Conjugating Regular -er, -ir, and -re Verbs in Present Tense

1. Regular Verb Conjugation

In French, regular verbs fall into three main groups based on how they end: -er, -ir, and -re. Here’s a simple way to conjugate (change) each one in the present tense:

-ER Verbs (like parler - to speak)

• Je parle (I speak)
• Tu parles (You speak)
• Il/elle/on parle (He/she/one speaks)
• Nous parlons (We speak)
• Vous parlez (You speak - formal or plural)
• Ils/elles parlent (They speak)

-IR Verbs (like finir - to finish)

• Je finis (I finish)
• Tu finis (You finish)
• Il/elle/on finit (He/she/one finishes)
• Nous finissons (We finish)
• Vous finissez (You finish - formal or plural)
• Ils/elles finissent (They finish)

-RE Verbs (like vendre - to sell)

• Je vends (I sell)
• Tu vends (You sell)
• Il/elle/on vend (He/she/one sells)
• Nous vendons (We sell)
• Vous vendez (You sell - formal or plural)
• Ils/elles vendent (They sell)

2. Common Irregular Verbs Some verbs don’t follow the regular patterns. Here are a few important ones:

• Être (to be): suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont
• Avoir (to have): ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont
• Aller (to go): vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont
• Faire (to do/make): fais, fais, fait, faisons, faites, font

3. Negative Sentences To make a sentence negative, use "ne...pas." For example:

• Je ne parle pas (I do not speak).

4. Articles When you use nouns, remember these:

• Definite articles: le (the - masculine), la (the - feminine), les (the - plural).
• Indefinite articles: un (a - masculine), une (a - feminine).

5. Future Tense Formation You can talk about the future by using "aller" (to go) plus the verb you want:

• Je vais parler (I am going to speak).

6. Adjective Agreement Adjectives (descriptive words) must match the nouns they describe in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). For example:

• Un chat noir (a black cat - masculine)
• Une chienne noire (a black dog - feminine)

7. Subject Pronouns This is how you use pronouns:

• je (I), tu (you), il/elle/on (he/she/one), nous (we), vous (you - formal or plural), ils/elles (they).

8. Question Formation You can ask questions in different ways:

• Inversion: Parles-tu? (Do you speak?)
• Using "est-ce que": Est-ce que tu parles? (Do you speak?)
• Intonation: Tu parles? (You speak?)

9. Possessive Adjectives Use these words to show ownership:

• Mon (my - masculine), ma (my - feminine), mes (my - plural).

10. Introduction to Reflexive Verbs Reflexive verbs show that the action is done to yourself. You conjugate them like regular verbs, adding special pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous, se). For example:

• Je me lave (I wash myself).

Practice these rules to get really good at French grammar!