When learning French, one important part is understanding how to change verbs to show what's happening now. This is called verb conjugation. In this post, we’ll focus on two types of regular verbs: those that end in -ir and -re. We’ll explain how to change these verbs in a simple way and help you get a good grasp of this basic skill in French.
Let’s start with regular -ir verbs. These verbs follow a clear pattern. Here’s how you do it:
Look at the Verb: Start with the verb in its basic form, like finir (to finish).
Find the Stem: Remove the -ir ending to get the stem: fin-.
Add Endings Based on the Subject:
Here is how finir looks when we change it:
Next, let’s look at regular -re verbs. Here’s how to change them, using vendre (to sell) as an example:
Start with the Verb: Look at the base form, vendre.
Find the Stem: Remove the -re ending to get the stem: vend.
Add Endings Based on the Subject:
This is how vendre changes in the present tense:
Knowing these patterns is really helpful! Once you understand how to change -ir and -re verbs, you can guess how to change other similar verbs. Now, let's look at some other grammar points.
In French, when talking about things that happened in the past, we often use two helper verbs: être and avoir. The one you choose depends on the main verb.
Avoir is used most of the time. Here is how to change it in the present tense:
For example, if you want to say "I ate," you would say:
J’ai mangé.
Être is mainly for verbs that show movement or a change. Here’s how to change it:
So, "I went" would be:
Note: Add -e if it’s a girl talking.
Another important part of French is making negative sentences. To say something is not happening, you put ne before the verb and pas after it. The structure looks like this:
For example, to say "I eat" in a negative way, you would say:
In casual conversation, people often drop the ne, but it’s good to use both when writing or speaking formally.
Here are some examples:
In French, adjectives (words that describe nouns) must match the nouns in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
For example:
Here’s the basic rule:
The "near future" (future proche) shows actions that will happen soon. It uses the present tense of aller (to go) plus the main verb's basic form.
Structure:
For example, to say, "I am going to eat," you would say:
Here are a few more examples:
By practicing these rules about regular -ir and -re verbs, helper verbs, negative sentences, adjective agreement, and the near future, you’ll get much better at speaking French. Regular practice with real sentences will help you express your thoughts and ideas with confidence!
When learning French, one important part is understanding how to change verbs to show what's happening now. This is called verb conjugation. In this post, we’ll focus on two types of regular verbs: those that end in -ir and -re. We’ll explain how to change these verbs in a simple way and help you get a good grasp of this basic skill in French.
Let’s start with regular -ir verbs. These verbs follow a clear pattern. Here’s how you do it:
Look at the Verb: Start with the verb in its basic form, like finir (to finish).
Find the Stem: Remove the -ir ending to get the stem: fin-.
Add Endings Based on the Subject:
Here is how finir looks when we change it:
Next, let’s look at regular -re verbs. Here’s how to change them, using vendre (to sell) as an example:
Start with the Verb: Look at the base form, vendre.
Find the Stem: Remove the -re ending to get the stem: vend.
Add Endings Based on the Subject:
This is how vendre changes in the present tense:
Knowing these patterns is really helpful! Once you understand how to change -ir and -re verbs, you can guess how to change other similar verbs. Now, let's look at some other grammar points.
In French, when talking about things that happened in the past, we often use two helper verbs: être and avoir. The one you choose depends on the main verb.
Avoir is used most of the time. Here is how to change it in the present tense:
For example, if you want to say "I ate," you would say:
J’ai mangé.
Être is mainly for verbs that show movement or a change. Here’s how to change it:
So, "I went" would be:
Note: Add -e if it’s a girl talking.
Another important part of French is making negative sentences. To say something is not happening, you put ne before the verb and pas after it. The structure looks like this:
For example, to say "I eat" in a negative way, you would say:
In casual conversation, people often drop the ne, but it’s good to use both when writing or speaking formally.
Here are some examples:
In French, adjectives (words that describe nouns) must match the nouns in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
For example:
Here’s the basic rule:
The "near future" (future proche) shows actions that will happen soon. It uses the present tense of aller (to go) plus the main verb's basic form.
Structure:
For example, to say, "I am going to eat," you would say:
Here are a few more examples:
By practicing these rules about regular -ir and -re verbs, helper verbs, negative sentences, adjective agreement, and the near future, you’ll get much better at speaking French. Regular practice with real sentences will help you express your thoughts and ideas with confidence!