Regular Verbs in the Present Tense

How to form the present tense of regular French verbs

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In French, regular verbs fall into three main groups based on their endings: -er, -ir, and -re.

Each group follows a specific pattern when conjugated in the present tense.

1. -er verbs (e.g. parler)

Example verb: parler (to talk)

For -er verbs, remove the -er ending and add the following endings:

Ending	French	English
-e	je parle	I talk
-es	tu parles	you talk
-e	il/elle/on parle	he/she/one talks
-ons	nous parlons	we talk
-ez	vous parlez	you all/you formal talk
-ent	ils/elles parlent	they talk

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2. -ir verbs (e.g. finir)

Example verb: finir (to finish)

For -ir verbs, remove the -ir ending and add the following endings:

Ending	French	English
-is	je finis	I finish
-is	tu finis	you finish
-it	il/elle/on finit	he/she/one finishes
-issons	nous finissons	we finish
-issez	vous finissez	you all/you formal finish
-issent	ils/elles finissent	they finish

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3. -re verbs (e.g.vendre)

Example verb: vendre (to sell)

For -re verbs, remove the -re ending and add the following endings:

Ending	French	English
-s	je vends	I sell
-s	tu vends	you sell
-	il/elle/on vend	he/she/one sells
-ons	nous vendons	we sell
-ez	vous vendez	you all/you formal sell
-ent	ils/elles vendent	they sell

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Summary

• er verbs: Remove -er, add: e, es, e, ons, ez, ent
• ir verbs: Remove -ir, add: is, is, it, issons, issez, issent
• re verbs: Remove -re, add: s, s, nothing, ons, ez, ent

By following these patterns, you can easily conjugate regular verbs in the present tense in French. Practice with different verbs to get more comfortable with the endings!

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Practice

Verb	Subject Pronoun	French (Your Answer)	Correct Answer
aimer	je		j'aime (I love)
choisir	tu		tu choisis (you choose)
attendre	il/elle/on		il/elle/on attend (he/she/one waits)
chanter	nous		nous chantons (we sing)
remplir	vous		vous remplissez (you all/you formal fill)
entendre	ils/elles		ils/elles entendent (they hear)
danser	je		je danse (I dance)
réussir	tu		tu réussis (you succeed)
perdre	il/elle/on		il/elle/on perd (he/she/one loses)
étudier	nous		nous étudions (we study)
grandir	vous		vous grandissez (you all/you formal grow)
vendre	ils/elles		ils/elles vendent (they sell)
travailler	je		je travaille (I work)
obéir	tu		tu obéis (you obey)
répondre	il/elle/on		il/elle/on répond (he/she/one answers)
jouer	nous		nous jouons (we play)
finir	vous		vous finissez (you all/you formal finish)
rendre	ils/elles		ils/elles rendent (they give back)