French Present Tense Made Easy (Part 1): Master Regular ER Verbs 

Most French learners think verbs are the hardest part of the language. The truth?

Once you understand one pattern, you’ve already learned thousands of verbs.

Today, we’ll start with the most common group in French: -ER verbs. They make up nearly 90% of regular French verbs, so mastering them gives you a huge advantage in everyday conversations and exams like DELF, TEF and TCF Canada.

What are -ER verbs?

A verb ending in -er in its infinitive form belongs to this family. Examples:

• parler (to speak)
• aimer (to love)
• travailler (to work)
• habiter (to live)
• regarder (to watch)

 

The Golden Rule : Remove -er and then add the endings

Subject	Ending
Je	e
Tu	es
Il/Elle/On	e
Nous	ons
Vous	ez
Ils/Elles	ent

Example: PARLER (TO SPEAK)

 

Subject	Conjugation
Je	parle
Tu	parles
Il/Elle/On	parle
Nous	parlons
Vous	parlez
Ils/Elles	parlent

 

Another Example – TRAVAILLER (TO WORK) : Sentence examples.

Je travaille à Mumbai. (I work in Mumbai.)

Nous travaillons ensemble. (We travel together.)

Vous travaillez demain ? (Are you working tomorrow?)

 

A SMALL BUT IMPORTANT EXCEPTION!

Some ER verbs have small spelling adjustments to keep the pronunciation consistent. 

• GER verbs, like “manger” become “nous mangeons” instead of “nous mangons,” because “G” makes the hard /g/ sound with a, o and u (gone, gun, gate, etc.), whereas it makes the soft /j/ sound with e, i and y (gems, ginger, gym, etc.). So in order to keep the soft /j/ sound consistent, we add an “E” in the “nous” form of all GER verbs. 

 

Example: MANGER (TO EAT)

Subject	Conjugation
Je	mange
Tu	manges
Il/Elle/On	mange
Nous	mangeons
Vous	mangez
Ils/Elles	mangent

 

Similar verbs: nager – to swim, voyager – to travel, etc. 

 

• CER verbs like “commencer” become “nous commençons” for a similar pronunciation reason because “C” makes the /k/ sound with a, o and u (cut, cot, cat), whereas it makes the soft /s/ sound with e, i and y (city, cent, etc.) So in order to keep the soft /s/ sound consistent, we add an accent cedille below “C” in the “nous” form of all CER verbs. 

 

Example: COMMENCER (TO BEGIN)

Subject	Conjugation
Je	commence
Tu	commences
Il/Elle/On	commence
Nous	commençons
Vous	commencez
Ils/Elles	commencent

 

Similar verbs: annoncer – to announce, avancer – to advance, etc. 

 

• YER verbs like “nettoyer” are conjugated slightly differently, where we replace the “Y” with an “I” in the “je, tu, il, elle, on, ils and elles” conjugations, whereas nothing changes for the “nous” and “vous” forms. 

 

Example: NETTOYER (TO CLEAN)

Subject	Conjugation
Je	nettoie
Tu	nettoies
Il/Elle/On	nettoie
Nous	nettoyons
Vous	nettoyez
Ils/Elles	nettoient

 

Similar verbs: essayer – to try, payer – to pay, etc. 

Most Important -ER Verbs

• parler – to speak
• aimer – to like
• habiter – to reside/live
• regarder – to watch
• écouter – to listen
• travailler – to work
• arriver – to arrive
• chercher – to search
• marcher – to walk
• préparer – to prepare
• cuisiner – to cook
• jouer – to play
• acheter – to buy
• demander – to ask
• visiter – to visit

• expliquer – to explain
• présenter – to present
• organiser – to organise
• réserver – to reserve
• voyager – to travel
• participer – to participate
• continuer – to continue
• commencer – to begin
• préférer – to prefer
• étudier – to study
• décider – to decide
• téléphoner – to telephone
• utiliser – to use
• gagner – to win
• aider – to help

 

 Quick Tip – Learn endings, not each verb. Practice with 5 verbs daily. Read aloud. Use verbs in complete sentences.

 

Exercice !

A. Conjuguez.

1. Essayer (je)
2. Manger (nous)
3. Organiser (vous)
4. Continuer (ils)
5. Balancer (nous)

 

B. Fill in the blanks

1. Je ______ français tous les jours. (parler)
2. Nous ______ à Delhi. (habiter)
3. Elle ______ un film. (regarder)
4. Vous ______ le français. (étudier)
5. Ils ______ ensemble. (travailler)

 

Answer Key

 

A. Conjuguez

1. J’essaie
2. Nous mangeons
3. Vous organisez
4. Ils continuent
5. Nous balançons

 

B. Fill in the blanks

1. Je parle français tous les jours.
2. Nous habitons à Delhi.
3. Elle regarde un film.
4. Vous étudiez le français.
5. Ils travaillent ensemble.

 

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Whether you’re preparing for DELF, DALF, TEF Canada or TCF Canada, our goal is simple: Help you think in French and communicate with confidence. You know where to reach us.