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French 1 Unit 3: Present tense regular verbs

Regular French verbs fall into three groups. Learn each set of endings.

Covers: Subject pronouns, -er, -ir and -re verbs, negation ne…pas, questions with est-ce que

Study guide

French subject pronouns are je (I; it becomes j' before a vowel), tu (you, informal), il (he or it), elle (she or it), on (one, we, people), nous (we), vous (you, formal or plural), ils (they, masculine or mixed) and elles (they, feminine). Unlike Spanish, French always uses the subject pronoun.

Regular verbs fall into three groups by their infinitive endings. For -er verbs, the largest group, drop -er and add -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent. The je, tu, il and ils forms all sound the same. For regular -ir verbs like finir, drop -ir and add -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent: je finis, nous finissons. For -re verbs like vendre, drop -re and add -s, -s, (nothing), -ons, -ez, -ent: je vends, il vend, nous vendons. The French present tense covers "I speak," "I am speaking" and "I do speak."

To make a sentence negative, wrap ne…pas around the conjugated verb: Je ne mange pas (I don't eat). Ne becomes n' before a vowel: Je n'aime pas. Other negatives follow the same pattern: ne…jamais (never), ne…rien (nothing) and ne…plus (no longer).

There are three common ways to ask yes/no questions. Raise your intonation (Tu aimes le chocolat ?), put Est-ce que at the start (Est-ce que tu aimes le chocolat ?), or invert the subject and verb with a hyphen (Aimes-tu le chocolat ?). Question words include qui (who), que/quoi (what), où (where), quand (when), pourquoi (why), comment (how) and combien (how much).

Join simple sentences with et (and), mais (but), ou (or), puis or ensuite (then), alors (so) and parce que (because): Le samedi, je joue au foot, puis je vais au cinéma avec mes amis. Question words can be combined with est-ce que: Où est-ce que tu habites ? Qu'est-ce que tu aimes ? (que + est-ce que becomes qu'est-ce que). In casual speech, the question word often goes at the end: Tu habites où ?

Key ideas

• Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles.
• -er (parler): -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.
• -ir (finir): -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent.
• -re (vendre): -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent.
• Negation wraps the verb: Je ne parle pas. Ask questions with Est-ce que…?

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Pronouncing the -ent ending (it's silent).
• Putting pas before the verb (je pas parle ✗).

Words to know

je

I

tu

you (informal)

il / elle

he / she

on

one / we (informal)

nous

we

vous

you (formal or plural)

ils / elles

they

parler

to speak

regarder

to watch

travailler

to work

chanter

to sing

danser

to dance

jouer

to play

donner

to give

marcher

to walk

aimer

to like / to love

écouter

to listen

habiter

to live (reside)

arriver

to arrive

manger

to eat

étudier

to study

nager

to swim

téléphoner

to phone

chercher

to look for

dessiner

to draw

finir

to finish

choisir

to choose

réussir

to succeed

grandir

to grow up

remplir

to fill

obéir

to obey

vendre

to sell

attendre

to wait

répondre

to answer

entendre

to hear

perdre

to lose

rendre visite à

to visit (a person)

ne… pas

not

ne… jamais

never

ne… rien

nothing

Sample practice questions

35 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.