The Present Tense of French Verbs.

Introduction.

Verb tables in English and French follow regular patterns, called conjugations. A conjugation is made up of six different forms, which indicate various numbers and persons. A number can be either singular or plural, depending on whether we are talking about just one person, or several people. A person can be first ('I' in the singular, and 'we' in the plural), second ('you' in the singular, and 'you' in the plural), or third ('he, she, it' in the singular, and 'they' in the plural).
In an English conjugation, the six forms of the verb are laid out as follows:
to give
Singular
First Person: I give
Second Person: you give
Third Person: he, she, it gives
Plural
First Person: we give
Second Person: you give
Third Person: they give


At the top of the table is written the infinitive. The infinitive in English or French means 'to ... [something]', e.g., to fly, to dance, to sing, to kill, etc.
Every verb form begins with a pronoun, that is, 'I', 'you' (singular), 'he', 'she', 'it', 'we', 'you' (plural) or 'they'. You will notice also that all the forms of the verb are the same, except for the third person singular, 'gives'. This is how most conjugations are formed in English, e.g. I kick, you kick, but he, she, it kicks, etc. In French, all the verb forms have different endings.

In a French conjugation, the six forms of the verb are laid out as follows:

donner - to give
Singular
First Person: je donne (I give)
Second Person: tu donnes (you (s.) give)
Third Person: il, elle donne (he, she, it gives)
Plural
First Person: nous donnons (we give)
Second Person: vous donnez (you (pl.) give)
Third Person: ils, elles donnent (they give)


At the top of the table is the infinitive, donner, which means 'to give'. Regular French verbs ending in -er belong to the first conjugation.
Every verb form begins with a pronoun, that is, 'je' meaning 'I', 'tu' meaning 'you' (singular), 'il' meaning 'he' or 'it', 'elle' meaning 'she', 'nous' meaning 'we', 'vous' meaning 'you' (plural) and 'ils' or 'elles' meaning 'they'. The difference between 'il' and 'elle' is the same as 'he' and 'she' in English. 'They' is expressed by 'ils' if you are referring to a masculine plural noun, and 'elles' if you are referring to a feminine plural noun. If there is a mixture of masculine and feminine nouns, French uses 'ils', the masculine form.

Note that the English concept of 'it' doesn't really apply to French, because all nouns in French are either masculine or feminine.

Each verb form is made up of the stem of the verb ('donn-) and a person ending. Note that all the person endings of the verb are different (unlike in English, where all but one of the verb forms were the same). You need to memorize these verb endings, so that you can understand and write sentences in French.

FIRST CONJUGATION VERBS ARE RECOGNIZED BY THE INFINITIVE ENDING IN -ER.


It is worth noting that the present tense expresses an action which is going on at the time mentioned. In English, we have three ways of expressing the present tense, e.g., 'the dog chases the cat, is chasing the cat, does chase the cat'.
In French there is only the one form to express all these shades of meaning, e.g., 'je donne' means 'I give', 'I am giving', and 'I do give'.

How to Form a Regular -er Verb in French.

To form a verb correctly in French, you need to know the number and person that you are talking about, the stem of the verb, and the ending.
To find the number and person that you need, substitute one of the personal pronouns ('I', 'you', 'he', 'she', 'it', 'we', 'you', 'they') for the subject of the verb. For example, in the sentence 'the girl likes the rabbits', 'the girl' can be replaced by 'she', i.e., 'she likes rabbits'. (If we use the pronoun 'they', i.e., 'they likes rabbits', the sentence doesn't make sense, because we are using a plural pronoun instead of a singular.) Once we know that the pronoun is 'she', we know the number and person that we need to use, i.e., third person singular (refer back to the table above).

Next, we need to find the stem of the verb. In French, the stem of verbs ending in -er, such as donner, is found by taking the infinitive (donner), and removing the -er from the end, leaving donn-. Likewise, the stem of the verb aimer (to like) is aim-.

FIND THE STEM BY CHOPPING -ER OFF THE END OF THE INFINITIVE.


Once we know the stem, we can attach the correct person ending. Using the table of 'donner' above, we know that the third person singular ending for a verb ending in -er is -e. So, if we attach -e to the stem aim-, we get the form aime.
The girl likes the rabbits. La fille aime les lapins.

In the sentence, 'my brother and I hate school', if we replace the subject of the verb, my brother and I, with a personal pronoun, we would choose the first person plural form, 'we', i.e., 'my brother and I, we hate school'. ('He' would be impossible, because there is more than one person involved, i.e., there is a plural subject, and 'they' changes the sense of the original, because 'I' requires the first person.)
Once we know that we need the first person plural form of the verb, we need to find the stem. The verb 'to hate' in French is 'détester', a regular -er verb. To find the stem, simply chop off the final -er, leaving détest-.

All we need to do now is to add the correct person ending. Looking at the table of donner above, the first person plural ending is -ons. Attaching this to the stem of the verb, we get détestons.

My brother and I hate school. Mon frère et moi détestons l'école.

A VERB FORM IS A COMBINATION OF A STEM AND A PERSON ENDING.

Practising a Regular -er Verb.

Fill in the forms of the following table, using the verb regarder (to look at). If you need help with the endings, refer back to the forms of donner above. You will need to find the stem first of all, and then attach the personal endings to the stem. When you have finished, check your answers by clicking on the button. To clear the table and try again, click on the button.

regarder - to look at
singular
1st person je regarde I look at
2nd person tu regardes you (sing.) look at
3rd person il/elle regarde he, she, it looks at
plural
1st person nous regardons we look at
2nd person vous regardez you (pl.) look at
3rd person ils/elles regardent they look at

Variations of -er Verbs.

Some -er verbs undergo slight changes in spelling to preserve their pronunciation.
1. Verbs in -ger.

In order to retain the soft sound of the g, it is necessary to insert an e before endings which begin with a or o.
manger - to eat
Singular
First Person: je mange (I give)
Second Person: tu manges (you (s.) give)
Third Person: il, elle mange (he, she, it gives)
Plural
First Person: nous mangeons (we give)
Second Person: vous mangez (you (pl.) give)
Third Person: ils, elles mangent (they give)


Similar changes are made in changer, songer, arranger, etc. Practise this type of verb, using the following table.

changer - to change
singular
1st person je change I change
2nd person tu changes you (sing.) change
3rd person il/elle change he, she, it changes

plural
1st person nous changeons we change
2nd person vous changez you (pl.) change
3rd person ils/elles changent they change

2. Verbs in -cer.


In order to retain the soft sound of the c, it is necessary to change the c to ç before endings which begin with a or o. This occurs in the same persons in which the -ger verbs require an e.
commencer - to begin
Singular
First Person: je commence (I begin)
Second Person: tu commences (you (s.) begin)
Third Person: il, elle commence (he, she, it begins)
Plural
First Person: nous commençons (we begin)
Second Person: vous commencez (you (pl.) begin)
Third Person: ils, elles commencent (they begin)


Similar changes are made in avancer, forcer, percer, etc. Practise this type of verb, using the following table.
forcer - to force

singular
1st person je force I force
2nd person tu forces you (sing.) force
3rd person il/elle force he, she, it forces

plural
1st person nous foréons we force
2nd person vous forcez you (pl.) force
3rd person ils/elles forcent they force

3. The e-consonant-silent e rule.


French verbs which end in e-consonant-silent e (a silent e being one which is not pronounced as a separate syllable), place a grave accent over the first e, e.g., not je mene, but je mène. This also occurs it the first e is an é, e.g., not je préfére, but je préfère.
répéter - to repeat
Singular
First Person: je répète (I repeat)
Second Person: tu répètes (you (s.) repeat)
Third Person: il, elle répète (he, she, it repeats)
Plural
First Person: nous répétons (we repeat)
Second Person: vous répétez (you (pl.) repeat)
Third Person: ils, elles répètent (they repeat)


Note that this change is not needed in the nous or vous forms, because the e or é is pronounced as a separate syllable, i.e., it is not silent.
Similar changes are made in lever, acheter, geler, promener, céder, répéter, etc. Practise this type of verb, using the following table.
préférer - to prefer
singular
1st person je préfére I prefer
2nd person tu préféres you (sing.) prefer
3rd person il/elle préférere he, she, it prefers

plural
1st person nous préférerons we prefer
2nd person vous préférerez you (pl.) prefer
3rd person ils/elles préférerent they prefer

4. Verbs in -eler and -eter.



Most verbs ending in -eler or -eter double the l or t before a silent e, instead of taking the grave accent.
appeler - to call
Singular
First Person: j'appelle (I call)
Second Person: tu appelles (you (s.) call)
Third Person: il, elle appelle (he, she, it calls)
Plural
First Person: nous appelons (we call)
Second Person: vous appelez (you (pl.) call)
Third Person: ils, elles appellent (they call)


Note that this change is not needed in the nous or vous forms, because the e is pronounced as a separate syllable, i.e., it is not silent.
Similar changes are made in jeter, etc. Practise this type of verb, using the following table.
jeter - to throw

singular
1st person je jette I throw
2nd person tu jettes you (sing.) throw
3rd person il/elle jette he, she, it throws
plural
1st person nous jetons we throw
2nd person vous jetez you (pl.) throw
3rd person ils/elles jettent they throw

5. Verbs in -yer.


Verbs ending in -yer change the y to i before a silent e.
nettoyer - to clean
Singular
First Person: je nettoie (I clean)
Second Person: tu nettoies (you (s.) clean)
Third Person: il, elle nettoie (he, she, it clean)
Plural
First Person: nous nettoyons (we clean)
Second Person: vous nettoyez (you (pl.) clean)
Third Person: ils, elles nettoient (they clean)


Verbs ending in -ayer may either retain the y before a silent e, or change it to i, e.g., je paye or je paie.
Similar changes are made in essayer, essuyer, etc. Practise this type of verb, using the following table.
essayer - to try

singular
1st person je essaie I try
2nd person tu essaies you (sing.) try
3rd person il/elle essaie he, she, it tries

plural
1st person nous essayons we try
2nd person vous essayez you (pl.) try
3rd person ils/elles essaient they try

Irregular Verbs.

A number of verbs in French are irregular, i.e., their present tenses don't conform to the usual pattern of regular -er verbs. The following is a table of irregular verbs which you will encounter during your first year of French.
être - to be avoir - to have aller - to go
Singular Singular Singular
je suis I am j'ai I have je vais I go
tu es you are tu as you have tu vas you go
il/elle est he, she, it is il/elle a he, she, it has il/elle va he, she, it goes
Plural Plural Plural
nous sommes we are nous avons we have nous allons we go
vous êtes you are vous avez you have vous allez you go
ils/elles sont they are ils/elles ont they have ils/elles vont they go

faire - to do, make prendre - to take mettre - to put
Singular Singular Singular
je fais I make je prends I take je mets I put
tu fais you make tu prends you take tu mets you put
il/elle fait he, she, it makes il/elle prend he, she, it takes il/elle met he, she, it puts
Plural Plural Plural
nous faisons we make nous prenons we take nous mettons we put
vous faites you make vous prenez you take vous mettez you put
ils/elles font they make ils/elles prennent they take ils/elles mettent they put

être - to be

singular
1st person je suis I am
2nd person tu es you (sing.) are
3rd person il/elle est he, she, it is

plural
1st person nous sommes we are
2nd person vous êtes you (pl.) are
3rd person ils/elles sont they are

avoir - to have

singular
1st person j' ai I have
2nd person tu as you (sing.) have
3rd person il/elle a he, she, it has

plural
1st person nous avons we have
2nd person vous avezyou (pl.) have
3rd person ils/elles ont they have

aller - to go

singular
1st person jevais I go
2nd person tu vas you (sing.) go
3rd person il/elle va he, she, it goes

plural
1st person nous allons we go
2nd person vous allez you (pl.) go
3rd person ils/elles vont they go

faire - to do, make

singular
1st person je fais I make
2nd person tu fais you (sing.) make
3rd person il/elle fait he, she, it makes

plural
1st person nous faisons we make
2nd person vous faites you (pl.) make
3rd person ils/elles font they make

prendre - to take

singular
1st person je prends I take
2nd person tu prends you (sing.) take
3rd person il/elle prend he, she, it takes

plural
1st person nous prenons we take
2nd person vous prenez you (pl.) take
3rd person ils/ellesprennent they take

mettre - to put
singular
1st person je mets I put
2nd person tu mets you (sing.) put
3rd person il/elle met he, she, it puts

plural
1st person nous mettons we put
2nd person vous mettez you (pl.) put
3rd person ils/elles mettent they put


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