
vawn |
vendent |
vawn |
|
|
finir - to finish |
partir - to leave |
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|
finis |
fee-nee |
finissons |
fee-nee-sohn |
pars |
pahr |
partons |
pahr-tohn |
|
|
finis |
fee-nee |
finissez |
fee-nee-say |
pars |
pahr |
partez |
pahr-tay |
|
|
finit |
fee-nee |
finissent |
fee-neess |
part |
pahr |
partent |
pahrt |
|
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Regular verbs |
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|
-er |
-re |
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|
aimer |
em-ay |
to like, love |
vendre |
vawn-druh |
to sell |
|
|
chanter |
shahn-tay |
to sing |
attendre |
ah-tawn-druh |
to wait for |
|
|
chercher |
share-shay |
to look for |
entendre |
awn-tawn-druh |
to listen |
|
|
commencer |
koh-mawn-say |
to begin |
perdre |
pair-druh |
to lose |
|
|
donner |
dohn-nay |
to give |
répondre (à) |
ray-pohn-druh (ah) |
to answer |
|
|
étudier |
ay-too-dee-ay |
to study |
descendre |
deh-sawn-druh |
to go down |
|
|
fermer |
fehr-may |
to close |
1st -ir |
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|
habiter |
ah-bee-tay |
to live |
bâtir |
bah-teer |
to build |
|
|
jouer |
zhoo-ay |
to play |
finir |
fee-neer |
to finish |
|
|
manger |
mawn-zhay |
to eat |
choisir |
shwa-zeer |
to choose |
|
|
montrer |
mohn-tray |
to show |
punir |
poo-neer |
to punish |
|
|
parler |
par-lay |
to speak |
remplir |
rawn-pleer |
to fill |
|
|
penser |
pawn-say |
to think |
obéir (à) |
oh-bay-eer (ah) |
to obey |
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|
travailler |
trah-vy-yay |
to work |
réussir |
ray-oo-seer |
to succeed |
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|
trouver |
troo-vay |
to find |
guérir |
gay-reer |
to cure, heal |
|
Note: If a verb is followed by à (like répondre) you have to use the à and any contractions after the conjugated verb. Ex: Je réponds au téléphone.
* The 2nd -ir verbs are considered irregular sometimes because there are only a few verbs which follow that pattern. Other verbs like partir are sortir (to go out), dormir (to sleep), mentir (to lie), sentir (to smell, feel) and servir (to serve.)
