Day 22: The present tense

regular -er verbs · 30 min

Until now you memorised verbs one at a time (être, avoir, aller, prendre…). Today you learn a rule. About 90% of French verbs are -er verbs, and six endings unlock all of them. This is the highest-yield day of Week 4.

1. ★ The six -er endings

Using parler (to speak) — stem parl + ending

★★ The decisive fact: je / tu / il / ils all sound identical.-e, -es and -ent are all silent. So there are only three sounds to learn:PARL (je·tu·il·ils) · par-LOHN (nous) · par-LAY (vous)⚠️ That silent -ent catches every English speaker. Ils parlent is not "parl-ENT" — it is exactly the same noise as je parle. Say it out loud until it stops feeling wrong.Spelling differs, speech doesn't. A rare case where speaking is easier than writing.

2. Twenty common -er verbs

★ With these 20 and today's 6 endings you can produce 20 × 6 = 120 verb forms.

⚠️ FAUX AMI patrol in this very list: rester = to stay, not to rest.demander = to ask, not to demand. assister (à) = to attend, not to assist.These three catch English speakers constantly because the shape is so familiar.

3. Building sentences

⚠️ Two spelling quirks— manger → nous mangeons: the e stays to keep the g soft (same reason commencer → nous commençons)— acheter → j'achète: an accent appears because of the stress (je préfère too)Just notice them for now. They don't affect speech at all.

4. One present tense, three English tenses

The French present covers three different English forms.

★ ⚠️ There is no continuous tense. English speakers keep trying to build "I am working" as Je suis travaillant — that is not French. Je travaille is both. This is one less thing to learn, but it takes real effort to stop reaching for it. If you genuinely must stress the in-progress sense, use Je suis en train de travailler (zhuh swee zahn tran duh tra-va-YAY).

5. Dialogue

A: Tu travailles aujourd'hui ? tew tra-VYE oh-zhoor-DWEE?B: Oui, je travaille jusqu'à six heures. Et toi ?wee, zhuh tra-VYE zhews-ka see ZUR. ay TWA? Yes, I'm working till six. You?A: Moi, j'étudie le français. Je commence un cours demain.mwa, zhay-tew-DEE luh frahn-SEH. zhuh ko-MAHNSS uhn KOOR duh-MAN. I'm studying French. I start a course tomorrow.B: Tu parles bien ! tew parl BYAN!A: Merci ! Je parle un peu seulement. J'écoute des podcasts tous les jours.mair-SEE! zhuh parl uhn puh SUL-mahn. zhay-KOOT day pod-KAST too lay ZHOOR. I listen to podcasts every day.B: On mange ensemble ce soir ? ohn MAHNZH ahn-SAHM-bluh suh SWAR? Shall we eat together tonight?

★ tous les jours (too lay ZHOOR) = every day · ensemble (ahn-SAHM-bluh) = together · jusqu'à (zhews-KA) = until ★ On (ohn) = we — in speech it beats nous overwhelmingly. It conjugates like il/elle. ⚠️ Textbooks teach nous; French people say on. Learn to produce on mange and you sound years ahead of your level.

6. Exercises

A. Conjugate.

1. Je (parler) ___ français. 2. Vous (travailler) ___ où ? 3. Ils (regarder) ___ un film.
2. Nous (manger) ___ au restaurant. 5. Elle (habiter) ___ à Lyon. 6. Tu (écouter) ___ quoi ?

B. Group the ones that sound the same.

je parle / tu parles / nous parlons / il parle / vous parlez / ils parlent

C. Say it in French.

1. I speak a little French. 2. Where do you work? 3. We study every day.
2. They listen to music.

D. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.

1. Je suis travaillant maintenant. 2. Je cherche pour mes clés.

7. Today's 10 sentences

1. Je parle un peu français. — I speak a little French (zhuh parl uhn puh frahn-SEH)
2. Vous travaillez où ? — Where do you work? (voo tra-va-YAY oo)
3. J'habite à New York. — I live in New York (zha-BEET a noo-YORK)
4. J'étudie le français tous les jours. — I study French every day (zhay-tew-DEE luh frahn-SEH too lay ZHOOR)
5. J'écoute de la musique. — I listen to music (zhay-KOOT duh la mew-ZEEK)
6. On mange ensemble ? — Shall we eat together? (ohn MAHNZH ahn-SAHM-bluh)
7. Je regarde un film. — I'm watching a film (zhuh ruh-GARD uhn FEELM)
8. J'achète du pain. — I'm buying bread (zha-SHET dew PAN)
9. Je cherche l'hôtel. — I'm looking for the hotel (zhuh SHAIRSH loh-TELL)
10. Je commence demain. — I start tomorrow (zhuh ko-MAHNSS duh-MAN)

8. 📲 Upload to LangNote

The endings table (1) + the 20 verbs (2). -er conjugation is textbook material for grammar cloze, so today's upload is all about the grammar drill.

langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.