Conjugating French -er Verbs in the Present Tense
The regular -er endings
Drop the -er from the infinitive to get the stem, then bolt on the six present-tense endings. This is the pattern roughly 90% of all French verbs follow.
| Subject | Ending | parler (to speak) |
|---|---|---|
| -e | ||
| - | ||
| / / on | -e | |
| - | ||
| -ez | ||
| / | -ent |
The critical thing English speakers miss: , , and all sound identical when spoken. The -s on , the -ent on , and the bare -e on are all silent. Only and sound audibly different from the rest. So four of the six conjugations are distinguished only on the page, not in the ear. You have to learn the spelling pattern even though listening alone will never tell you you've got it wrong.
Example: Je parle français tous les jours, mais ils parlent plus vite que moi. (I speak French every day, but they speak faster than me.) Same vowel, same consonant, two different spellings.
Spelling-shift verbs (predictable, not really irregular)
A handful of -er verbs change a letter in the stem to keep the pronunciation consistent. These are not irregularities; they are spelling rules French applies to preserve a sound.
-ger verbs (manger, changer, bouger, protéger): the form is -geons, not -gons, so the g stays soft before the o. Everything else is regular. Nous mangeons à huit heures. (We eat at eight.)
-cer verbs (commencer): the form is -çons with a cedilla, for exactly the same reason: keep the c soft. Nous commençons demain. (We start tomorrow.)
-yer verbs (payer, essayer, envoyer): the y becomes i before a silent ending, so the conjugation is paie, paies, paie, , , paient. The y survives only in the and forms where the ending is voiced. Je paie l'addition. (I pay the bill.) Note that -ier verbs (prier, oublier, signifier) are not in this group; their i is part of the stem and never shifts.
-e_er verbs (acheter, appeler, rappeler, mener): the silent e in the stem becomes è when the ending is silent, so the è carries the stress that the ending cannot. does this with an accent: j', , , , , . does it by doubling the consonant instead: j', appelles, , , , appellent. Same logic, two cosmetic solutions. J'achète du pain et j'appelle ma mère. (I'm buying bread and calling my mother.)
-é_er verbs (espérer, préférer, protéger): the é becomes è before a silent ending. J', , , , , . Same shape as the pattern, just starting from é instead of e. J'espère que tu vas bien. (I hope you're well.)
The thread running through every one of these shifts: French wants the stressed syllable to carry a visible vowel, and it wants soft consonants to stay soft. Once you see that, the shifts stop looking arbitrary.
The one outlier: aller
(to go) is the only fully-irregular -er verb in the language, and it is one of the most-used French verbs full stop. You will say it constantly, so learn it cold:
| Subject | aller |
|---|---|
| / / on | |
| / |
The singular and third-plural forms (, , , ) are suppletive: they have nothing in common with the all- stem. They come from a different Latin verb entirely (vadere). Only and preserve the infinitive's stem.
also doubles as the auxiliary for the (going to + verb): Je vais manger. (I'm going to eat.) So nailing this one verb gets you the near future for free.
The 64 -er verbs in this curriculum
Across the first 1,000 most-frequent French words, the curriculum teaches 64 -er verbs. Rather than list them six abreast, here they are by behaviour. Drill the bucket, not the verb.
Regular (the bulk, ~50 verbs): parler, aimer, aider, trouver, tuer, passer, importer, rester, chercher, laisser, donner, écouter, arrêter, jouer, demander, prier, arriver, tomber, sembler, penser, travailler, rentrer, regarder, entrer, garder, adorer, oublier, montrer, sauver, supposer, rencontrer, occuper, gagner, tirer, détester, retrouver, ressembler, utiliser, retourner, porter, imaginer, expliquer, voler, marcher, ignorer, continuer, poser, quitter, jurer, coucher, signifier. These all follow the pattern exactly: strip -er, add the six endings, done.
-ger verbs: manger, changer, bouger, protéger. The form takes -geons. Note that is also an -é_er verb (j'protège... actually ), so it changes its é as well.
-cer verbs: commencer. The form is .
-yer verbs: payer, essayer, envoyer. The y becomes i before silent endings. is regular in every other respect but lands here for the y-to-i shift.
-e_er verbs: acheter, appeler, rappeler. uses an è; and double the consonant. Same logic, different cosmetics.
-é_er verbs: espérer, préférer, protéger. The é becomes è before silent endings. appears here too because it has both shifts (the é-to-è and the g-keeping the e in the form).
Truly irregular: aller. The only one. Learn it as a one-off.
Each verb above sits in exactly one bucket, with and flagged for their dual behaviour. Get the bucket and you get the verb.
How to internalise -er conjugation
Drill the six endings as a single block, not one at a time. Because four of the six forms sound identical, you cannot rely on listening practice alone; you have to physically write them out until the silent letters stop tripping you up. Five minutes a day of writing , , , , , for a different verb each time will beat any amount of passive listening.
The spelling shifts feel arbitrary on first contact and then become invisible. The rule underneath every shift is identical: protect the sound. Soft g stays soft (mangeons), soft c stays soft (), stressed silent e gets an accent (), stressed é opens to è (). One principle, several cosmetic outcomes.
is the only -er verb that breaks the system, and it breaks it hard. Treat it as its own thing, learn its six forms cold, and the other 63 verbs in this curriculum (and the thousands beyond them) all behave.