There are three important regular present tense verbs that I should be learning. These are -er, -ir and re verbs, like parler, finir, and vendre.
A lot of the French verbs are -er verbs.
Note: aller looks like an -er verb and isn’t.
Er Verb
Remove the -er from the verb and then add the ending.
Example of the verb parler.
| Subject | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| je | -e | parle |
| tu | -es | parles |
| il/elle | -e | parle |
| nous | -ons | parlons |
| vous | -ez | parlez |
| ils/elles | -ent | parlent |
Ir Verb
In the plural form you need to insert the iss form.
| Subject | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| je | -is | finis |
| tu | -is | finis |
| il/elle | -it | finit |
| nous | -issons | finissons |
| vous | -issez | finissez |
| ils/elles | -issent | finissent |
Re Verb
| Subject | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| je | -s | vends |
| tu | -s | vends |
| il/elle | — | vend |
| nous | -ons | vendons |
| vous | -ez | vendez |
| ils/elles | -ent | vendent |
To sum it all up, this is where it stands:
| Family | Model | Singular endings | Plural endings |
|---|---|---|---|
| -er | parler | -e, -es, -e | -ons, -ez, -ent |
| -ir | finir | -is, -is, -it | -issons, -issez, -issent |
| -re | vendre | -s, -s, — | -ons, -ez, -ent |