VaneBeginner French · A1
French -er verbs in the present tense
Talk about your routine with the most common kind of verb in French.
I can use regular -er verbs in the present.
Most French verbs end in -er: travailler, écouter, aimer. Drop the -er and add the ending for the person. Four of the six endings sound exactly the same!
Travailler (to work)
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | -e | je travaille |
| tu | -es | tu travailles |
| il, elle | -e | elle travaille |
| nous | -ons | nous travaillons |
| vous | -ez | vous travaillez |
| ils, elles | -ent | ils travaillent |
Silent endings
-e, -es and -ent are all silent: je travaille, tu travailles and ils travaillent sound the same.
Only nous (-ons) and vous (-ez) sound different: "tra-vye-OHN", "tra-vye-AY".
Before a vowel, je becomes j': j'écoute, j'aime, j'étudie.
My routine
Jetravaillele matin
- Je travaille le matin.
- I work in the morning.
Same sound, different spelling
You hear the same
- je parle
- tu parles
- il parle
- ils parlent
You write it differently
- The ending shows who: -e, -es, -e, -ent.
- Nous parlons and vous parlez sound different.
Examples with English meanings
- Je travaille à quatre heures.
- I work at four.
- Tu étudies le français ?
- Do you study French?
- Nous dînons à huit heures.
- We have dinner at eight.
- Ils écoutent de la musique.
- They listen to music.
Common mistakes
Try this: Je travaille le lundi.
Instead of:
Je travailler le lundi.Change the -er ending to match the person.
Try this: J'écoute.
Instead of:
Je écoute.Je becomes j' before a vowel.