The Basics of French Verb Conjugation

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The Basics of French Verb Conjugation

–ER Verbs -RE Verbs-IR Verbs

Robert J. LaRocqueCEP 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.

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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 Singularo Plural

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French Subject PronounsThe 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. Next

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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

✔ For Understandi

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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:

Day & Time

Person and Feelings

Person and Number

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

A

B

C

D

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Bien Fait!You are correct!

Click here for the next

question…

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DésoléYou are incorrect!

Click here to try again!

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Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular and plural first person forms.

Tu & Ils

Ils & Elles

Je & Tu

Je & Nous

Il & Elle Nous & Vous

Elle & Elles

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question…

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Click on the subject pronouns that represent the singular third person forms.

Tu & Ils

Il & Elle Je & Nous

Nous & Elles Tu & Vous

Il & Ils

Je & Vous

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question…

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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?

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

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

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

All of the above

A

B

C

D

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question…

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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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Click Here to 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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Examples of –er Verbs

nager- to

swim

étudier- to study

parler- to talkpenser- to think

manger- to eat

danser- to dance

écouter- to listen

regarder- to watch

aimer- to like

adorer- to love

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-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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– ER Verb ConjugationStep 1

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

aimeraimeraim

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✕The infinitive

Drop the –er ending

The stem

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– ER Verb ConjugationStep 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’) -enous -ons

tu -esvous -ez

il -eils -ent

elle -eelles -ent

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– ER Verb ConjugationUsing the stem, aim- , and the endings for regular –er verbs, this is

what the conjugation for the verb aimer will look like.

je (j’) aimenous aimons

tu aimesvous aimez

il aimeils aiment

elle aimeelles aiment

Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.

TEST YOUR SKILLS

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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

Ready to Begin?

Click Here to Start

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Question # 1

Elles _______________ la télévision. (regarder)

regarde regardent regardez regardes

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 2

Je _______________ la pizza. (manger)

mange mangent mangeons mangez

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 3

Nous _______________ au téléphone. (parler)

parle parlent parlez parlons

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 4

Vous _______________ la musique française. (écouter)

écoutez écoutentécoutes écoutons

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 5

J’ _______________ le français!

aime aiment aimesaimez

Click here…-ER Verb

Conjugation Video In Review

A B C D

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Click Here for –ER Verb

Conjugation Video in Review

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– ER Verb ConjugationVideo in Review

-IR Verbs

Click Here to open video in youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ndmTH--kgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ndmTH--kgA

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

verbs

o The infinitive of the verb ends in –ir.

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Examples of –ir Verbs

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agir to act

choisirto choose

finirto finish

grossirto gain weight

réussirto succeed

réfléchirto reflect

maigrirto lose weight

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-IR Verb Conjugation

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

Next

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– IR Verb ConjugationStep 1

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

finirfinirfin

Next

✕The infinitive

Drop the –ir ending

The stem

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– IR Verb ConjugationStep 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 –ir verbs, the endings we add are:

je (j’) -isnous -issons

tu -is vous-issez

il -itils -issent

elle -itelles -issent

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– IR Verb ConjugationUsing the stem, fin- , and the endings for regular –ir verbs, this is

what the conjugation for the verb finir will look like.

je (j’) finisnous finissons

tu finisvous finissezil finit

ils finissentelle finit

elles finissentNote: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.

TEST YOUR SKILLS

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Test Your Skills-IR Verbs

For each question, the –ir verb will be given at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Your task is to correctly identify the


Example Question

Il __________ les escargots. (choisir)

a. choisis b. choisissons c. choisit d. choisissent

Ready to Begin?

Click Here to Start

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Question # 1

Il _______________ ses devoirs. (finir)

finit finissent finissons finis

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 2

Je _______________ un bon restaurant pour le dèjeuner. (chosir)

choisit choisis choisissez choisissent

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 3

Ils _______________. (réfléchir)

réfléchit réfléchis réfléchissons réfléchissent

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 4

Il_______________ après il mange le gâteau. (grossir)

grossit grossis grossissez grossissons

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 5

Tu _______________ à tout ce que fait. (réussir)

réussissent réussis réussitréussissons

Click here…-IR Verb


A B C D

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Click here…-IR Verb


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– IR Verb ConjugationVideo in Review

-RE Verbs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLwK4NrlNFE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLwK4NrlNFE

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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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Examples of –re Verbs

Next

prétendreto

pretend

répondreto

respondattendreto wait

descendreto

descend

vendreto sell

perdreto lose

écrireto write

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-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.

Next

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– RE Verb ConjugationStep 1

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

vendrevendrevend

Next

✕The infinitive

Drop the –re ending

The stem

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– RE Verb ConjugationStep 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’) -snous -ons

tu -svous -ez

il -ils -ent

elle -elles -ent

Next

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– RE Verb ConjugationUsing the stem, vend, and the endings for regular –re verbs, this is

what the conjugation for the verb vendre will look like.

je (j’) vendsnous vendons

tu vendsvous vendez

il vendils vendent

elle vendelles vendent

Note: je becomes j’ if the verb begins with a vowel.

TEST YOUR SKILLS

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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


Example Question

Il __________ les escargots. (perdre)

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

Ready to Begin?

Click Here to Start

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Question # 1

Nous _______________ une lettre à nos amis. (écrire)

écrit écrivez écrivons écrivent

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 2

Je _______________ les escargots. (vendre)

vendons vend vends vendent

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 3

Elle_______________ l’autobus. (attendre)

attends attendent attendons attend

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 4

Ils_______________ l’escalier. (descendre)

descends descendent descenddescendons

A B C D

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question…

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Question # 5

Je _______________ être le français! (prétendre)

prétends prétend prétendonsprétendez

Click here…-REVerb


A B C D

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Click here…-REVerb


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– RE Verb ConjugationVideo in Review

Main Menu


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVY0n37ublk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVY0n37ublk

The Basics of French Verb Conjugation

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