Explanation:
Regular French Verbs Ending in -ER
A very high percentage of verbs in French end in -ER. These are for the most part regular verbs, and their conjugation in the present tense follows a set pattern; you just need to drop the -ER ending of the infinitive form of the verb (in English, the infinitive form is the verb preceded by the word ‘to’). The verb minus its ending is called the stem or radical.
Conjugating the verbs
In order to conjugate the verbs, you need to drop the -ER and replace it by the following endings:
Aimer (to like/ to love)
J’aim + e
Tu aim + es
Il/elle/on aim + e
Nous aim + ons
Vous aim + ez
Ils/elles aim + ent
Demander (to ask)
Je demand + e
Tu demand + es
Il/elle/on demand + e
Nous demand + ons
Vous demand + ez
Ils/elles demand + ent
Note: When verbs are conjugated in the present tense, they can be interpreted as either the continuous present (“ing” in English) or the simple present.
Examples:
Je travaille sur ce projet = I’m working on this project.
Il travaille chez BMW = He works for BMW.
Tu manges de la soupe = You’re eating soup.
Je mange des plats épicés = I eat spicy foods.
Nous parlons avec Carla = We are speaking with Carla.
Je parle trois langues = I speak three languages.
Note: If there is a second verb following the main verb in the sentence, you only need to conjugate the first one and leave the second one in its infinitive form.
Examples:
J’aime parler à ma fille = I like talking/to talk to my daughter.
Il préfère manger des fruits = He prefers eating/to eat fruits.
A short list of common -ER verbs:
acheterto buy
adorerto adore
aiderto help
aimerto like / to love
aimer mieuxto prefer
amenerto bring a person somewhere
appelerto call
apporterto bring something
arriverto arrive
casserto break
changerto change
chanterto sing
chercherto look for
commencerto begin
continuerto continue
coûterto cost
cuisinerto cook
déménagerto move house
dépenserto spend
détesterto detest ; to hate
dessinerto draw
donnerto give
échangerto exchange
écouterto listen
emprunterto borrow
étudierto study
essayerto try
gagnerto win
garderto keep
habiterto live
jardinerto garden
jouerto play
mangerto eat
marcherto walk
oublierto forget
parlerto speak
partagerto share
payerto pay
penser (que)to think (that)
préférerto prefer
préparerto prepare
prêterto loan
quitter la maisonto leave the house
raconterto tell a story
regarderto watch
rencontrerto meet
rentrerto return
retrouverto meet up
rêverto dream
rigolerto laugh
terminerto end
travaillerto work
trouverto find
voyagerto travel
There are a few spelling differences for certain -ER verbs:
Manger (to eat) and other verbs that end in ger (voyager, déménager, nager) are conjugated a bit differently in the nous form: An extra E is added for pronunciation purposes.
Je mang + e
Tu mang + es
Il/elle/on mang + e
Nous mang + eons
Vous mang + ez
Ils/elles mang + ent
Verbs like préférer that end in érer have an accent change in every conjugation except for the nous and vous forms.
Je préfère
Tu préfères
Il/elle/on préfère
Nous préférons
Vous préférez
Ils/elles préfèrent
The verbs amener, acheter, appeler and other verbs that end in e + single consonant + er require an added accent, or in the case of appeler, a doubling of the consonant in every conjugation except the nous and vous forms.
J’amène (achète) (appelle)
Tu amènes (achètes) (appelles)
Il/elle/on amène (achète) (appelle)
Nous amenons (achetons) (appelons)
Vous amenez (achetez) (appelez)Ils/elles amènent (achètent) (appellent)
