Lesson 13: Regular -ER Verbs
Les verbes en -ER — The Biggest Verb Family · A0 → A1 · Part 2 · Everyday Actions
You will learn the biggest verb family in French: regular -ER verbs. You will take a verb like parler, remove -ER, and build all six present-tense forms yourself. You will also learn the most important warning of this lesson: the endings -e, -es and -ent are all silent, so only the pronoun tells you who is speaking.
In this lesson
- regular -ER verbs
- parler / aimer / habiter / travailler
- present tense endings
- aimer + noun vs aimer + infinitive
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| parler | to speak / to talk | par-lay پارلے | The model verb of the whole family. Say it, then swap the ending. |
| aimer | to like / to love | eh-may اے مے | Used for people AND things: j'aime le café, j'aime ma famille. |
| adorer | to love very much / to adore | a-do-ray آدورے | Stronger than aimer. J'adore le chocolat. |
| détester | to hate | day-tes-tay دے ٹیسٹے | The opposite of adorer. Very common in speech. |
| habiter | to live (somewhere) | a-bee-tay ابیتے | Never used for 'to be alive'. For a place you live, use habiter. |
| travailler | to work | tra-va-yay تراوایے | The 'ill' in French is a 'y' sound, not an 'l'. |
| étudier | to study | ay-tü-dyay اے تُو دْیے | The ü has no honest English or Urdu spelling — tight rounded lips. |
| regarder | to watch / to look at | ruh-gar-day رُگار دے | Used for TV, films, photos. Not for 'to see' by accident. |
| écouter | to listen (to) | ay-koo-tay اے کُوتے | Écouter la radio = to listen to the radio. |
| jouer | to play | zhoo-ay ژُو اے | Jouer au football, jouer de la guitare — we finish this in lesson 17. |
| manger | to eat | mahn-zhay مان ژے | Spelling change: nous mangeons (we keep the e to keep the soft g). |
| chercher | to look for | sher-shay شیرشے | No 'for' in French: je cherche mon téléphone. |
| trouver | to find | troo-vay ترُووے | Also means 'to think / to find' in opinions. |
| arriver | to arrive | a-ree-vay آریوے | J'arrive ! is what French people shout when they are coming right away. |
| rester | to stay / to remain | res-tay ریستے | Je reste à la maison = I am staying at home. |
| penser | to think | pahn-say پانسے | Je pense que… = I think that… |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| je parle | zhuh parl | zhuh ... parl | Stop after the l. Do NOT say 'parluh'. The written e at the end is completely silent. |
| tu parles | tü parl | tü ... parl | 'tu parles' sounds exactly like 'il parle'. That is normal, not a mistake. The ü needs tight rounded lips — there is no honest Urdu letter for it. |
| ils parlent | eel parl | eel ... parl | The -ent is dead. Never say 'parlent' as 'par-lent'. Say 'eel parl'. |
| nous parlons | noo par-lon | noo ... par ... lon | Here the ending IS heard. The 'on' is nasal — send the air through the nose, do not close it with the tongue. |
| vous parlez | voo par-lay | voo ... par ... lay | The -ez is always 'ay'. This ending never changes sound. |
| j'aime | zhem | zhem | One single sound: 'zhem'. The e of je disappears before a vowel and you get j' (zh). |
This lesson is mostly about what you do NOT say. Let the final -e, -es and -ent disappear completely, and make the pronoun in front clear and strong instead.
Grammar
Remove -ER, add the ending — that is the whole rule
Take a verb like parler. Remove the two letters -ER and you are left with parl-. That leftover is called the stem. Now add one ending for each person: e, es, e, ons, ez, ent. That is it. Around 90 percent of French verbs work like this, so once you can do PARLER you can do hundreds of verbs. The endings never change from verb to verb.
SILENT WARNING — -e, -es and -ent sound exactly the same (nothing)
Look at the three endings -e, -es and -ent. In spoken French all three are silent. So je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent are pronounced exactly the same: parl. The sound is identical. Only the pronoun in front tells your listener who you mean. This is why French people never drop the little word je, tu, il — the pronoun is not optional, it carries the meaning. If you say only 'parle', nobody knows who is speaking.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Je parl{e} français. | I speak French. | zhuh parl frahn-seh |
| Tu parl{es} anglais ? | Do you speak English? | tü parl ahn-gleh ↗ |
| Elle parl{e} très bien. | She speaks very well. | el parl treh byan |
| Nous parl{ons} un peu. | We speak a little. | noo par-lon uhn puh |
| J'aim{e} le café. | I like coffee. | zhem luh ka-fay |
| Il aim{e} la musique. | He likes music. | eel em la mü-zeek |
| J'aim{e} boire du café. | I like drinking coffee. | zhem bwar dü ka-fay |
| Nous habit{ons} à Paris. | We live in Paris. | noo za-bee-ton a pa-ree |
| J'habit{e} à Lahore. | I live in Lahore. | zha-beet a la-hor |
| Tu travaill{es} où ? | Where do you work? | tü tra-va-yay oo ↗ |
| Je travaille dans un bureau. | I work in an office. | zhuh tra-vay dahn-zun bü-ro |
| Elle étudi{e} le français. | She studies French. | el ay-tü-dee luh frahn-seh |
| Nous regard{ons} un film. | We are watching a film. | noo ruh-gar-don un feelm |
| J'écout{e} la radio le matin. | I listen to the radio in the morning. | zhay-koot la ra-dyo luh ma-tan |
| Vous mang{ez} à midi ? | Do you eat at midday? | voo mahn-zhay a mee-dwee ↗ |
| Je cherch{e} mon téléphone. | I am looking for my phone. | zhuh shersh mon tay-lay-fon |
| Nous commençons à huit heures. | We start at eight o'clock. | noo ko-mahn-son a üeet-ur |
| Ils détestent le froid. | They hate the cold. | eel day-test luh frwa |
Dialogue: First French class
Listen for the silent endings. Clara says je parle, tu parles and il parle, and all three verbs sound the same.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clara | Salut ! Tu parles français ? | Hi! Do you speak French? | sa-lü, tü parl frahn-seh ↗ |
| Ali | Un peu. J'étudie le français. | A little. I am studying French. | uhn puh, zhay-tü-dee luh frahn-seh |
| Clara | Super ! Moi, j'habite à Paris et je travaille ici. | Great! Me, I live in Paris and I work here. | sü-pehr, mwa, zha-beet a pa-ree ay zhuh tra-vay ee-see |
| Ali | Tu aimes ton travail ? | Do you like your job? | tü em ton tra-vay ↗ |
| Clara | J'adore ! Et j'aime beaucoup la musique aussi. | I love it! And I like music a lot too. | zha-dor, ay zhem bo-koo la mü-zeek o-see |
| Ali | Nous écoutons la radio le matin. | We listen to the radio in the morning. | noo zay-koo-ton la ra-dyo luh ma-tan |
| Clara | Vous parlez bien ! Bon, on commence ? | You speak well! Right, shall we start? | voo par-lay byan, bon, on ko-mahns ↗ |
Say it out loud
- Je parle français. — I speak French. Let the final e of parle disappear.
- Tu parles anglais ? — Do you speak English? Voice goes up at the end.
- Il parle très bien. — He speaks very well. Same verb sound as je parle — only the pronoun changes.
- Nous parlons un peu. — We speak a little. -ons is heard. Keep the on nasal.
- Vous parlez hindi ? — Do you speak Hindi? -ez always sounds 'ay'.
- J'aime le café. — I like coffee. j'aime is one sound: zhem.
- J'aime boire un café le matin. — I like drinking coffee. After aimer, a second verb stays in its -er form.
- J'habite à Lahore. — I live in Lahore. J'habite is 'zha-beet' — the h is completely silent.
- Je travaille dans un bureau. — I work in an office. 'travailler' = tra-va-YAY. The ill is a y sound.
- J'adore la musique et je déteste le bruit. — I love music and I hate noise. Say both halves smoothly as one sentence.
Listening practice: Voicemail from Amelie
Salut ! Je m'appelle Amelie. J'habite à Paris. Je travaille dans un grand bureau. J'aime mon travail. J'étudie le français le soir. J'adore la musique et j'écoute la radio le matin. Mon frère travaille à la maison. Nous parlons français ensemble. À bientôt !
Hi! My name is Amelie. I live in Paris. I work in a big office. I like my job. I study French in the evening. I love music and I listen to the radio in the morning. My brother works at home. We speak French together. See you soon!
Questions
- Where does Amelie live? In Paris / In Lyon / In London → In Paris
- Where does she work? In a school / In a big office / In a shop → In a big office
- What does she study in the evening? Music / French / History → French
- What does she listen to in the morning? The television / The radio / Music on her phone → The radio
- Who works at home? Amelie / Her brother / Her mother → Her brother
Remember this
- Regular -ER rule: remove -ER, add e, es, e, ons, ez, ent.
- The stem of parler is parl-; the stem of aimer is aim-.
- -e, -es and -ent are SILENT. je parle = tu parles = il parle = ils parlent in sound.
- Only nous parlons and vous parlez can be heard clearly (-ons and -ez).
- The pronoun is never dropped, because it tells you who is speaking.
- aimer + noun: j'aime le café. aimer + infinitive: j'aime boire du café.
- habiter = to live somewhere: j'habite à Paris. The h is silent.
- travailler = tra-va-YAY; the ill is a y sound.
- Spelling changes: nous mangeons (manger), nous commençons (commencer).
- je before a vowel becomes j': j'aime, j'habite, j'écoute.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| il parle-e | il parle | The final -e of the il/elle form has no sound at all. Do not add an extra vowel after the l. |
| ils par-lent (saying the -ent out loud) | ils parl | The ending -ent is written but never pronounced. Saying it out loud is the most common beginner error in French. |
| je parle français? (dropping the pronoun when the person changes) | je / tu / il / nous / vous / ils must always be spoken | Because the endings are silent, the pronoun is the only clue. Never drop it, unlike English where the verb shows the person. |
| Je habite à Paris. | J'habite à Paris. | je + a vowel always becomes j'. French never says 'je habite'. |
| Nous mangeons pronounced 'noo man-zhay-on' | noo mahn-zhon | The e in mangeons is only there to protect the g sound. The ending still sounds like -on. |
Practice questions
- What is the stem of the verb 'parler'? parle / parl / parler / par — parl
- Complete: Nous ____ français. parle / parles / parlons / parlent — parlons
- Complete: Vous ____ anglais ? parlez / parlons / parle / parles — parlez
- Which three forms are ALL pronounced the same (just 'parl')? je parle / tu parles / ils parlent / nous parlons / vous parlez / il parle / je parle / nous parlons / vous parlez / tu parles / vous parlez / ils parlent — je parle / tu parles / ils parlent
- Complete: Ils ____ le français. parlent / parle / parlons / parlez — parlent
- Which is the correct ending for nous with 'manger'? nous mangons / nous mangeons / nous mangons e / nous mangions — nous mangeons
- Which is correct for 'nous commençons'? The ç keeps the soft s sound before o / It is a spelling mistake / The ç is silent / It means 'we finished' — The ç keeps the soft s sound before o
- How do you say 'I live in Lahore'? Je suis à Lahore / J'ai à Lahore / J'habite à Lahore / Je fais à Lahore — J'habite à Lahore
- Which sentence correctly uses aimer + infinitive? J'aime boire du café. / J'aime je bois du café. / J'aime du café boire. / Je bois aime du café. — J'aime boire du café.
- How do you say 'They hate the cold'? Ils déteste le froid / Ils détestent le froid / Ils détestes le froid / Ils détester le froid — Ils détestent le froid
Homework (15 minutes)
1) Write the six forms of three verbs on paper: parler, aimer, habiter. Say each form out loud and make sure the -e, -es and -ent endings are silent. 2) Record yourself saying 'je parle', 'tu parles', 'il parle', 'ils parlent' — then listen back and check that all four sound the same. 3) Write five true sentences about yourself using j'aime / j'adore / je déteste + a noun, and two using j'aime + a second verb (for example j'aime danser).
Lesson 13 of 45 · Part 2 · Everyday Actions · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2