French Verb Endings Chart
Regular French verbs fall into three groups: -er (parler), -ir (finir) and -re (vendre). Each group has its own present-tense endings, but the imparfait, futur and conditionnel use one set of endings for all three. A few -er verbs change their spelling to keep the right sound: nous mangeons, j'appelle, j'achète.
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In the TEF / TCF Canada exam
In TEF and TCF Canada listening, il parle and ils parlent sound the same: rely on the subject and context, not the ending.
French Verb Endings Chart: the full chart as text
Regular endings in 4 tenses
| Présent -er: parler | Présent -ir: finir | Présent -re: vendre | Imparfait (all) | Futur / Conditionnel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | parle | finis | vends | -ais | -ai / -ais |
| tu | parles | finis | vends | -ais | -as / -ais |
| il / elle | parle | finit | vend | -ait | -a / -ait |
| nous | parlons | finissons | vendons | -ions | -ons / -ions |
| vous | parlez | finissez | vendez | -iez | -ez / -iez |
| ils / elles | parlent | finissent | vendent | -aient | -ont / -aient |
Imparfait stem: nous form minus -ons (finissons → finiss-). Futur and conditionnel stem: the infinitive (-re verbs drop the e: vendr-).
Put together: je
| Verb | Imparfait | Futur | Conditionnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| parler | parlais | parlerai | parlerais |
| finir | finissais | finirai | finirais |
| vendre | vendais | vendrai | vendrais |
The -ent of ils parlent is silent: it sounds like il parle.
Spelling-change verbs
| Verb | Change | Changed | Unchanged |
|---|---|---|---|
| manger | ge before a, o | nous mangeons | je mange |
| commencer | ç before a, o | nous commençons | je commence |
| appeler | ll before silent e | j'appelle | nous appelons |
| acheter | è before silent e | j'achète | nous achetons |
| préférer | è before silent e | je préfère | nous préférons |
Manger and commencer change in the imparfait too: je mangeais, il commençait. Appeler and acheter keep the change in the whole futur: j'appellerai, j'achèterai.
Same pattern
- Like manger: voyager, nager, changer, partager
- Like commencer: placer, lancer, annoncer, avancer
- Like appeler: rappeler, jeter, épeler
- Like acheter: lever, se promener, amener
- Like préférer: espérer, répéter, compléter
Most verbs are regular -er verbs
The large majority of French verbs end in -er, and nearly all of them are regular. Aller is the one -er verb that is fully irregular.
- Nous travaillons et nous étudions le soir.We work and we study in the evening.
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Questions
In the present, regular -er verbs take -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent. The je, tu, il and ils forms all sound the same.
No. Only the present tense differs by group. The imparfait (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient), the futur (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont) and the conditionnel (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient) use the same endings for every verb.
Before a or o, the letter g sounds hard, as in gare. Adding an e keeps the soft sound of manger. Verbs in -cer do the same with a cedilla: nous commençons.
