One challenging aspect of the French Grammar is conjugation.

One should start by getting used to verbs with an ER ending. Repeat after me :

To eat = Manger

To sing = Chanter

To dance = Danser

Conjugating ER verbs

Example :

« Je mange, Tu manges, Il/Elle/On mange, Nous mangeons, Vous mangez, Ils/Elles mangent »

To conjugate these verbs, you simply need to replace ER with the correct ending.

!!! Only the ONS and EZ sounds are pronounced!

• ONS is a very closed nasal sound (mangeons, chantons, parlons)
• EZ is an É sound (mangez, chantez, parlez)

!!! All the other endings sound exactly the same! (E = ES = ENT)

Listen and repeat after me :

Je mange, (I eat)

Tu manges, (you eat)

Il/Elle/On mange, (he/she/we eats)

Nous mangeons, (we eat)

Vous mangez, (you eat, plural or formal)

Ils/Elles mangent (they eat, masculin or feminin)

Let’s conjugate the other 2 examples

Chanter

Je chante, Tu chantes, Il/Elle/On chante, Nous chantons, Vous chantez, Ils chantent.

Danser

Je danse, Tu danses, Il/Elle/On danse, Nous dansons, Vous dansez, Ils dansent

!!! Again, the pronunciation of the verb only changes with the ons ending and the ez ending: Nous mangeons, vous mangez.

All the other endings (E, ES, ENT) don’t change the pronunciation! This takes some getting used to.

Verbs which start with a vowel

In front of a vowel je becomes j’

• J’aime les pâtes. J’adore l’anglais.

In front of a vowel you link the s of

» Nous, Vous, Ils and Elles » to the verb with a « liaison » : a z sound.

• Nous (z) aimons, Vous (z) aimez, Ils (z) aiment, Elles (z) aiment.

You also connect the n from on

• On (n) aime le sport.

examples:

J’arrive, Tu arrives, Il/Elle/On arrive, Nous arrivons, Vous arrivez, Ils/Elles arrivent.

J’aime, Tu aimes, Il/Elle/On aime, Nous aimons, Vous aimez, Ils/Elles aiment

Useful ER verbs:

Manger (eat), Ranger (tidy), Parler (speak), Donner (give), Aimer (like/love), Sonner (ring), Entrer (enter), Monter (go up), Arriver (arrive), Rester (stay), Fermer (close), Jouer (play), Jeter (throw), Aider (help), Regarder (watch), Rencontrer (meet). écouter (listen)

Exercices :

PDF

exercises-er-verbs