Grammar

Les Verbes Réguliers du 1er Groupe (-ER)

Verbs ending in -ER make up over 80% of all French verbs (the 1st group). To conjugate them in the present tense: remove the -ER ending to find the stem, then add the standard endings: -e (je), -es (tu), -e (il/elle/on), -ons (nous), -ez (vous), -ent (ils/elles). Example with 'parler' (stem: parl-): je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent. CRITICAL PRONUNCIATION RULE: the endings -e, -es, and -ent are all silent! 'Je parle', 'tu parles', 'il parle', and 'ils parlent' are pronounced identically [parl]. Only 'nous parlons' [parlɔ̃] and 'vous parlez' [parle] sound different. Before a verb starting with a vowel or silent h, 'je' elides to 'j'' (j'aime, j'habite, j'étudie).