introduction to french verbs present tense of –er verbs, Study notes of French

Download introduction to french verbs present tense of –er verbs and more Study notes French in PDF only on Docsity! INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH VERBS PRESENT TENSE OF –ER VERBS: THE FIRST GROUP Sixth lesson – Sixième lesson CONTENTS  1. Introduction  2. Present tense: -er verbs  3. Conjugation of -er verbs  4. Special characteristics of -er verbs 1. INTRODUCTION  The correct conjugated forms of a French verb are obtained from its basic, unconjugated form called the infinitive. 1. INTRODUCTION  In English, the infinitive is formed by adding to in front of the verb (to do, to sing…).  In French, the infinitive forms are indicated by verb endings –er, -ir and –re. 1. INTRODUCTION  Verbs in –er form the first group. Ex.: Acheter to buy Appeler to call Essayer to try Parler to speak/to talk Préférer to prefer Voyager to travel 1. INTRODUCTION  It is useful to classify verbs in these three groups because different conjugation rules apply to each of them.  The irregular verbs être, avoir and aller are not a part of a group. 2. THE PRESENT TENSE: -ER VERBS  To learn how to conjugate regular and irregular – er verbs, the most common category, let’s use these verbs below as examples: a) chanter to sing b) appeler to call c) acheter to buy d) préférer to prefer e) peser to weigh f) essayer to try g) voyager to travel 3. CONJUGATION OF –ER VERBS  To conjugate a regular –er verb, remove its infinitive ending (-er) and then add the appropriate endings to the root. A. Ex.: chanter  chant- 3. CONJUGATION OF –ER VERBS  Note : the verb forms : je chante, tu chantes, il/elle/on chante, ils/elles chantent are pronounced exactly in the same way.  This means the final –e, -s and –ent are silent.  This rule applies to all the above verbs and to those similar to them. 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS B. Verbs ending in –eler (Ex. : s’appeler: je m’appelle…my name is…) , its derivatives, similar verbs and verbs ending in –eter (such as jeter –to throw). 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS  When conjugating these verbs in the present tense, double the root’s consonnants –l / –t.  This rule doesn’t concern the plural nous (we) and vous (you). 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS C. Some verbs ending in –eler and –eter do not double the –l or –t before the silent final –e (acheter – to buy / peler – to peel) The –e in the last syllable of the root changes to –è in all the conjugated forms, except in the plural (nous and vous)  Ex.: acheter  j’achète (to buy) 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS Acheter (to buy) Geler (to freeze) J’achète Je gèle Tu achètes Tu gèles Il/elle/on achète Il/elle/on gèle Nous achetons Nous gelons Vous achetez Vous gelez Ils/elles achètent Ils/elles gèlent 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS  There are 22 irregular verbs like acheter and geler, here are five examples: Fileter to fillet, to thread Modeler to model, to shape Peler to peel Ciseler to chisel Écarteler to quarter 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS  Other verbs like préférer Considérer to consider Espérer to hope Régler to regulate, to pay Répéter to repeat Récupérer to recover 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS E. Verbs ending in –ecer, -emer, -eper, -erer, - eser, -ever and –evrer, have a silent –e before the last syllable (Ex.: peser-to weigh).  The silent –e in the last syllable of the root’s form changes to –è, except for the plural (nous and vous) 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS  Peser –to weigh Singular Plural Je pèse Nous pesons Tu pèses Vous pesez Il/elle/on pèse Ils/elles pèsent 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS  Essayer-to try Singular Plural J’essaie Nous essayons Tu essaies Vous essayez Il/elle/on essaie Ils/elles essaient 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS G. Verbs ending in –ger like voyager (to travel) take an –e after the –g in the present tense, so the pronounciation of –g remains soft.  Ex. : voyager nous voyageons 4. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF –ER VERBS  Voyager-to travel Singular Plural Je voyage Nous voyageons Tu voyages Vous voyagez Il/elle/on voyage Ils/elles voyagent TO SUMMARISE  In all these cases, there is a general conjugation pattern :  1st person sg -e  2nd person sg  -es  3rd person sg  -e  1st person pl  -ons  2nd person pl  -ez  3rd person pl  -ent C’est tout pour aujourd’hui! Au revoir! Merci!