1. L E P RÉSENT The Present Tense

2. L E P RÉSENT We use the present tense to describe an action that is happening now. We use the present tense by taking the radical of the infinitive.

3. W HAT IS THE RADICAL OF THE INFINITIVE ? Well for instance with the verb parler which means to talk it is parl For Finir which means to finish it is fin For Vendre which means to sell it is vend So after we have the radical of the infinitive we add the endings.

4. W HAT ARE THE ENDINGS ? For “er” verbs like Parler they are Je...e Tu...es Il/Elle/On...e Nous...ons Vous...ez Ils/Elles...ent

5. F OR “IR” VERBS LIKE F INIR Je...is Tu...is Il/Elle/On...it Nous...issons Vous...issez Ils/Elles...issent

6. F OR “RE” VERBS LIKE VENDRE Je...s Tu...s Il/Elle/On Nous...ons Vous...ez Ils/Elles...ent

7. S O WHAT DOES THIS TELL ALL OF US ? Well it tells us how to form verbs in the present tense. So Parler becomes Je parle Tu parles Il parle Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils parlent

8. F INIR BECOMES Je finis Tu finis Il finit Nous finissons Vous finissez Ils finissent

9. A ND V ENDRE BECOMES Je vends Tu vends Il vend Nous vendons Vous vendez Ils vendent

10. O NE E XCEPTION There is of course one exception that you need to learn. Verbs that end in “ger” like manger (to eat) or changer (to change) When they are conjugated in the nous form you need to keep the “e” before adding the “ons” For example : Nous mangeons Nous changeons