La Grammaire - Grammar
And…Action!: Foolproof Tips for Present-Tense Verb Conjugation
It is difficult to discuss anything in a foreign language without having a good grasp of verb conjugation. French language-learners tend to get overwhelmed by the idea of having to conjugate based on the pronoun for each and every verb, but it is actually simpler than it seems. So simple, in fact, that it is possible to master nearly all French verbs just by knowing three different sets of endings.
Why? Well, there are these wonderful things in French called les verbes réguliers (regular verbs). They are called regular verbs because they share the same standard endings with other verbs. There are three sets of regular verbs in French: -ER, -IR, and -RE. Once you know to conjugate with je/te/il,elle/nous/vous/ils for just one -ER verb, you know all of the conjugations for all of the -ER verbs. The same goes for -IR and -RE. Again, these three sets make up most of the verbs you will find in the French language, so it becomes exceedingly easy to gain a lot of grammar ground in a very short period of time.
Before we look at each set of conjugations, we will reinforce how the present tense is used in French.
Le Présent – Present Tense
The French present tense resembles English quite closely. It is used to express:
1. Current Actions
Example:
Je lis.
I am reading.
2. Habitual Actions
Example:
Je joue au football chaque samedi.
I play soccer every Saturday.
3. If/Then Conditional Statements
Example:
Si je vais au supermarché, j’achèterai des bonbons.
If I go to the supermarket, I will buy candy.
Note: The conjugation achèterai, or will buy, is part of le futur (the future tense).
4. Absolute Truths and General Statements
Example:
La vie continue.
Life goes on.
En Train De…
One of the biggest differences between French and English present tenses is that French does not have helping verbs, as in “I am eating.” This means that a phrase like Je dors can mean “I am sleeping,” “I sleep,” or “I do sleep.” If you want to specify that you are in the middle of doing something, you can use this formula:
JE SUIS + EN TRAIN DE + VERB INFINITIVE
Example:
Je suis en train d’étudier.
I am in the process of studying.
This formula is not as common as just conjugating the verb and gathering the implied meaning, but it is useful when you need to make sure someone knows something is happening at that moment.
Now we will move on to learning how to conjugate each verb set.
“-ER” Verbs
To conjugate regular -ER verbs in the present tense, all you have to do is remove the infinitive ending (in this case, -ER) and add on the standard endings. They are:
Je – e | Nous – ons |
Tu – es | Vous – ez |
Il/elle – e | Ils/elles – ent |
Simple, right? Now we can use this guide for any regular -ER verb.
Here are some examples:
Danser: to dance dans -
Listen to Track 104
Je danse | Nous dansons |
Tu danses | Vous dansez |
Il/elle danse | Ils/elles dansent |
Penser: to think pens -
Listen to Track 105
Je pense | Nous pensons |
Tu penses | Vous pensez |
Il/elle pense | Ils/elles pensent |
Écouter: to listen écout -
Écouter: to listen
écout-
Listen to Track 106
J’écoute | Nous écoutons |
Tu écoutes | Vous écoutez |
Il/elle écoute | Ils/elles écoutent |
“-IR” Verbs
With regular -IR verbs, you cut off the infinitive ending (in this case, -IR) and add the standard -IR conjugations. They are:
Je – is | Nous – issons |
Tu – is | Vous – issez |
Il/elle – it | Ils/elles – issent |
Here are some examples of common -IR verbs:
Choisir: to choose chois -
Choisir: to choose
chois-
Listen to Track 107
Je choisis | Nous choisissons |
Tu choisis | Vous choisissez |
Il/elle choisit | Ils/elles choisissent |
Agir: to act ag -
Listen to Track 108
J’agis | Nous agissons |
Tu agis | Vous agissez |
Il/elle agit | Ils/elles agissent |
Finir: to finish fin -
Listen to Track 109
Je finis | Nous finissons |
Tu finis | Vous finissez |
Il/elle finit | Ils/elles finissent |
“-RE” Verbs
To conjugate regular -RE verbs, drop the infinitive ending (in this case, -RE) and add the regular -IR endings. They are:
Je – s | Nous – ons |
Tu – s | Vous – ez |
Il/elle – (nothing) | Ils/elles – ent |
Here are some common -RE verbs:
Attendre: to wait attend -
Listen to Track 110
J’attends | Nous attendons |
Tu attends | Vous attendez |
Il/elle attend | Ils/ells attendent |
Répondre: to respond répond-
Listen to Track 111
Je réponds | Nous répondons |
Tu réponds | Vous répondez |
Il/elle répond | Ils/ells répondent |
Rendre: to give back, return rend-
Listen to Track 112
Je rends | Nous rendons |
Tu rends | Vous rendez |
Il/elle rend | Ils/elles rendent |
How easy is that? Now you can literally conjugate hundreds of French verbs with ease. Regular -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs each have their own standard endings when conjugating in passé compose, imparfait, and the le futur as well, so it is as simple as following this same procedure with the other tenses.