How to Conjugate French Regular -ER Verbs

How to Conjugate French Regular -ER Verbs There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once youve learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The majority of French verbs are regular -ER verbs. French Regular -ER Verb Conjugations The verb form that ends in -ER is called the infinitive, and -ER is the infinitive ending. The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -ER verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings. The table lists the present tense conjugations for the regular -ER verbs parler (to speak or talk), donner (to give), and visiter (to visit). To help with learning, the infinitive form is listed (such as  parler) followed by the stem (such as  parl-). Pronoun Ending parler parl- donner donn- visiter visit- je -e parle donne visite tu -es parles donnes visites il -e parle donne visite nous -ons parlons donnons visitons vous -ez parlez donnez visitez ils -ent parlent donnent visitent Regular -ER verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods. More -ER Verb  Conjugations: Penser The rules for conjugating regular -ER verbs remain the same throughout all tenses and moods: Thats why they the are called regular -ER verbs. For your studies, it can be helpful, however, to view all the conjugations for all tenses of moods of a regular -ER verb, such as  penser  (to think). Remember that to conjugate this regular -ER verb, simply take the stem -pense  and then add the appropriate endings. Pronoun Present Future Imperfect je pense penserai pensais tu penses penseras pensais il pense pensera pensait nous pensons penserons pensions vous pensez penserez pensiez ils pensent penseront pensaient Pronoun Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je pense penserais pensai pensasse tu penses penserais pensas pensasses il pense penserait pensa penst nous pensions penserions pensmes pensassions vous pensiez penseriez penstes pensassiez ils pensent penseraient pensrent pensassent Pronoun Imperative tu pense nous pensons vous pensez Some Common French Regular -ER Verbs Take some time to familiarize yourself with the most common regular -ER verbs, because youre likely to encounter these words often when reading or speaking French. They all share the same conjugation patterns, with a few exceptions noted below. aimer   to like, to lovearriver   to arrive, to happenchanter     to singchercher   to look forcommencer   to begindanser   to dancedemander   to ask fordà ©penser     to spend (money)dà ©tester   to hatedonner   to giveà ©couter   to listen toà ©tudier      to studyfermer   to closegoà »ter     to tastejouer   to playlaver   to washmanger     to eatnager   to swimparler   to talk, to speakpasser   to pass, spend (time)porter   to wear, to carryrà ªver   to dreamsembler   to seemskier   to skitravailler   to worktrouver   to findvoler   to fly, to steal A Few Exceptions All regular s of this kind of conjugation would be commencer  (to begin), manger (to eat),  nager  (to swim), and  skier (to ski). Though they are conjugated just like regular -ER verbs, watch out for verbs that end in  -IER, such as  Ãƒ ©tudier  (to study).

The Subjunctive Mood

The Subjunctive Mood The Subjunctive Mood The Subjunctive Mood By Jacquelyn Landis No single part of speech gives writers more grief than the mighty verb. Think about all the elements you must take into consideration when forming verbs. They have tense, number, person, voice, and mood. Where things get especially dicey is with a verbs mood, in particular, the subjunctive mood. Take a look at this sentence: I wish I was/were vacationing on a tropical island instead of at my desk working. The correct verb choice is the second one: were. It expresses the subjunctive mood, something we use to convey a wish or a condition that isnt true. And since the speaker isnt actually vacationing on a tropical island, this is a perfect case for using the subjunctive mood. Most writers will intuitively plunk in some form of a past-tense version of the verb to be in a sentence like our example. The important thing to remember about the subjunctive mood is to choose the correct version. When using the subjunctive mood, the correct version is were. One good test is to mentally add but Im not to the sentence. If that makes it a true statement, then its a likely candidate for the subjunctive mood: I wish I were vacationing on a tropical island instead of at my desk working (but Im not). If he were ten feet tall (but hes not), he could wash the windows without using a ladder. You might hear that the subjunctive mood is fading from common use, and thats probably true (Maeve wrote about that on The irrealis â€Å"were†). However, its still a hallmark of correct usage, and savvy writers will try hard to get it right. Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof, got it right in the song If I Were a Rich Man. So did Bobby Darin in If I Were a Carpenter. It might be one of the worst songs of all time, but the grammar is spot-on. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?Hyper and Hypo"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?