How to Conjugate Verbs in French

In many languages, the main verb in a sentence may change according to the subject and the context. In grammar, this process is called conjugation.  French verbs also go through conjugation. Here, we will learn how to conjugate verbs in French. However, it is important to know the different pronouns that act as the subject before learning about conjugation.

French Subject Pronouns

Singular:

Je – I

Tu – You

Il – He

Elle – She 

*On – One

Plural:

Nous – We

*Vous – You

Ills – They (masculine)

Elles – They (feminine)

* Vous is also used formally to one person, but the conjugation pattern remains plural.

* On can sometimes mean we, but the conjugation pattern remains singular.

How to Conjugate Verbs in French

Just like in English, verbs can be loosely categorised as regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a regular conjugation pattern whereas irregular verb conjugations can only be learnt by memorising. The regular verbs can be categorized in to three groups, and each of these groups has predictable conjugation pattern. These groups are known as -er, -ir, and -re.

Conjugation of -ER verbs

-er verb group contains verbs whose infinitive ends with the letters –er. Most of the verbs in the French language belong to this group.

Conjugating –er verbs is easy because all you have to do is remove the –er at the end of the infinitive verb and add subject specific endings. The endings in the present tense include

Je – e

Tu – es

Il/Elle/On – e

Nous – ons

Vous – ez,

Ils/Elles – ent

Given below is an example of Aimer.

J’aime

Tu aimes

Il/elle/on aime

Nous aimons

Vous aimez

Ils/elles aiment

Examples

Some Examples of –ER verb Conjugations in Present Tense

Note: Aller (to go) is a very common French verb that ends with -er. However, it cannot be conjugated in this pattern because it is an irregular verb.

Conjugation of –IR verbs

-ir verbs are more somewhat more difficult to conjugate than –er verbs since not all –ir verbs follow the same conjugation pattern.

But, the method of conjugating is still the same: remove the –ir ending from the infinitive and add the specific endings. The endings in present tense include

Je – is

Tu – is

Il/Elle – it

Noun – issons

 Vous – issez

Ils/Elles – issent

Examples

Conjugation of –RE Verbs

-re verbs are the verbs that end in –re. They are also conjugated in the same way as –er and –ir verbs. The ending –re is removed from the infinitive verb and the specific –re endings are added.

Je – s

Tu – s

Il/Elle – no ending

Vous – ons

Nous – ez

Ils/Elles – ent

Examples

Present endings of -er, -ir, and -re verbs

*This article deals with conjugating verbs in the present tense.