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Grammar · Regular -er verbs · Les verbes en -er

Formation

Most French verbs fall into the category of -er verbs. To conjugate, drop the -er to find the stem or root. Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense.

jouer^{to play} /ʒwe/

Pronoun	Ending	Verb	Pronunciation
je	-e	joue	/ʒu/
tu	-es	joues	/ʒu/
il/elle	-e	joue	/ʒu/
nous	-ons	jouons	/ʒwɔ̃/
vous	-ez	jouez	/ʒu.e/
ils/elles	-ent	jouent	/ʒu/

Pronunciation, elision and liaison

The -e, -es, and -ent endings all have the same silent pronunciation. The -er and -ez endings are pronounced /e/ , and the -ons ending is pronounced /ɔ̃/ .

In all conjugations, je changes to j ' when followed by a vowel or silent h:

J'aime…^{I like…}

J'habite…^{I live…}

In all plural forms, the s at the end of each subject pronoun, normally unpronounced, becomes a z sound and the n of on becomes pronounced when followed by a vowel.

Conjugation examples

Infinitive	Stem	Present indicative conjugation
		First person		Second person		Third person
aimer	aim	J'	aime	Tu	aimes	Il	aime	Singular
		Nous	aimons	Vous	aimez	Ils	aiment	Plural
parler	parl	Je	parle	Tu	parles	Il	parle	Singular
		Nous	parlons	Vous	parlez	Ils	parlent	Plural
habiter	habit	J'	habite	Tu	habites	Il	habite	Singular
		Nous	habitons	Vous	habitez	Ils	habitent	Plural
écouter	écout	J'	écoute	Tu	écoutes	Il	écoute	Singular
		Nous	écoutons	Vous	écoutez	Ils	écoutent	Plural

Supplementary vocabulary · Common -er verbs

Vocabulary · Places

la bibliothèque	/bi.bli.jɔ.tɛk/	library	caution: a librairie is a bookshop	On est à la bibliothèque publique.	We are at the public library.
le parc	/paʁk/	park
la piscine	/pi.sin/	swimming pool
la plage	/plaʒ/	beach
le restaurant	/ʁɛs.to.ʁɑ̃/	restaurant		On dîne au restaurant français.	We are dining at the French restaurant.
la salle de concert		concert hall
le cinéma la salle de cinéma	/si.ne.ma/	cinema
le casino la maison de jeu	/ka.zi.no/	casino		Les jeux de casino sont des bons exemples de jeu de hasard.	Casino games are good examples of games of chance.
la salle de jeux	/sal.də.ʒø/	game room, playroom		Le casino a six salles de jeu.	The casino has six game rooms.
le stade	/stad/	stadium
le théâtre	/te.atʁ/	theater

Grammar · Direct object pronouns le, la, and les

The direct object pronoun le ( /lə/), meaning it or him, replaces masculine singular direct objects:

Je donne le livre au prof. (I'm giving the book to the teacher.)

Je le donne au prof. (I'm giving it to the teacher.)

La ( /la/), meaning it or her, replaces feminine singular direct objects:

Je donne la calculatrice au prof. (I'm giving the calculator to the teacher.)

Je la donne au prof. (I'm giving it to the teacher.)

Les ( /le/), meaning them, replaces plural direct objects:

Je donne les livres au prof. (I'm giving the books to the teacher.)

Je les donne au prof. (I'm giving them to the teacher.)

Le and la become l' before a vowel:

Aimez-vous le concert ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the concert? Yes, I like it.)

Le, la, and les can replace either people or things:

Aimez-vous le film ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the film? Yes, I like it.)

Aimez-vous l'acteur ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the actor? Yes, I like him.)

Summary

masculine singular direct object	le	/lə/ (luh)	it, him
feminine singular direct object	la	/la/ (lah)	it, her
singular direct object, before a vowel	l'	/l/	it, him, her
plural direct object	les	/le/ (lay)	them

Vocabulary · Sports, games, and instruments

The verb jouer /ʒwe/ is a regular -er verb meaning to play. It can be used to refer to sports, games, and instruments.

When referring to sports or games, jouer à … is used; recall that au /o/ replaces à le, and aux /o/ replaces à les:

Je joue au baseball.^{I'm playing baseball.}

Nous jouons aux cartes.^{We are playing cards.}

When referring to instruments, jouer de … is used; recall that du /dy/ replaces de le, and des /dɛ/ replaces de les:

Je joue du piano.^{I'm playing the piano.}

Supplementary vocabulary · Sports

Supplementary vocabulary · Games · Les jeux

Supplementary vocabulary · Instruments

Supplementary grammar · Indirect object pronouns lui and leur

Supplementary grammar · Conjugated verb + infinitive

Supplementary grammar · To have fun · S'amuser

Exercises

Supplementary exercises