The present tense: regular -re (third conjugation) verbs .

If an infinitive ends in -re, it means the verb belongs to the third conjugation, for
example, attendre, vendre, entendre.

The stem of -re verbs in the present tense is formed by taking the infinitive and

chopping off -re.

`Infinitive Stem (without -re)

attendre (to wait) attend-

vendre (to sell) vend-

entendre (to entend-
hear)

Now add the correct ending, depending on whether you are referring
to je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles.

Here are the present tense endings for -re verbs:

Pronou Endin Add to stem, Meanings

n g e.g. attend-

je (j’) -s j’attends I wait

I am waiting

Tu -s tu attends you wait

you are waiting

il - il attend he/she/it/one waits

elle elle attend he/she/it/one is
on on attend waiting

nous -ons nous attendons we wait

we are waiting

vous -ez vous attendez you wait

you are waiting

ils -ent ils attendent they wait

elles elles attendent they are waiting
 J’attends ma sœur. I’m waiting for my sister.

Chaque matin nous attendons le Every morning we wait for the

train ensemble. train together.

Tip : je changes to j’ in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and
the French word y.

Key points
Verbs ending in -re belong to the third conjugation and form their present tense stem by
losing the -re from the infinitive.
The present tense endings for -re verbs are: -s, -s, -, -ons, -ez, -ent.