CONJUGAISON

Conjugating FRENCH VERBS in PRESENT Learning patterns is a key to mastering the conjugation of French verbs.

Subject Pronouns Doesn’t matter if the verb is regular or irregular: The pronouns are always in the same order. Je Tu Il, elle,on Nous Vous Ils,elles I You He, she, one We They masculine & feminine

They follow a pattern. Regular or irregular? First, determine if the verb is irregular: 1) Know which are the irregulars. 2) They are usually common verbs. 3) They are unique (no pattern) & you have to study each one. The good news about REGULAR verbs: They only have one of three endings They follow a pattern.

Regular verbs: the pattern explained The infinitive of most verbs in French end in the letters ER. Lesser numbers end in the letters IR and RE. Most follow a regular pattern for each “ending group” above. Exceptions to this pattern are called irregular verbs. So if you learn the regular patterns you will know the patterns for most verbs. To conjugate each verb in the present tense, the last two letters (ER, IR, RE) are dropped and a different ending is added for each pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, you all, they).

The pattern for verbs of the ER family Put the pronouns in order. Find the stem of the verb by taking off the family name: ER Add your verb endings. Pronouns The stem: parler The ending Je parl e Tu es Il, elle, on Nous ons Vous ez Ils, elles ent

Aimer Pratiquez J’aim Tu aim Il, elle, on aim Nous aim Vous aim Ils, elles aim

Irregular ER verbs Irregular Stems ►French stem-changing verbs are conjugated with the same endings as normal but have two different stems. Stem- changing verbs are sometimes called boot verbs. ►We will study the verbs acheter & préférer : Change of accent in the stem (do you remember it?) ►And the verbs manger & commencer: Add an “e” or a “ç” ►We will also meet Aller: the black sheep of the ER family!

First, 2 boot verbs Note: è sounds like the e in ED or met. Acheter (to buy) Préférer (to prefer) J’achète Tu achètes Il, elle, on achète Nous achetons Vous achetez Ils, elles achètent Je préfère Tu préfères Il, elle, on préfère Nous préférons Vous préférez Ils, elles préfèrent

Why are they called boot verbs? The verb acheter is a so-called boot verb because all the verbs with the same stems form the shape of a boot. The verb: acheter achète achetons achètes achetez achètent Another way of saying it : Nous and Vous look like their parents: acheter

Two more exceptions in the ER family. Manger (to eat) Commencer (to begin) Je mange Tu manges Il, elle, on mange Nous mangeons Vous mangez Ils, elles mangent Je commence Tu commences Il, elle, on commence Nous commençons Vous commencez Ils, elles commencent

prononciation & video Aller Je vais Tu vas Il va He goes Elle va On va Irregular verb Aller prononciation & video Aller Je vais Tu vas Il va He goes Elle va On va Nous allons Vous allez Ils vont Elles vont Note: Aller is the only big exception in the ER family.

The pattern for verbs of the ir family Put the pronouns in order. Find the stem of the verb by taking off the family name: IR Add your verb endings. Pronouns The stem: Finir The ending Je fin is Tu Il, elle, on it Nous issons Vous issez Ils, elles issent

The pattern for verbs of the RE family Put the pronouns in order. Find the stem of the verb by taking off the family name: RE Add your verb endings. Pronouns The stem: Vendre The ending Je vend s Tu Il, elle, on Nous ons Vous ez Ils, elles ent

I am filling in a form. (une fiche) They are choosing history. À toi! – here are some infinitives and their English meaning. Copy them, then try the exercise below. Finir ( to finish) Remplir ( to fill in a form) Choisir ( to choose) vendre ( to sell) attendre ( to wait) EXERCISE 1 He finishes the book. I am filling in a form. (une fiche) They are choosing history. We sell oranges You are waiting for Jean? (s)