How to get around -er verbs in French

Let’s start with a small word of warning: Compared to English, it is generally harder to get your head around conjugating verbs in French, as it includes more verb types, forms and exceptions. Yet, alongside some essential grammar rules, this is also one of the first things you will need to study when you begin learning the language. Thankfully, there is some good news along the way, starting with the so-called -er verbs in French: The first verb group, which owes its name to the fact that it only includes verbs ending in -er in their infinitive form, contains nearly 90% of all verbs in French. It is also the simplest and the most regular group of verbs. In other words, they are the perfect introduction to French conjugation:

• How to conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense?
• Irregular -er verbs in French
• 40 of the most common French -er verbs

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How to conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense?

In French as in English, the form of a verb may change according to the person who committed the action (the subject of the verb) and to the time when the action took place (the tense of the verb). Think of the various forms of the verb “to be” in English:

Person (singular)	Present tense	Past tense
First person	I am	I was
Second person	You are	You were

The same applies to French -er verbs, but following different patterns. In the present tense, the rules to follow are as easy as 1, 2, 3. In fact, it is exactly the number of steps you need to take to correctly conjugate them:

1. Take the verb in the infinitive
2. Remove the final -er (which gives you the stem or root of the verb)
3. Add the ending according to the subject or person, as listed below

Subject pronouns	Ending	French Pronunciation
Je Tu Il/elle/on NousVous Ils/elles	-e -es -e -ons -ez –ent	– – – nasal oeh –

Let’s see this in action with the verb “parler” (“to speak”):

English	French	French Pronunciation
I speak You speak He/she/one speaks We spea kYou speak They speak	Je parle Tu parles Il/elle/on parle Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils/elles parlent	– – – nasal o ay –

As you may have guessed, the color system serves to represent the differences in pronunciation. In the infinitive form, the final “er” sounds like the accented vowel “é”, which is akin to the sound “ay”. For example, “parler” is pronounced “parl-ay”. When you remove the final “er”, you also remove the sound “ay”. In other words, in “je parle”, “parle” is pronounced “parl”. The pronunciation is the same for “tu parles”, “il/elle/on parle” and “ils/elles parlent”. In “nous parlons”, “on” is one of the four nasal sounds that are unique in French. You may already know it from common, easy words like “bonjour” (“hello”) or “garçon” (“boy”). Finally, the ending “ez” in “vous parlez” is pronounced in exactly the same way as the infinitive form “parler”.

Irregular -er verbs in French

So far, so good… But of course, there would be no fun if you didn’t get some irregular verbs here and there to spice things up. Let’s check them out.

Aller, one of the most common and irregular verbs in French

As is often the case with very common verbs, “aller” (“to go”) is one of the most irregular verbs in French, in particular (but not only!) in the present tense:

English	French	French Pronunciation
I go You go He/she/one goes We go You go They go	Je vais  Tu vas Il/elle/on va  Nous allons Vous allez  Ils/elles vont	vay va va al+nasal o alay v+nasal o

There is no two ways about it: You will need to learn the forms of “aller” in the present tense through repetition. Thankfully, the verb is so common you will get many opportunities to practise it. 

“Aller” is also a unique case among -er verbs. All the other irregular -er verbs follow the same general patterns we described before: you still need to remove the final -er of the infinitive and add the same endings depending on the subject. But these verbs also have a few specifics of their own. Let’s break them down.

Get the right accent with verbs ending in -e_er and -é_er

These verbs are regrouped according to their ending, in -e_er and -é_er, with the underscore standing for a consonant. The form and pronunciation of these verbs is fully regular with the “nous” and “vous” subjects. However, for the other subjects, “je”, “tu”, “il/elle/on” and “ils/elles”, you will need an extra step in the standard process:

1. Take the verb in the infinitive
2. Remove the final -er (which gives you the stem or root of the verb)
3. Replace the final “e” or “é” of the verb stem with “è”
4. Add the usual ending according to the subject or person

In terms of pronunciation, if “é” sounds like “ay”, the “è” sound is closer to “bed”, “get” and “fresh”.

Let’s take the examples of “acheter” (“to buy”) and “préférer” (“to prefer”): 

“Acheter” (“buy”)	Pronunciation	“Préférer” (“prefer”)	Pronunciation
J’achète Tu achètes Il/elle/on achète Nous achetons Vous achetez Ils/elles achètent	ash-eh-t ash-eh-t ash-eh-t asht+nasal o ashtay ash-eh-t	Je préfère Tu préfères Il/elle/on préfère Nous préférons Vous préférez Ils/elles préfèrent	prayf-eh-r prayf-eh-r prayf-eh-r prayfayr+nasal o prayfayray prayf-eh-r

Double Trouble with verbs ending in -eler and -eter

The principle is fairly similar to the previous case. Once again, these verbs remain regular with the “nous” and “vous” subjects. However, the final l or t is doubled with the other subjects, as you can see in the two examples below from “appeler” (“call”) and “jeter” (“throw”). The double consonant alters the pronunciation in exactly the same way as “è”.

“Appeler” (“call”)	Pronunciation	“Jeter” (“throw”)	Pronunciation
J’appelle Tu appelles Il/elle/on appelle Nous appelons Vous appelez Ils/elles appellent	ap-eh-l ap-eh-l ap-eh-l ap-uh-l+nasal o ap-uh-lay ap-eh-l	Je jette Tu jettes Il/elle/on jette Nous jetons Vous jetez Ils/elles jettent	j-eh-t j-eh-t j-eh-t j-uh-t+nasal o j-uh-tay j-eh-t

From y to i in verbs ending in -yer 

By now, you may have gotten the drill: the forms with “nous” and “vous” are regular when they are not with “je”, “tu”, “il/elle/on” and “ils/elles”: For those subjects, the “y” is replaced by “i”. This exception in spelling doesn’t really affect pronunciation. It is also worth noting this change is optional for verbs ending in -ayer, but obligatory for verbs ending in -oyer and -uyer. 

Here are a few examples:

“Payer” (“pay”)	Pronunciation
Je paie/je paye Tu paies/tu payes Il/elle/on paie /il/elle/on paye Nous payons Vous payez Ils/elles paient /ils/elles payent	peh peh peh peh-y+nasal o pehyay peh

“Nettoyer” (“clean”)	Pronunciation
Je nettoie Tu nettoies Il/elle/on nettoie Nous nettoyons Vous nettoyez Ils/elles nettoient	neh-twooah neh-twooah neh-twooah neh-twooah-y+nasal o neh-twooah-yay neh-twooah

“Appuyer” (“Push”)	Pronunciation
J’appuie Tu appuies Il/elle/on appuie Nous appuyons Vous appuyez Ils/elles appuient	app-we app-we app-we app-we-y+nasal o app-we-yay app-we

The consonant factor in verbs ending in -cer and -ger

This time around, it is the form for “nous” that is a little different. This is due to the pronunciation rules in French with the consonants C and G, depending on the vowel that follows them:

	C	G
After A/O/U	C is pronounced a hard K (as in “koala”)	G is pronounced a hard G (as in “glory”)
After E/I	C is pronounced S (as in “salt”)	G is pronounced J (as in “justice”)

For the infinitive and all the subject pronouns but “nous”, the verbal endings start with an e, which means the consonants “c” and “g” would respectively be pronounced s and j. However, as the ending with “nous” is “ons”, the consonants “c” and “g” would be pronounced k and g. So an adaptation is made to avoid the discrepancy in pronunciation compared to the other subject pronouns.

For verbs ending in -cer, the letter c is replaced by the special French character ç in order to recreate the s sound.

“Placer” (“placer”)	Pronunciation
Je place Tu places Il/elle/on place Nous plaçons Vous placez Ils/elles placent	plass plass plass plass+nasal o plassay plass

For verbs ending in -ger, an extra “e” is added in front of the “o” so the letter “g” may be pronounced j.

“Partager” (“Share”)	Pronunciation
Je partage Tu partages Il/elle/on partage Nous partageons Vous partagez Ils/elles partagent	partaj partaj partaj partaj+nasal o partaj-yay partaj

40 of the most common French -er verbs

It’s all very good to know how to conjugate -er verbs in the present but you won’t get very far if you don’t actually know any to start with. Considering their number, it impossible to list them all here, so we narrowed them down to 40 common French -er verbs in the chart below. 

English	French
Acheter Aider Aimer Appeler Arriver Changer Chanter Chercher Commencer Compter Continuer Corriger Danser Décider Demander Détester Donner Écouter Étudier Gagner Habiter Jouer Laisser Manger Marcher Montrer Parler Partager Passer Payer Penser Porter Regarder Rester Téléphoner Terminer Travailler Trouver Visiter Voyager	Buy Help Like/love Call Arrive Change Sing Search Start Count Continue Correct Dance Decide Ask Hate Give Listen Study Win/earn Live (in a place) Play Leave Eat Walk Show Speak Share Pass by/through Pay Think Carry/Wear Watch Stay Phone Finish Work Find Visit Travel

For more, don’t forget you have many resources and tools to help you learn vocabulary, from savvy apps on your mobile to the more traditional notebook at home.

The ultimate cheat sheet for -er verbs in French

This may seem a lot to chew at first. However, this article sums up everything you need to know to conjugate -er French verbs correctly in the present tense. Bookmark it, check it now and again, and practice regularly, and the French -er verbs will soon have no secret for you.

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Anne-Lise is a translator and copywriter working for various industries, such as hospitality and travel, as well as health and well-being. Settled down in London since the end of her university years, she cannot get enough of the exceptional cultural life in the English capital city, starting with theater, be it to see a new West End show or to roll up her sleeves with her amateur drama group. She is also interested in photography, as her Instagram profile shows. She indulges her passion for languages in a translation blog she writes with other linguist friends. Go to her Linkedin page to know more about her background and her professional experience.