The Present Tense!Regular and Irregular Verbs

Conjugations:In French, there are 3 types of verbs in the

present tense : ER, IR et RE.

For example:Parler Finir Vendre

Regular ER verbs:To conjugate  regular ER verbs in the

present, we drop the “er” from the infinitive.For example: parler parlTHEN, we add the following endings:

e, es, e, ons, ez, ent

Parler (to speak)Je parleTu parlesIl/Elle parleNousparlonsVous parlezIls/Elles

parlent

I speak, I am speakingYou speak, you are speakingHe/She speaks, he/she is

speakingWe speak, we are speakingYou speak, you are speakingThey speak, they are speaking

Essayons!Chercher (to look for) Je _______________Tu _______________Il/Elle _______________Nous _______________Vous _______________Ils/Elles _______________

cherche cherches cherche cherchons cherchez cherchent

LA VÉRIFICATION!

Donner (to give) Je _______________Tu _______________Il/Elle _______________Nous _______________Vous _______________Ils/Elles _______________

LA VÉRIFICATION! donne donnes donne donnons donnez donnent

Fantastique!

Now, a few irreguliars…With verbs that finish with GER, we must

keep the E between the G et the O. For example: mangeons NOT mangons.

Manger (to eat)Je mangeTu mangesIl/Elle mangeNous mangeonsVous mangezIls/Elles mangent

...irregulars continuedWith verbs that finish with CER, the only

difference is that we use a ç (cedille) instead of a c in front of the o. For example, commençons PAS commencons.Commencer (to begin)Je commenceTu commencesIl/Elle commenceNous commençonsVous commencezIls/Elles commencent

So, pay attention to:

Manger

Commenceret

Regular IR verbsTo conjugate regular  IR verbs in the present, we

drop the « ir » from the infinitive.For example: finir finTHEN, we add the following endings:

is, is, it, issons, issez, issent

Finir (to finish)Je finisTu finisIl/Elle finitNousfinissonsVous finissezIls/Elles

finissent

I finish, I am finishingYou finish, you are finishingHe/She finishes, he/she is

finishingWe finish, we are finishingYou finish, you are finishingThey finish, they are finishing

Essayons!Choisir (to choose) Je _______________Tu _______________Il/Elle _______________Nous _______________Vous _______________Ils/Elles _______________

choisis choisis choisit choisissons choisissez choisissent

LA VÉRIFICATION!

Réussir (to succeed) Je _______________Tu _______________Il/Elle _______________Nous _______________Vous _______________Ils/Elles _______________

LA VÉRIFICATION! réussis réussis réussit réussissons réussissez Réussissent

Formidable!

Regular RE verbsTo conjugate regular RE verbs in the present,

we drop the« re » from the infinitive form.For example: vendre vendTHEN, we add the following endings:

s, s, - , ons, ez, ent

Vendre (to sell)Je vendsTu vendsIl/Elle vendNousvendonsVous vendezIls/Elles

vendent

I sell, I am sellingYou sell, you are sellingHe/She sells, he/she is sellingWe sell, we are sellingYou sell, you are sellingThey sell, they are selling

Essayons!Entendre (to hear) Je _______________Tu _______________Il/Elle _______________Nous _______________Vous _______________Ils/Elles _______________

entends entends entend entendons entendez entendent

LA VÉRIFICATION!

Défendre (to defend) Je _______________Tu _______________Il/Elle _______________Nous _______________Vous _______________Ils/Elles _______________

LA VÉRIFICATION! défends défends défend défendons défendez défendent

Super!

Review!ER = e, es, e, ons, ez, entIR = is, is, it, issons, issez, issentRE = s, s, - , ons, ez, ent

Now, some practice!