Les verbes -er
To conjugate: Form the stem by dropping the –er ending. Parler parl- Add the appropriate ending for the subject pronoun being used: Je parle Nous parlons Tu parles Vous parlez Il/Elle parle Ils/Elles parlent
Name these verbs in French!
Which verbs conjugate slightly differently?
-ger verbs Manger, nager, voyager Je mange Nous mangeons Tu manges Vous mangez Il/Elle mange Ils/Elles mangent In the nous form, the –e cannot be dropped as it usually is…or else it would be “nous mangons!” (hard g sound vs. soft g)
-cer verbs Commencer Je commence Nous commençons Tu commences Vous commencez Il/Elle commence Ils/Elles commencent Here, the only form that changes, like with manger, is the “nous” form; this is because normally, a “c” followed by an “o” produces the hard “c” sound (like a k); the cedilla makes it a soft “c” to sound like “s”.
Acheter – to buy J’achète Nous achetons Tu achètes Vous achetez Il/Elle achète Ils/Elles achètent Here, the endings are fine…but that accent! Notice how it isn’t in the infinitive or the nous and vous forms, but it IS in the je, tu, il/elle and ils/elles forms. It’s because of the number of pronounced syllables!