Robert J.

LaRocque
CEP 811

The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an opportunity to learn, practice, or review French verb conjugation in
the affirmative. Click on a unit below to focus on a specific topic or begin with ‘The Basics of French Verb
Conjugation’ and work your way through all four units. There are some quizzes along the way to help monitor
your progress.

The Basics of
French Verb –ER Verbs -IR Verbs -RE Verbs
Conjugation

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 Why do we conjugate verbs in French?

Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb in a conventional

order. The forms of a verb differ in order to show person and number

The three persons are:

o The speaker or 1st person (I)

o The person spoken too or 2nd person (you)
o The person or thing referred to or 3rd person (he, she, it)

The two number in English and French are:

o Singular
o Plural

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 French Subject Pronouns
The subject pronouns in French do not correspond exactly to the English
system. The French verb forms designated by person and number are
summarized in the chart below with their English equivalent in parentheses.

SINGULAR PLURAL

FIRST PERSON je (I) nous (we)

SECOND PERSON tu (you) vous (you)

THIRD PERSON il (he) ils (they (m.))

elle (she) elles (they (f.))

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 Some Things to Remember About French Subject
Pronouns
o French has two subject pronouns meaning you, tu and vous.

o Tu is used when addressing one person to show an informal

relationship. Use this pronoun with relatives, friends, classmates,
etc.
o Vous is used when addressing one person to show a formal
relationship. Use this pronoun with strangers, neighbors, adult
colleagues, persons of authority, etc.
o Vous can also be used to address more than one person in
informal and formal relationships.

o The third-person plural pronouns in French distinguish gender: ils v. elles

o The masculine form, ils, is used for groups of males or groups of

males and females.
o The feminine from, elles, is used for groups consisting of only
females.
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 French Verb Classes

French verbs have more endings than English verbs. The endings in French reflect
the subject and show tense and mood. There are 3 major classes, called
conjugations. Each conjugation has its own set of endings. The conjugation to
which a verb belongs is shown by the infinitive, the form ending in –er, -ir, or –re.

For Example:

parler (to speak) -er verb or first-conjugation verb

finir (to finish) -ir verb or second-conjugation verb

vendre (to sell) -re verb or third-conjugation verb

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✔ For
Understanding
 The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 1

Conjugation is the process of listing different forms of a verb

in a conventional order. The forms of a verb differ in order to
show:

A Day & Time

B Person and Feelings

C
Person and Number

D I’m not sure, I need to review the basics again.

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 The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 2

Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular and

plural first person forms.

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 The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 3

Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular third

person forms.

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 The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 4

There are two subject pronouns, tu and vous that can be used for ‘you’. What
is the difference between these to forms or when is it appropriate to use each
form?

A Tu is used for informal relationships. Vous is used for formal relationships.

B Vous is used with referring to strangers, adults, persons of authority.

C Tu is used for people you know well, friends, and family.

D All of the above

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 The Basics of Conjugation
Question # 5

Ils is the third person plural subject pronoun. It can

be used to identify a group of males or a group of
males & females.

True False

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Learn about –ER
Verbs

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 What is an –er verb?
o -er verbs are considered first conjugation verbs

o -er verbs are the most numerous among French verbs

o The infinitive of the verb ends in –er.

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Next 
 Examples of –er Verbs

regarder- to watch
danser- to dance

parler- to talk
penser- to think
étudier- to study S
Next 
-ER Verb Conjugation

Most –er verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must
memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –er
verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the
verb aimer. Remember, the –er verbs listed on the last slide and any
regular –er verb will be conjugated using this process.

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Next 
 – ER Verb Conjugation
Step 1

The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –er off of the infinitive.

The infinitive
aimer
Drop the –er ending
aimer
✕
The stem aim
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Next 
 – ER Verb Conjugation
Step 2

Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the
person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –er verbs,
the endings we add are:

je (j’) -e nous -ons

tu -es vous -ez
il -e ils -ent
elle -e elles -ent
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Next 
 – ER Verb Conjugation
Using the stem, aim- , and the endings for regular –er verbs, this is what the
conjugation for the verb aimer will look like.

je (j’) aime nous aimons

tu aimes vous aimez
il aime ils aiment
elle aime elles aiment
Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.

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TEST YOUR
SKILLS
 Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs

For each question, the –er verb will be given at the end of the sentence in
parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of
the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the
blank.

Example Question

Il __________ les escargots. (aimer)

a. aimes b. aiment c. aime d. aimons

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Start
 Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs

Question # 1

Elles _______________ la télévision. (regarder)

A regarde B regardent C regardez regardes

D

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 Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs

Question # 2

Je _______________ la pizza. (manger)

A mange B mangent C mangeons D mangez

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 Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs

Question # 3

Nous _______________ au téléphone. (parler)

A parle B parlent C parlez D parlons

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 Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs

Question # 4

Vous _______________ la musique française. (écouter)

A écoutez B écoutent écoutes

C écoutons
D

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 Test Your Skills
-ER Verbs

Question # 5

J’ _______________ le français!

A aime B aiment C aimes D aimez

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-ER Verb Conjugation
Video In Review
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ER Verb
Conjugation Video
in Review

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 – ER Verb Conjugation
Video in Review

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-IR Verbs
 What is an –re verb?
o -re verbs are considered third conjugation verbs

o The infinitive of the verb ends in –re.

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Next 
Examples of –re Verbs

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Next 
-RE Verb Conjugation

Most –re verbs are conjugated using the same pattern. We must
memorize this pattern. To demonstrate how to conjugate a regular –re
verb, follow these easy steps. For this demonstration, we will use the
verb vendre. Remember, the –re verbs listed on the last slide and any
regular –re verb will be conjugated using this process.

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Next 
 – RE Verb Conjugation
Step 1

The first step is to form the stem by dropping the –re off of the infinitive.

The infinitive
vendre
Drop the –re ending
✕
vendre
The stem vend
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Next 
 – RE Verb Conjugation
Step 2

Once we have the stem, we can add the corresponding ending that relates to the
person(s) who performs the action or the subject pronoun. For regular –re verbs,
the endings we add are:

je (j’) -s nous -ons

tu -s vous -ez
il - ils -ent
elle - elles -ent
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Next 
 – RE Verb Conjugation
Using the stem, vend, and the endings for regular –re verbs, this is what the
conjugation for the verb vendre will look like.

je (j’) vends nous vendons

tu vends vous vendez
il vend ils vendent
elle vend elles vendent
Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.

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TEST YOUR
SKILLS
 Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs

For each question, the –re verb will be given at the end of the sentence in
parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the appropriate conjugation of
the verb in parentheses by clicking on the choice that you feel fits into the
blank.

Example Question

Il __________ les escargots. (perdre)

a. perd b. perds c. perdons d. perdez

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Start
 Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs

Question # 1

Nous _______________ une lettre à nos amis. (écrire)

A écrit B écrivez C écrivons écrivent

D

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 Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs

Question # 2

Je _______________ les escargots. (vendre)

A vendons B vend C vends D vendent

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 Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs

Question # 3

Elle_______________ l’autobus. (attendre)

A attends B attendent C attendons D attend

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 Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs

Question # 4

Ils_______________ l’escalier. (descendre)

A descends B descendent C descend D descendons

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 Test Your Skills
-RE Verbs

Question # 5

Je _______________ être le français! (prétendre)

A prétends prétend
B prétendons
C prétendez
D

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-REVerb Conjugation
Video In Review
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Video In Review

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 – RE Verb Conjugation
Video in Review

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