Le présent — verbes en -ER
The biggest verb group in French, and the one pattern that unlocks about 90% of all verbs.
The pattern
Roughly nine out of ten French verbs end in -er, and almost all of them follow one single pattern. Learn it once and you can conjugate thousands of verbs.
Take the infinitive, remove -er to get the stem, then add the ending:
parler → stem parl-
| je | parle |
| tu | parles |
| il / elle / on | parle |
| nous | parlons |
| vous | parlez |
| ils / elles | parlent |
The silent trap. parle, parles and parlent are spelled differently but pronounced identically. Four of the six forms sound the same. Students hear one thing and must write another — this is worth drilling in dictation.
More -ER verbs, same endings
| Verb | Meaning | Stem |
|---|---|---|
| aimer | to like / love | aim- |
| habiter | to live (somewhere) | habit- |
| travailler | to work | travaill- |
| regarder | to watch | regard- |
| écouter | to listen | écout- |
| manger | to eat | mang- |
Two small spelling adjustments
Verbs in -ger add an e before -ons, to keep the soft g sound:
- nous mangeons, nous voyageons
Verbs in -cer take a cedilla before -ons, for the same reason:
- nous commençons, nous plaçons
These are not exceptions to the grammar — the endings are unchanged. They are spelling repairs to protect the pronunciation.
The one real irregular: aller
Aller (to go) looks like an -ER verb and is not one:
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il / elle / on | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils / elles | vont |
Exercises
1. Conjugate habiter in full.
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j'habite · tu habites · il/elle habite · nous habitons · vous habitez · ils/elles habitent
Note j'habite — the h is silent, so je elides.
2. Translate: "We eat at eight o'clock."
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Nous mangeons à huit heures.
Watch the e in mangeons — without it the g would harden.
3. Fill in: Ils ___ (travailler) à Paris et ils ___ (aller) au bureau.
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Ils travaillent à Paris et ils vont au bureau.
travailler is regular; aller is not.
4. Why do je parle, tu parles and ils parlent sound the same?
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Because the endings -e, -es and -ent are all silent in the present
tense. The pronunciation stops at the stem: parl. Only nous parlons
and vous parlez add an audible syllable.