Verbes en -ER / -ER verbs

About 90% of French verbs end in -er, making this the most important verb pattern to learn. The good news: once you know the endings, you can conjugate thousands of verbs! The pattern is simple: remove -er and add the appropriate ending for each subject.

The Pattern

Using parler (to speak) as the model:

Subject	Ending	Conjugation	IPA
je	-e	je parle	[ʒə paʁl]
tu	-es	tu parles	[ty paʁl]
il/elle/on	-e	il/elle parle	[il/ɛl paʁl]
nous	-ons	nous parlons	[nu paʁ.lɔ̃]
vous	-ez	vous parlez	[vu paʁ.le]
ils/elles	-ent	ils/elles parlent	[il/ɛl paʁl]

Key pronunciation: The endings -e, -es, and -ent are all silent! So je parle, tu parles, il parle, and ils parlent all sound the same: [paʁl].

Common -ER Verbs

French	IPA	English
parler	[paʁ.le]	to speak
manger	[mɑ̃.ʒe]	to eat
aimer	[e.me]	to like/love
travailler	[tʁa.va.je]	to work
habiter	[a.bi.te]	to live
écouter	[e.ku.te]	to listen
regarder	[ʁə.ɡaʁ.de]	to watch/look at
acheter	[aʃ.te]	to buy

Note: With verbs starting with a vowel (like habiter, aimer), je becomes j’: j’habite, j’aime.

Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✓ Correct	Why
Je parles	Je parle	Je takes -e, not -es
Pronouncing the -ent	Silent -ent	parlent = [paʁl]

Spelling note: Verbs ending in -ger add e before -ons to keep the soft sound: nous mangeons, nous voyageons. Verbs ending in -cer use ç: nous commençons.

Practice Sentences

1. Je parle français et anglais. [ʒə paʁl fʁɑ̃.sɛ e ɑ̃.ɡlɛ] — I speak French and English.
2. Elle habite à Paris. [ɛl a.bit a pa.ʁi] — She lives in Paris.
3. Nous travaillons le lundi. [nu tʁa.va.jɔ̃ lə lœ̃.di] — We work on Mondays.
4. Tu regardes la télévision le soir? [ty ʁə.ɡaʁd la te.le.vi.zjɔ̃ lə swaʁ] — Do you watch TV in the evening?
5. J’aime beaucoup la musique française. [ʒɛm bo.ku la my.zik fʁɑ̃.sɛz] — I really like French music.

Exercise: Conjugate the Verbs

1. Je _______ (parler) anglais.
2. Tu _______ (travailler) où?
3. Elle _______ (habiter) à Lyon.
4. Nous _______ (manger) au restaurant.
5. Ils _______ (regarder) un film.

Answers

1. parle
2. travailles
3. habite
4. mangeons
5. regardent