-er verbs. on p. 31 of your text are many new verbs, many of which are considered regular –er...

-er verbs

On p. 31 of your text are many new verbs, many of which are considered regular –er verbs. This means they all are spelled similarly when writing sentences.

Here are some common –er verbs:

jouer: to play

regarder: to look at, watch

danser: to dance

écouter: to listen to

Common –er verbs étudier: to study nager: to swim voyager: to travel dîner: to dine téléphoner: to telephone chanter: to sing organiser: to organise travailler: to work

More common –er verbs

habiter: to live inviter: to invite aimer: to like parler: to speak Notice all include the word to. This is

called the infinitive and is the original form of the verb.

conjugationLet’s work with the verb aimer: to likeTo use aimer in sentences, the spelling must

agree with the subject (je, tu, il, elle, etc).The first step is to begin with the infinitive

and remove the –er. aimerThis leaves you with the stem aim. Next we

will add the stem next to each subject pronoun.

Conjugation continuedJ’aim nous aim

Tu aim nous aim

Il/elle/on aim ils/elles aim

Notice the j’ above. Use this with vowel sounds.

Next we will add appropriate endings for each subject pronoun. The endings for all regular –er verbs are as follows

-er verb endings

Je/j’: -e nous: -ons

Tu: -es vous: -ez

Il/elle/on: -e ils/elles: -ent

Add these endings to the stem to say I like, you like, he/she likes, etc.

Adding the endings to the stem

J’aime I like

Tu aimes You like

Il/elle/on aime He/She/One likes

Nous aimons We like

Vouz aimez You like

Ils/elles aiment They like

Creating sentencesUsing this pattern of endings, you can create

sentences with any regular –er verb.

1. Je chante: I sing, I do sing, I am singing

2. Tu parles: you speak, you do speak, you are speaking

3. Elle danse. She dances, she is dancing, she does dance

4. Il organise

5. Nous travaillons.

6. Vous écoutez

7. Ils étudient

8. Elles invitent

Verbes ending in -ger

nager: to swim

voyager: to travel

manger: to eat

ranger: to put away, arrange, pick up

When conjugating these verbs, keep the e before adding –ons in the nous form.

example: nous mangeons: we eat

-ger verbs nous nageons: we swim nous voyageons: we travel

This affects sentences containing nous only.