1. Putting It Together
An ER verb assembly kit
Français I

2. Putting It Together Setup Getting Started FAQ’s Projects
An ER verb assembly kit
Setup
Getting Started
FAQ’s
Projects

3. Setup
The process of verb conjugation
Parts and accessories

4. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
So what is conjugation? What does “conjugate” mean?
In grammatical terms, it’s…
Taking the regular form of the verb (such as: to have, to eat, to dance, to speak, etc) and changing it to agree with the subject of the verb (the person/object performing the action)
Lost? Don’t you worry. We conjugate verbs in English every day! How???

5. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
Watch carefully as our verb repair specialty crew conjugates an English verb in the present tense.
to be
I am We are
You are You (pl) are
He/She is They are

6. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
Don’t they do excellent work? Here are some other familiar projects:
to eat
to dance
I dance We dance
You dance You (pl) dance
He/She dances They dance
I eat We eat
You eat You (pl) eat
He/She eats They eat
Is it making sense yet? We change “to dance” to “dance” or “dances” depending on who we’re talking about (I, You, They). The same goes for “to eat.” Try a few on your own:

7. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
Here are a few verbs to try. Remember to use the present tense!
to watch
to work
I watch We watch
You watch You (pl) watch
He/She watches They watch
I work We work
You work You (pl) work
He/She works They work
How did you do?
C’est facile, n’est-ce pas?

8. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
Would you say… (click on each one)
I is?
You be?
He are?
She work?
They watches?
I to be?
You to work?
Oops! Of course not! Conjugated verbs are not interchangeable! It sounds ridiculous! It’s the same way with the French language.
Now that you are experts, lets check out the nuts and bolts of conjugating French verbs.

9. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
In order to be a successful verb conjugator, you will need to know the following 4 terms:
Subject-
The person or thing doing the action (je, vous, la télé)
Infinitive-
The verb by itself: danser, parler, inviter, regarder
What others can you name?
travailler
habiter
organiser
écouter
chanter
Stem-
The verb without the er: dans, parl, invit, regard

10. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
And most importantly:
Ending-
The combination of letters that we put in place of the “er” that we dropped earlier. Each pronoun has it’s own ending to be used.
Below is a chart that gives these endings
-ER Endings Je
e [—]
Nous
ons [ohn] Tu
es [—]
Vous
ez [eh]
Il/ Elle
Ils/Elles
ent [—]

11. The right bit - For the right job!!!
La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
Or think of it this way:
Subject
Infinitive
Stem
Ending
The worker:
The drill packaging:
The drill: (packaging removed)
The drill bits: er
e, es, e, ons, ez, ent
Je, Tu, Nous, la fille, Ils
aimer, danser, chanter, parler
aim, dans, chant, parl
The right bit - For the right job!!!

12. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
Ok, here’s the drill : Try to conjugate these French verbs by following the 4 simple step:
1. Take note of the worker
2. Choose your drill package
3. Remove ALL er packaging from the drill (how else are you going to use it?)
Select the correct bit for the worker given
*Notice, there are 6 workers for each verb!*
parler Je
Nous Tu
Vous
Il/Elle
Ils/Elles

13. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
parler
jouer Je
Nous Je
Nous Tu
Vous Tu
Vous
Il/Elle
Ils/Elles
Il/Elle
Ils/Elles
habiter
aimer Je
Nous Je
Nous Tu
Vous Tu
Vous
Il/Elle
Ils/Elles
Il/Elle
Ils/Elles
Go to the next page to see how you did!

14. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
parler
jouer
Je parle
Nous parlons
Je joue
Nous jouons
Tu parles
Vous parlez
Tu joues
Vous jouez
Il/Elle parle
Ils/Elles parlent
Il/Elle joue
Ils/Elles jouent
habiter
aimer
J’habite
Nous habitons
J’aime
Nous aimons
Tu habites
Vous habitez
Tu aimes
Vous aimez
Il/Elle habite
Ils/Elles habitent
Il/Elle aime
Ils/Elles aiment
How did you do? Ready for a new twist?

15. Getting Started
The Rule of THREE

16. La Règle de TROIS
The Rule of THREE
Most conjugated forms of an ER verb sound the same (even though their spellings are different), so you only have to learn THREE pronunciations! 1
There are THREE “Special G” verbs that break the rules for conjugating the nous form:
-nager -voyager -manger 2
Each conjugated form of an ER verb in the present tense has THREE meanings. 3

17. TROIS Prononciations Three Pronunciations
Most conjugated forms of an ER verb sound the same (even though their spellings are different), so you only have to learn THREE pronunciations! 1

18. TROIS Prononciations Three Pronunciations
For example, let’s conjugate:
danser
Je danse
Nous dansons
Tu danses
Vous dansez
Il/Elle danse
Ils/Elles dansent
Say them to yourself:
danse = [dawnss]
danses = [dawnss]
dansons = [dawnss-ohn]
dansez = [dawnss-eh]
dansent = [dawnss]

19. TROIS Prononciations How does it work? Three Pronunciations danser
Je danse Nous dansons
Tu danses Vous dansez
Il/Elle danse Ils/Elles dansent
Trois Pononciations!
1. [dawnss] [dawnss-ohn] [dawnss-eh]
How does it work?

20. TROIS Prononciations And then… Three Pronunciations
When you take off the packaging (er), you get the stem (the drill).
The stem is pronounced just like it looks. It’s like saying the infinitive form without the ER sound at the end:
Infinitive drop ER = Stem
-étudier [ay] = étudi [ay-tew-dee]
-inviter [ay] = invit [aahn-veet]
-habiter [ay] = habit [ah-beet]
And then…

21. TROIS Prononciations Three Pronunciations
Add the bit! As a quick reminder, here are the pronunciations of each bit (ending)
-ER Endings Je
e [—]
Nous
ons [ohn] Tu
es [—]
Vous
ez [eh]
Il/ Elle
Ils/Elles
ent [—]
Do you see the 4 bits that have the same pronunciation?

22. TROIS Prononciations Three Pronunciations Let’s try it with dîner: Je
Subject
(worker) +
Stem
(drill)
Ending
(bit)
Result Je
dîn [deen]
e [-]
dîne [deen] Tu
es [-]
dînes [deen]
Il/Elle
Nous
ons[ohn]
dînons [deen-ohn]
Vous
ez[eh]
dînez [deen-eh]
Ils/Elles
ent [-]
dînent [deen]

23. TROIS Prononciations Three Pronunciations
Do you see the 4 bits that have the same pronunciation?
Subject
(worker) +
Stem
(drill)
Ending
(bit)
Result Je
dîn [deen]
e [-]
dîne [deen] Tu
es [-]
dînes [deen]
Il/Elle
Nous
ons[ohn]
dînons [deen-ohn]
Vous
ez[eh]
dînez [deen-eh]
Ils/Elles
ent [-]
dînent [deen]

24. Les exemples au Web
More examples: (click on links to hear an authentic pronunciation)
The above links are the internet examples (described in your packet)

25. Les verbes du “G” special
Special G verbs
There are THREE “Special G” verbs that break the rules for conjugating the nous form: 2

26. Les verbes du “G” special
Special G verbs
These three “special G” verbs are:
nager
voyager
manger
They are all three ER verbs with a “G” before the –er.

27. Les verbes du “G” special
Special G verbs
nager
Je nage
Nous nageons
Tu nages
Vous nagez
Il/Elle nage
Ils/Elles nagent
For these “special G” verbs, the “Nous” form is different. What changes?
Why? (think pronunciation)
voyager
Je voyage
Nous voyageons
Tu voyages
Vous voyagez
Il/Elle voyage
Ils/Elles voyagent
manger
Je mange
Nous mangeons
Tu manges
Vous mangez
Il/Elle mange
Ils/Elles mangent
Something about the spelling has changed…

28. And the French would say…
Les verbes du “G” special
Special G verbs
So what changes?
-We’ve added an “e” between the “g” and “ons”
-Why?
-So we can keep the [zsh] sound in all the verb forms (je, tu, nous, vous, etc) consistently.
And if we didn’t?
-We’d have: nagons [nah – gohn]
voyagons [voy –a-gohn]
mangon [mah –gohn]
And the French would say…

29. Oh là là. Fermez les oreilles. [mahn-gohn]. Zut
Oh là là! Fermez les oreilles!!! [mahn-gohn]??? Zut! C’est un massacre de la langue française! NON! NON! NON!!!
[nah-gohn]??? NON!!! C’est horrible! Quelle horreur!!!! Et [voy-a-gohn]?!? Quelle mauvaise prononciation!!!!

30. Les verbes du “G” special
Special G verbs
So… in the interest of positive foreign relations, let’s remember:
-The “NOUS” form is special for nager, voyager, and manger
-In the “NOUS” form of these three verbs, we need to insert and “e” after the “g” to make the pronunciation sound nice
SPECIAL “G” needs an “E” to sound “JOLI!” (pretty)
3 pronunciations, 3 special “G” verbs, and now…

31. TROIS Sens Three Meanings
Each conjugated form of an ER verb in the present tense has THREE meanings. 3

32. TROIS Sens Three Meanings For example, let’s conjugate: voyager
Je voyage Nous voyageons
Tu voyages Vous voyagez
Il/Elle voyage Ils/Elles voyagent
“Je voyage” has three meanings: I travel, I am traveling, I do travel
“Ils/Elles voyagent” has three meanings: They travel, they are traveling, and they do travel

33. TROIS Sens Three Meanings Need a few more examples? We play
We are playing
We do play
Nous jouons
They work
They are working
They do work
Elles travaillent
I talk
I am talking
I do talk
Je parle

34. La Règle de TROIS VOILÀ! Et
The Rule of THREE Et
VOILÀ!
Conjugate while remembering these three rules and you’ll create a masterpiece every time!
And speaking of masterpieces… lets put it all together and try your handiwork…

35. Projects

36. Les Projets
Projects
Visit the following sites and try to activities to test your newfound skills and knowledge:
1. be sure to following instructions in parentheses!   (click on “Français, scroll down and select Present Tense, click on Regular –ER Verbs) 2.
3. (you may play several times)
4. (scroll down towards the bottom, starting with “fill in the blanks”)

37. FAQ’s

38. Les Questions Fréquentes
Frequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:
Instead of dropping the “er” when conjugating a verb, can’t I just drop the “r”?
What you’re really asking:
Can’t I leave some of the packaging and still use the drill without any problems?
Answer:
NO! It may seem like it doesn’t make a difference, but it is a bad habit to start! Some -er verbs have fancier endings and cannot be conjugated by just dropping the “r”. Conjugation will not turn out properly… nor will your project if you leave the packaging on the drill!

39. Les Questions Fréquentes
Frequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:
Why is the “e” missing in “Je” when I conjugate verbs like “aimer, habiter, écouter, inviter, etc.”
What you’re really asking:
Is the “Je” worker picky about certain drills?
Answer:
Yes, the “Je” worker is picky. If the drill it wants to use begins with the vowels “a,e, or i” or a vowel sound, it likes to eliminate the “e” in “Je” and put an apostrophe in it’s place. For example: J’habite, J’aime, J’invite.

40. Les Questions Fréquentes
Frequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:
Will “je suis parle” or “je suis parler” work instead of saying “je parle” to mean “I am speaking”?
What you’re really asking:
Can’t a worker use two drills at the same time with or without the correct bit?
Answer:
NO! It’s dangerous and makes no sense! “Je parle” already means “I am speaking.” “Je suis parle,”translates to “I am am speaking.” “Je suis parler,” means “I am to speak.” Do not put any form of être (suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont) in front of any verb!!! (you’d be using two drills… être and another verb)