PART 1: PRESENT TENSE VERBS
Section 2: The Verb Classes and their Present Tense Conjugations
There are three main groups of verbs in French, and they are classified as follows:
Première Groupe (1st group) - les verbes ER
Deuxième Groupe (2nd group) - les verbes IR
Troisième Groupe (3rd group) - les verbes RE
Each group of verbs has a different present tense conjugation, depending on which pronoun is used:
Première (1e) Groupe (1st group) - les verbes ER
Je __________e
Tu __________es
Il __________e
Elle ________e
Nous ________ons
Vous ________ez
Ils ________ent
Elles _______ent
For all regular ER verbs, they are conjugated by replacing the -ER ending with the listed conjugation.
Take, for example, the verb
parler, or to speak.
Je parle
Tu parles
Il parle
Elle parle
Nous parlons
Vous parlez
Ils parlent
Elles parlent
hear it conjugated here
Deuxième (2e) Groupe (2nd group) - les verbes IR Type I
Je __________is
Tu __________is
Il __________it
Elle ________it
Nous ________issons
Vous ________issez
Ils ________issent
Elles _______issent
For all regular IR verbs, they are conjugated by replacing the -IR ending with the listed conjugation.
Take, for example, the verb
finir, or to finish.
Je finis
Tu finis
Il finit
Elle finit
Nous finissons
Vous finissez
Ils finissent
Elles finissent
hear it conjugated here
There is another type of IR verb that is conjugated in a similar but not exactly the same way; Let's call them "les verbes IR Type II". They are conjugated as follows:
Je __________s
Tu __________s
Il __________t
Elle ________t
Nous ________ons
Vous ________ez
Ils ________ent
Elles _______ent
Take, for example, the verb
sortir, or to leave.
Je sors
Tu sors
Il sort
Elle sort
Nous sortons
Vous sortez
Ils sortent
Elles sortent
hear it conjugated here
How do you tell which IR conjugation to use? This is a note I wrote somebody who asked:
If you can translate the verb by a word that ends in -ish, it belongs to IR type I. If the verb comes from an adjective (to get red, to get white, etc..) it belongs to IR type I. If it is choisir, obéir, or réfléchir, or remplir, it also belongs to IR type I. Many other verbs belong to IR type II - yet others have their own case.
Troisième (3e) Groupe (3rd group) - les verbes RE
Je __________s
Tu __________s
Il __________(none)
Elle ________(none)
Nous ________ons
Vous ________ez
Ils ________ent
Elles _______ent
For all regular RE verbs, they are conjugated by replacing the -RE ending with the listed conjugation. However, RE verbs have a variety of irregular conjugations. Here is your first introduction to irregular verbs in French
Take, for example, the verb
mettre, or to put. Note the double t in the plural; this is done also in many other verbs ending in -TRE.
Je mets
Tu mets
Il met
Elle met
Nous mettons
Vous mettez
Ils mettent
Elles mettent
hear it conjugated here
In English, there are several present tenses. For example, you can say I do go, I go, or I am going. French does not make this distinction. There is only one present tense in French.
Now for your homework
Please PM me the answers to the following questions.
1. Conjugate the verb
dormir (to sleep), being careful to use the conjugations for IR verb Type II. Je/tu use
dors, while il/elle use
dort.
2. Conjugate the verb
écrire (to write), being careful of the following:
The conjugations in plural require an extra v on the left end. i.e. -vons instead of -ons (yes, another irregularity). Il/Elle use
écrit.
There is élision between Je and the conjugated form of the verb, i.e. j'e_____ not je e_________.
The
3. Conjugate the verb
battre (to beat), being careful to use a double t in the plural.
4. Conjugate the verb
chanter (to sing).
5. Conjugate the verb
polir (to polish), using IR verbs type I.
6. Conjugate the verb
grossir (to gain weight), using IR verbs type I.
7. Conjugate the verb
entendre (to hear).
8. Conjugate the verb
donner (to give).
9. Conjugate the verb
continuer (to continue).
10. Conjugate the verb
dire (to say), being careful of:
After removing -RE, put an s in its place for all plural conjugations.
The vous conjugation is
vous dites (sorry, must memorize this).
Il/Elle use
dit.
If there are no comments, use the regular conjugation.