2.12: Structure - Verbes en -er / Adverbes
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- 157813
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 | subjects | verb to study | verb to like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Je (j') | étudie | aime | I | study | like |
| Tu | étudies | aimes | 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" and it is the first group of conjugation in French.
To conjugate a regular -er verb, you need to identify the stem (le radical) and the ending (la terminaison) as follows:
| stem (radical) | 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 tables conjugate 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 verbs start with vowels (ie: aimer, étudier, apprécier, habiter with its silent 'h').
- 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.
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 | nager* | to swim |
| commencer* | to start, to begin | oublier | to forget |
| danser | to dance | parler | to speak, to talk |
| déjeuner | to eat lunch | partager* | to share |
| dessiner | to draw | penser | to think |
| détester | to hate, to detest | préférer** | to prefer |
| discuter | to discuss | regarder | to look (at) |
| donner | to give | rencontrer | to meet |
| écouter | to listen (to) | travailler | to work |
| étudier | to study | voyager* | to travel |
At the 'nous' form, to maintain the pronunciation of infinitive verbs in:
- -ger (manger, partager, nager, voyager) do not drop the letter e to keep the soft g sound: mangeons, partageons, nageons, voyageons.
- -cer (commencer, effacer) change the c to a ç to keep the s sound : commençons, effaçons.
The verb préférer changes one of its accent when conjugating (je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, elles) forming a boot pattern:
| pronoms sujets singuliers | pronoms sujets pluriels |
|---|---|
| je préfère | nous préférons |
| tu préfères | vous préférez |
| il, elle, on préfère | ils, elles préfèrent |
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. In French, adverbs are usually placed right after the verb (not in front like in English). Here are some useful adverbs:
| Français | Anglais | Phrases |
|---|---|---|
| beaucoup | a lot | J'aime beaucoup le chocolat. |
| bien | well (aimer bien=to like) | J'aime bien les films d'aventure. |
| assez bien | fairly well | Monique danse assez bien. |
| un peu | a little | Tu parles un peu français. |
| pas du tout | not at all | Les étudiants n'aiment pas du tout les examens. |
Other 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
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 ________.
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