1.
1. The Infinitive
A form of the verb which ends in
-er -ir -re
and corresponds to the English ‘to’
eg. aimer – to like finir – to finish vendre – to sell
The infinitive does not tell us who is doing the action, nor when the
action is being done.
If we know who is doing the action, or when the action is being done,
the verb is conjugated.

2.
2. The Present Tense
Meaning: Je porte = I carry / I do carry / I am carrying
2 a) Regular verbs
The conjugation process is different for –re, -ir and –re verbs.
We’ll take them one at a time…

3.
- er verbs (eg. porter)
The middle Remove the –er, add the
bit is called
the stem of endings:
the verb. It’s
the bit that Je port e The bits in
stays the bold are the
same – Tu port es endings and
when the they must
endings Il/ elle port e always agree
change with the
Nous port ons pronouns,
These are just like in
Vous port ez English (we
known as
pronouns. Ils/ Elles port ent wouldn’t say
They tell us ‘I does’ and
who is doing we wouldn’t
the activity say ‘He do’

4.
- ir verbs (eg. finir)
Remove the –ir, add the
endings:
We call these the
‘singular forms of Je fin is
the verb’…
because they refer Tu fin is
to only 1 person
Il/ elle fin it
We call these the Nous fin issons Vous can be
‘plural forms of the singular, if you’re
verb’ because they Vous fin issez
talking politely to
refer to more than 1 person
Ils/ Elles fin issent
1 person. BUT…
Don’t forget to look for patterns…
here, you can see the familiar –ons, -ez – ent hidden in the endings.

5.
- re verbs (eg. vendre)
Remove the –re, add the
endings:
Je vend s
Tu vend s
Il/ elle vend
Nous vend ons
Vous vend ez
Ils/ Elles vend ent

6.
You must be able to form the present tense yourself,
from memory, with ease.
Chant these – er endings 6 times:
-e -es -e -ons -ez -ent
Now chant these – ir endings 6 times:
-is -is -it -issons -issez -issent
Now back to these – er endings, 6 times:
-e -es -e -ons -ez -ent

7.
Now chant these – re endings 6 times:
-s -s -‘nothing’ -ons -ez -ent
Now these – ir endings again, 6 times:
-is -is -it -issons -issez -issent
Now these – re endings again, 6 times:
-s -s -‘nothing’ -ons -ez -ent
Finally, learn these chants by heart, at home!

8.
2 b) Irregular verbs
French has many many irregular verbs – these don’t follow the pattern we’ve just
looked at. As luck would have it, some of the verbs we use most frequently are
irregular and must be learnt by heart.
avoir être
J’ai nous avons Je suis nous sommes
Tu as vous avez Tu es vous êtes
Il/elle a ils/ elles ont Il/elle est ils/ elles sont
aller faire
Je vais nous allons Je fais nous faisons
Tu vas vous allez Tu fais vous faites
Il/elle va ils/ elles vont Il/elle fait ils/ elles font
For the others, a you will need to know how to use a verb table. These are found in
dictionaries and some grammar books.

9.
3. -er verbs with peculiarities in the present tense
a) – CER verbs: before the o the c takes a cédille (ç)
eg. nous commençons = we begin
nous avançons = we advance
nous lançons = we launch
b) – GER verbs: before the o the g is cushioned with an e
eg. nous mangeons = we eat
nous nageons = we swim
nous partageons= we share

10.
c) appeler & jeter: consonant is doubled before a silent ending
J’appelle (I call) Je jette (I throw)
Tu appelles Tu jettes
Il appelle Il jette
Nous appelons Nous jetons
!!! No silent ending!!!
Vous appelez Vous jetez
Ils appellent Ils jettent
d) Verbs taking a grave accent before silent endings:
J’achète (I buy) J’espère (I hope)
Tu achètes Tu espères
Il achète Il espère
Nous achetons !!! No silent ending!!! Nous esperons
Vous achetez Vous esperez
Ils achètent Ils espèrent