1. An – ER, -IR, & -RE verb assembly kit
Putting It Together
An – ER, -IR, & -RE verb assembly kit
Adapted from: Karin White – French teacher, C&I 401 – Fall 2005 Dr. Cheri Toledo, Curriculum Web- Middle School French

2. 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???

3. 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

4. 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
So…We change “to dance” to “dance” or “dances” depending on who we’re talking about (I, You, They). Therefore, the “general” rule is to drop the FIRST 2 letters and add an ending if needed.

5. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
Here are a few verbs 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
C’est facile, n’est-ce pas? 

6. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Verb Conjugation
Would you say…
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, let’s check out the nuts and bolts of conjugating French verbs.

7. 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/ir/re: dans, parl, invit, regard

8. 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 its 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 [—]

9. 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 worker chooses the bit for each drill!!!

10. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
Ok, here’s the drill : Try to conjugate these French verbs by following the 4 simple steps:
1. Take note of the worker (sujet)
2. Choose your drill package (groupe de verbe)
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

11. 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!

12. 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?

13. La Conjugaison des Verbes
Parts and Accessories
Let’s try it with adorer, in a chart:
Subject
(worker) +
Stem
(drill)
Ending
(bit)
Result J’
ador e
adore Tu es
adores
Il/Elle
Nous
ons
adorons
Vous ez
adorez
Ils/Elles
ent
adorent

14. 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…

15. 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…

16. TROIS Sens Three Meanings
Each conjugated form of a verb in the present tense has THREE meanings. 3

17. 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

18. TROIS Sens Three Meanings Need a few more examples? We play
We are playing
We do play
Nous jouons
They borrow
They are borrowing
They do borrow
Elles empruntent
I win
I am winning
I do win
Je gagne

19. What about the ‘IR’ verbs?
They follow the same rules, they just have different drill bits 
-IR Endings Je
is [ee]
Nous
issons
[ee-sohn] Tu
Vous
issez
[ee-seh]
Il/ Elle
it [ee]
Ils/ Elles
issent
[iss-]

20. Veux-tu le voir en action?
Let’s use the verb CHOISIR (to choose)
Subject
(worker) +
Stem
(drill)
Ending
(bit)
Result Je
chois is
choisis Tu
Il/Elle it
choisit
Nous
issons
choisissons
Vous
issez
choisissez
Ils/Elles
issent
choisissent

21. And ‘RE’ verbs? -RE Endings Je s [-] Nous ons [ohn] Tu Vous ez [eh]
Again, same rules, they just have different drill bits 
-RE Endings Je
s [-]
Nous
ons [ohn] Tu
Vous
ez [eh]
Il/ Elle
- [-]
Ils/Elles
ent [-]

22. Veux-tu le voir en action?
Let’s use the verb ENTENDRE (to hear)
Subject
(worker) +
Stem
(drill)
Ending
(bit)
Result J’
entend s
entends Tu
Il/Elle -
Nous
ons
entendons
Vous ez
entendez
Ils/Elles
ent
entendent

23. FAQ’s

24. 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 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!

25. Les Questions Fréquentes
Frequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions:
Why is the “e” missing in “Je” when I conjugate verbs like: aimer, habiter, écouter, adorer, obéir entendre, 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 a vowel or an ‘h’ (which is silent in French). it likes to eliminate the “e” in “Je” and put an apostrophe in it’s place. For example: J’habite, J’aime, J’invite, J’obéis.

26. 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)