In French, verbs are divided into 3 categories and most of them fall into the first category of verbs i.e. -er. All infinitive verbs ending with -er belong to the first category of the verbs.
- I category: -er verbs
- II category: -ir verbs
- III category: -re verbs
French regular -er category of verbs follows a common set of patterns in their conjugation and that is also the reason for naming it as ”regular -er verbs”.
How To Conjugate?
To conjugate -er verbs in the Present tense, remove the ‘-er’ ending from the verb to get the radical and then add the set of endings to the radical of the verb.
The endings of the -er verbs -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ont. Add these endings to the radical of the verb. For ex. Écouter (infinitive verb ending with -er). Now remove -er to get the radical (écout) then add the endings.
Écouter- to Listen
| Singular | Plural |
| J’écoute | Nous écoutons |
| Tu écoutes | Vous écoutez |
| Il/Elle écoute | Ils/Elles écoutent |
Examples of -er Verbs
Here are some of the regular-er verbs that follow the same patterns in their conjugation.
| Parler- to talk | Marcher- to walk/to march |
| Habiter- to live | Aimer- to like |
| Regarder- to watch | Chanter- to sing |
| Visiter- to visit | Préparer- to prepare |
| Arriver- to arrive | Étudier- to study |
| Jouer- to play | Travailler- to work |
| Donner- to give | Inviter- to invite |
NOTE- The verb ”aller” also has a -er ending but it is not regular because it has its own conjugation and does not follow the pattern. Let us see its conjugation below:
Aller- to go
| Singular | Plural |
| Je vais | Nous allons |
| Tu vas | Vous allez |
| Il/Elle va | Ils/Elles vont |
Exceptions of regular-er verbs
Some French regular-er verbs undergo spelling changes in their conjugation because of phonetic reasons to maintain the pronunciation of the stem/radical of the verb. For example,
Appeler- To Call
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| j’appelle | Nous appelons* |
| Tu appelles | Vous appelez* |
| Il/Elle appelle | Ils/Elles appellent |
Préférer- To Prefer
| Je préfère* | Nous préférons |
| Tu préfères* | Vous préférez |
| Il/Elle préfère* | Ils/Elles préfèrent* |
List of verbs of spelling-changing verbs which means the modification of consonant like the verb appeler.
- Appeler- to call
- Jeter- to throw
- Commencer- to begin
List of verbs that are stem-changing verbs like the verb préférer. The vowel “e” changes to either “é” or “è”.
- Préférer- to prefer
- Acheter- to buy
- Lever- to lift
- Espérer- to hope
- Répéter- to repeat
- Céder- to yield
- Considérer- to consider