2.2 -er verbs

There are three groups of regular verbs in French: verbs whose infinitives end in -er, verbs whose infinitives end in -ir, and verbs whose infinitives end in -re. (The infinitive is the unconjugated form of the verb, for example 'to have' in English and 'avoir' in French.)

-er verbs form the largest group. They are called the first conjugation.

To conjugate these verbs, drop the -er from the infinitive to form the stem; then add the -er endings to the stem. Different tenses have different endings; we are focusing on the present tense for now.

Examine the table below to see how the endings (-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent) combine with the stem, making the verb forms. The endings -e, -es, -e, and -ent are silent; therefore, the forms of parler for je, tu, il/elle and ils/elles all sound identical. It may be useful to note that the forms with identical pronunciations form a boot within the table. 'Boot verbs' is a term referring to this typical pattern of verb conjugations, where the four forms in the boot share a common quality.

The only endings that are pronounced are the nous (-ons) and vous (-ez) endings.

Here is a list of common -er verbs:

adorer, to adore habiter, to live

aimer, to like jouer, to play

aimer mieux, to prefer montrer, to show

chanter, to sing présenter, to introduce

chercher, to look for regarder, to watch

danser, to danse rencontrer, to meet (by chance)

demander, to ask rester, to stay or remain

détester, to hate, to detest téléphoner, to call

donner, to give travailler, to work

écouter, to listen trouver, to find

étudier, to study

Je changes to j' before a verb starting with a vowel or a silent h (examples: j'adore, j'habite). This phenomenon is known as élision.

Notes also that the s in plural pronouns (nous, vous, and ils/elles) is usually silent except when it is followed by a verb that begins with a vowel sound. In such cases, the silent s is pronounced as a /z/ and links the pronouns to the verb. This phenomenon is called liaison ('linking') and is very characteristic of French.

Exercise: Fill in the blanks, conjugating the -er verbs according to the pattern shown above. Pay attention to the subject of the verb to be conjugated in each example, and remember to elide the subject and verb (j') when je is followed by a verb beginning with a vowel or h.

1. Je ____________________ beaucoup! (travailler)

2. Tu ____________________ la télévision. (regarder)

3. La professeure ____________________ français en classe. (parler)

4. L'étudiant ____________________ attentivement. (écouter)

5. On ____________________ jouer! (aimer)

6. Nous ____________________ au football américain. (jouer)

7. Vous ____________________ bien! (chanter)

8. Ils ____________________ un restaurant. (chercher).

9. Les étudiants ____________________ beaucoup le weekend. (danser)

10. Je ____________________ parler français! (adorer)