1. CONJUGATING ER, IR & RE VERBS
Present Tense of regular verbs

2. STEPS FOR CONJUGATION:
Find the root (aka, the stem or radical) of the verb by removing the last 2 letters from the infinitive (they will either be “er”, “ir” or “re”.
Remember, an infinitive, is the most basic, unconjugated form of a verb. It is the “name” you will find it under, in a dictionary.
A verb in the infinitive form usually translates as “to + verb”, in English.
Ex: Manger = to eat
Add the ending that matches your chosen subject (je, tu, il/elle, …) to the root.

3. Révisons! ER VERBS ~ LES VERBES EN “ER”
Subject Pronoun
Ending Je -e Tu
-es
Il / Elle / On
Nous
-ons
Vous
-ez
Ils / Elles
-ent

4. ALL ER VERBS FOLLOW THIS PATTERN, EXCEPT “ALLER”
Subject Pronoun
Ending Je
vais Tu
vas
Il / Elle / On va
Nous
allons
Vous
allez
Ils / Elles
vont

5. REGULAR VS. IRREGULAR VERBS
Regular verbs always follow the pattern I teach you.
Irregular verbs don’t necessarily follow a set pattern and must be memorized.
The most important irregular verbs are: être, avoir, aller, vouloir, pouvoir, faire & prendre.

6. THE NEAR FUTURE ~ LE FUTUR PROCHE
Remember, you can also talk about things you’ll do in the near future by conjugating the verb “aller”, in the present tense, and adding an infinitive verb after it.
NEAR FUTURE = ALLER (IN PRESENT) + INFINITIVE
Je vais manger. ~ I am going to eat.
Tu vas danser. ~ You are going to dance.
Il va dormir. ~ He is going to sleep.
Nous allons étudier. ~ We are going to study.
Vous allez chanter. ~ You guys are going to sing.
Ils vont travailler. ~ He is going to work.

7. IR VERBS~ LES VERBES EN “IR”
Subject Pronoun
Ending Je
-is Tu
Il / Elle / On
-it
Nous
-issons
Vous
-issez
Ils / Elles
-issent

8. COMMON REGULAR IR VERBS
accomplir =
to accomplish
finir
to finish
grandir
to grow up
grossir
to put on weight
maigrir
to loose weight
mincir
to slim down
obéir
to obey
remplir
to fill
réfléchir
to think, to reflect
réussir
to succeed
vieillir
to grow old
The green portions of these words should remind you of adjectives we’ve learned, that have a similar meaning to their verb counterparts.

9. RE VERBS~ LES VERBES EN “RE”
Subject Pronoun
Ending Je -s Tu
Il / Elle / On
-add nothing
Nous
-ons
Vous
-ez
Ils / Elles
-ent

10. COMMON REGULAR RE VERBS
attendre
(Careful! This one does not mean what it looks like it would mean!) =
to wait
descendre
to go down
entendre
to hear
perdre
to lose
rendre
to give back, to return
répondre
to answer

11. COMPARISON CHART What patterns do you see ? ER IR RE Je e is s Tu es
Il / Elle / On it
Remove ending & don’t add anything
Nous
ons
issons
Vous ez
issez
Ils / Elles
ent
issent
What patterns do you see ?

12. SEMI-REGULAR VERBS
There is also a category of verbs called “semi-regular” verbs, which means they mostly follow the pattern taught, with the exception of minor spelling changes, for phonetic reasons.
(“These spelling rules generally aim to keep the relationship consistent between a letter -or sequence of letters- and the sound represented.”)
Ex: s’appeler = to call oneself
Je m’appelle Madame Benford.
Nous nous appelons.
An additional “l” is added to the root, for pronunciation purposes, in certain forms, and removed for others.

13. SEMI-REGULAR VERBS
Don’t worry too much about this category, for now, but if interested, you can read more about them here: