2.14: Structures - Verbes en -ER / Adverbes
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In this section, you will learn how to conjugate -er verbs
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
On étudie !
Present tense of regular -er verbs
You have practiced using the following subjects and verbs in the present tense:
| sujets | verbe étudier | verbe aimer |
|---|---|---|
| Je (j') | étudie | aime |
| Tu | étudies | aimes |
| subjects | verb to study | verb to like |
|---|---|---|
| I | study | like |
| You | study | like |
When a verb is not conjugated it does not have a subject that is performing the action. This is called the infinitive form (e.g., étudier, aimer).
To make infinitives in English we place the word to in front of verb: "to study, to like, to walk, to dream", etc. The infinitives of most French words end in -er: étudier, aimer, marcher, rêver, etc. These are called "regular -er verbs."
To conjugate a regular -er verb, you need to identify the stem (la racine or le radical) and the ending (la terminaison) as follows:
| stem (racine) | ending (terminaison) |
|---|---|
| aim- | -er |
| étudi- | -er |
To conjugate a verb, you must replace the ending (-er) with one that corresponds to the subject. There are six present tense endings specific to -er verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. The following table conjugates the regular -er verbs aimer (to like) and étudier (to study).
| pronoms sujets au singulier | pronoms sujets au pluriel |
|---|---|
| j'aime | nous aimons |
| tu aimes | vous aimez |
| il/elle/on aime | ils/elles aiment |
Watch this video to practice pronouncing the verb aimer: aimer au présent de l'indicatif.
| pronoms sujets au singulier | pronoms sujets au pluriel |
|---|---|
| j'étudie | nous étudions |
| tu étudies | vous étudiez |
| il/elle/on étudie | ils/elles étudient |
Watch this video to practice pronouncing the verb étudier.
- Notice that je becomes j' with these verbs because they both start with vowels.
- You will notice that all the forms in the left column (je, tu, il/elle/on) and the ils/elles forms are all pronounced the same: the endings -e, -es, and -ent are all silent: thus, aime, aimes and aiment sound exactly the same.
- Because the verbs aimer and étudier both start with vowels (a-, é-), the subjects on, nous, vous, ils and elles will be pronounced differently! The last letter for each of these words is normally silent (-n, - s), but with verbs that start with a vowel, they must be pronounced. This is called making liaisons. You will study and practice this below.
All regular -er verbs are conjugated in the same way. So, if you remember how to match the endings with the subjects of the verb, then you will be able to use thousands of verbs correctly:
| Pronoms sujets | Terminaisons | Exemples | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | -e | je danse | I dance |
| tu | -es | tu chantes | you sing |
| il/elle/on | -e | elle habite | she lives |
| nous | -ons | nous arrivons | we arrive |
| vous | -ez | vous mangez | you (all) eat |
| ils/elles | -ent | ils voyagent | they travel |
Now, let's practice using the regular -er verb parler (to speak, to talk). Follow the same pattern above:
| pronoms sujets au pluriel | pronoms sujets au pluriel |
|---|---|
| je parle | nous parlons |
| tu parles | vous parlez |
| il/elle/on parle | ils/elles parlent |
Watch this video to practice pronouncing the verb parler.
There are at least three ways to say that you speak a language using the verb parler:
- Je parle le français
- Je parle français The first two are interchangeable. They both mean that French is a language you know how to speak (more or less). A third way is used to talk about the language you speak in a specific context or social situation.
- Je parle en français. For example: A la maison, je parle en français, mais au boulot, je parle en anglais (At home I speak in French, but at work I speak in English).
The present tense indicates an action that is either actually occurring at the time of speaking, or that happens in general. The French present may be translated in three different ways in English depending on the intended meaning. For example:
Craig parle français. =
- Craig is speaking French. (right now, progressive action)
or
- Craig speaks French. (in general, habitual action)
or
- Craig does speak French. (emphatic or contrastive)
More regular -er verbs
Here are some common regular -er verbs:
| Français | Anglais | Français | Anglais |
|---|---|---|---|
| adorer | to love, to adore | fermer | to close, to shut |
| aimer | to like, to love | habiter (à) | to live (in) |
| arriver | to arrive | manger* | to eat |
| chercher | to look for | oublier | to forget |
| commencer* | to start, to begin | parler | to speak, to talk |
| danser | to dance | partager* | to share |
| déjeuner | to eat lunch | penser | to think |
| dessiner | to draw | regarder | to look (at) |
| détester | to hate, to detest | rencontrer | to meet |
| discuter | to discuss | rentrer | to return, go back |
| donner | to give | travailler | to work |
| écouter | to listen (to) | voyager* | to travel |
| étudier | to study |
Manger, partager and voyager are slightly irregular in the nous forms. You add -ons, but do not drop the e from the ending: mangeons, partageons, voyageons. The verbs commencer and others ending in -cer (like effacer [to erase]) change the c to a ç in the nous form: commençon, effaçons.
Study the Quizlet vocabulary flashcards. Listen and repeat the French pronunciation.
Visit this website to learn more about -er verbs: Regular -er verbs
Les adverbes
You can modify your verbs with different adverbs that express frequency (often, rarely), quantity (a lot, a little), or how & when something is done (slowly, together, early, etc.). Inserting these adverbs changes the way to understand the action. Here are some useful adverbs:
| Français | Anglais | Phrases |
|---|---|---|
| souvent | often | Elles dessinent souvent. |
| tous les jours | everyday | J'étudie tous les jours. |
| toujours | always | J'oublie toujours mes clés. |
| beaucoup | a lot | J'aime beaucoup le chocolat. |
| rarement | rarely | Nous voyageons rarement. |
| parfois | sometimes | Je joue au football parfois. |
| ensemble | together | Ils étudient ensemble. |
| maintenant | now | Évelyne étudie maintenant. |
| tard | late | Nous déjeunons tard. |
| tôt | early | Patrick travaille tôt. |
| en retard | late | Tu arrives en retard. |
| en avance | early, in advance | On arrive en avance. |
As you can see, the adverb is usually placed right after the verb.
On pratique !
Activité A
Follow these model dialogues to practice using the verb parler:
A.
Étudiant(e) 1: Est-ce que vous parlez espagnol ?
Étudiant(e) 2: Oui, je parle espagnol. / Non, je ne parle pas espagnol.
B.
Étudiant(e) 1: Est-ce que tu parles souvent avec tes parents ?
Étudiant(e) 2: Oui, nous parlons souvent. *souvent = often
C.
Étudiant(e) 1: Est-ce que tu parles en anglais avec ta famille ?
Étudiant(e) 2: Non, je ne parle pas en anglais avec ma famille. Nous parlons tagalog.
D.
Étudiant(e) 1: Combien de langues parles-tu ?
Étudiant(e) 2: Je parle trois langues: l'anglais, l'espagnol et le français.
Activité B
La conjugaison.
Let's ask each other what we eat for lunch. The French word for "to eat" is manger. Click here for a list of food items in French. Notice the gender of each food item and use the appropriate articles (un, une, des) when you tell us what you eat (ce que tu manges):
Étudiant(e) 1: Qu'est-ce que tu manges ?
Étudiant(e) 2: Moi, je mange un sandwich et des frites. Et toi ?
Étudiant(e) 1: Moi, je mange des crêpes.
Pratiquez ➔
Étudiant(e) 1: Qu'est-ce que tu manges ?
Étudiant(e) 2: Moi, je mange ________. Et toi ?
Étudiant(e) 1: Moi, je mange ________.
Activité C
À conjuguer ! Complete these sentences with the correct present tense conjugation of the verbs.
Modèle : Je parle (parler) français en classe.
- Nous ________ (habiter) à Paris.
- Ils ________ (habiter) à San Diego.
- Vous ________ (manger) au resto ?
- Le cour de biologie ________ (commencer) à trois heures (at three o'clock).
- Nous ________ (étudier) la chimie ensemble.
- Tu ________ (étudier) la musique.
- Les élèves ________ (visiter) le musée (the museum).
- Je ________ (rencontrer) mon ami au café.
- La professeur ________ (aimer) parler.
- Elles ________ (donner) un cadeau (a gift).
- Tu ________ (chercher) un appartement ?
Activité D
Le verbe logique. Complete the following sentences with the correct form of an -er verb that makes sense in each context. See how many different verbs you can use in these sentences.
Modèle : Nous __________ souvent au café
➔ Nous mangeons souvent au café.
➔ Nous étudions souvent au café.
➔ Nous parlons souvent au restaurant.
- Malika et Jean-Paul ________ souvent en classe.
- Stéphanie ________ beaucoup le français.
- Moi, je/j' ________ toujours à la fac.
- Vous ________ rarement.
- Nous ________ souvent à la maison.
Activité E
Complete these sentences about yourself.
- Pour le déjeuner, je_______________(manger)________.
- Ma famille et moi, nous______________(voyager)________.
- Mon frère___________________(étudier)________.
- A la bibliothèque, j’________(add a verb here and conjugate it).
Activité F
Posez ces questions à vos camarades de classe. First complete these questions then ask them from your classmate:
- Tu_________(danser) bien ?
- Tu_________(dessiner) souvent ?
- Tu_________(étudier) tous les jours ?
- Tu___________(aimer) surfer sur Internet ?
- Tu_____________(commencer) l’université ?
- Tu_____________(voyager) quelquefois ?
Activité G
Complétez les phrases avec un adverbe qui convient.
- Le docteur est __________ absent du bureau.
- Je mange _________ les burritos.
- J'étudie __________.
- J'oublie _________ mes clés.
- Marie et Frank chante _________.
On approfondit !
Use the following resources to type accents and/or search for words:
- Accents: ç, à, é, è, â, ê, î, ô, û, ù, ë, ï, ü
- Dictionnaire français-anglais