Verbs in French end in -er, -re, or -ir. The verb before it is conjugated is called the infinitive.
Removing the last two letters leaves you with the stem ( aimer is the infinitive, aim - is the stem.) The
present indicative tense indicates an ongoing action, general state, or habitual activity. Besides the
simple present tense (I write, I run, I see); there are two other forms of the present tense in English:
the progressive (I am writing, I am running, etc.) and the emphatic (I do write, I do run, etc.) However,
these three English present tenses are all translated by the present indicative tense in French.
To conjugate verbs in the present tense, use the stem and add the following endings.
-er -re 1st -ir 2nd -ir*
-e -ons -s -ons -is -issons -s -ons
-es -ez -s -ez -is -issez -s -ez
-e -ent - -ent -it -issent -t -ent
Sample Regular Verbs
aimer -to like, love vendre - to sell
j'aime zhem aimons em-ohn vends vawn vendons vawn-dohn
aimes em aimez em-ay vends vawn vendez vawn-day
aime em aiment em vend vawn vendent vawn
finir - to finish partir - to leave
finis fee-nee finissons fee-nee-sohn pars pahr partons pahr-tohn
finis fee-nee finissez fee-nee-say pars pahr partez pahr-tay
finit fee-nee finissent fee-nee ss part pahr partent pahrt
Regular verbs
-er -re
aimer em-ay to like, love vendre vawn-druh to sell
chanter shahn-tay to sing attendre ah-tawn-druh to wait for
chercher share-shay to look for entendre awn-tawn-druh to listen
commencer perdre koh-mawn-say to begin pair-druh to lose
donner dohn-nay to give répondre (à) ray-pohn-druh (ah) to answer
étudier ay-too-dee-ay to study descendre deh-sawn-druh to go down
fermer fehr-may to close 1st -ir
habiter ah-bee-tay to live bâtir bah-teer to build
jouer zhoo-ay to play finir fee-neer to finish
manger choisir mawn-zhay to eat shwa-zeer to choose
montrer mohn-tray to show punir poo-neer to punish
parler par-lay to speak remplir rawn-pleer to fill
penser pawn-say to think obéir (à) oh-bay-eer (ah) to obey
travailler trah-vy-yay to work réussir ray-oo-seer to succeed
trouver troo-vay to find guérir gay-reer to cure, heal
Note: If a verb is followed by à (like répondre) you have to use the à and any contractions after the
conjugated verb. Ex: Je réponds au téléphone.
* The 2nd -ir verbs are considered irregular sometimes because there are only a few verbs which
follow that pattern. Other verbs like partir are sortir (to go out), dormir (to sleep), mentir (to lie),
sentir (to smell, feel) and servir (to serve.)
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