1. Our infinitives are composed of 2 parts:
1. the stem
2. the ending
ex. parler  the ending
*infintives are grouped according to their ending  “-er verbs”
parler  the stem
*all the letters of the infinitive without the last two letters (e + r) (the ending)

2. Infinitive → aimer (to like)
Stem
Ending
danser
(stem)
(ending)

3. **How to conjugate a regular ‘-er’ verb
1. Write the skeleton verb chart of subject pronouns.

4. je (I)
nous (we)
tu (you)
vous (you)
il (he/it)
elle (she/it)
ils (they [m/f])
elles (they [f])

5. 2. Take infinitive; that’s the title of conjugation chart. 3
2. Take infinitive; that’s the title of conjugation chart. 3. Drop the –er ending. You are left with the stem. Insert the stem only into each of the 6 forms of the conjugation chart. Note: Both infinitive and the conjugated verb have a stem and an ending. The stem for the infinitive and the conjugated verb are the same. The endings are different.

6. Ex. “To speak” Parler Drop –er ending from inf
Ex. “To speak” Parler Drop –er ending from inf. Parler You are left with “parl” stem. Add “parl” infinitive stem into conjugation chart which now becomes the conjugated verb stem.

7. je parl
nous parl
tu parl
vous parl il
elle parl
ils parl
elles

8. 3. Add appropriate conjugated verb ending for each form of conjugation chart.
je parle
nous parlons
tu parles
vous parlez il
elle parle
ils parlent
elles

9. 1st person singular
1st person plural
2nd person singular
2nd person plural
3rd person singular
3rd person plural

10. Note: although different spellings, verb endings for the for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person singular forms and 3rd person plural forms all have the same sound.

11. Ex. 1: Directions: Copy French sentences into notebook and fill in the banks with the correct form of the verb in the parentheses. 2. Then, translate the sentences into English.
Paul _________________ à Paris. (habiter)
2. Nous ______________ beaucoup. (étudier)

12. 4. La sœur et le frère _________________ au football à Providence
4. La sœur et le frère _________________ au football à Providence. (jouer) 5. Vous ________________ très bien. (chanter) 6. Tu _______________ avec Jacqueline. (manger) 7. Marie _______ avec Julie. (parler)

13. Ex. 2: Directions: Copy the English sentences into your notebook, and then translate into French.
I like to swim.
She speaks English and French.
Marc dances in town.
My mother plays tennis, and she likes to listen to the radio.
You (pl) sing at home.
I eat with Jacques.

14. Translations of verb in the present tense:
In French, present tense consists of only one word.
In English, present tense can have 3 possible translations. You are responsible for all 3 translations.
(FYI, You’re lucky! You don’t need to learn the subtleties of the language!)

15. Je chante. = I sing. I am singing. I do sing.

16. Negative Formation: nothing else!!
To make a sentence negative, you put ne…pas around the verb.
think of a sandwich
ne – – pas  bread
v  ONLY thing inside
ONLY verb is inside the [ne... v…pas]
nothing else!!

17. S + ne + V + pas + rest …
‘ne’ turns to n’ when verb begins with vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u, h, y) (elision) v
Ex Je ne suis pas française.
Il ne joue pas au football.
Il ne chante pas, et il ne danse pas.
suis
joue
chante
danse

18. Ex. Elle n’aime pas chanter.
When there are 2 verbs in one sentence that belong to the same subject, only put ne…pas around the conjugated verb. (Not/Never the infinitive)
Ex. Elle n’aime pas chanter.
verb infinitive

19. Example sentences. Two constructions: I. S + V + Object noun
J’aime le français.
S.P. V obj. (Remember, you always need an article in French even though
you don’t need one in English.)
2. J’aime l’ école.
3. J’aime les vacances.
4. J’aime la télé.
5. J’aime la radio.

20. OR II. S + V + infinitive
RULE: Always conjugate first verb, second verb stays in infinitive form.

21. S V inf (I like to swim.) 1. J’aime nager. 2. J’aime chanter.
S V inf (I like to sing.)

22. Je veux écouter de la musique.
S V inf object
(I want to listen to music.)
Je dois étudier.
S V inf
(I must study.)
I can’t watch T.V.
Je ne peux pas regarder la télé.