Regular -er Verbs (parler, manger, jouer)

Regular -er verbs are the largest and most important group of verbs in French. Approximately 80% of all French verbs follow the -er conjugation pattern, making this the single most useful verb pattern to learn. Once you master the endings for -er verbs, you can conjugate hundreds of verbs correctly.

How -er Verb Conjugation Works

To conjugate a regular -er verb in the present tense:

Remove the -er ending from the infinitive to find the stem.
Add the appropriate present tense ending for the subject.

The Endings

Subject	Ending	Example: parler (to speak)
je	-e	je parle
tu	-es	tu parles
il/elle/on	-e	il parle
nous	-ons	nous parlons
vous	-ez	vous parlez
ils/elles	-ent	ils parlent

Critical pronunciation note: The endings -e, -es, and -ent are all silent. This means that je parle, tu parles, il parle, and ils parlent all sound exactly the same: "pahrl." Only nous parlons ("pahr-LOHN") and vous parlez ("pahr-LAY") sound different.

Common -er Verbs

Infinitive	English	Example Sentence
parler	to speak	Je parle français. (I speak French.)
manger	to eat	Tu manges une pomme. (You eat an apple.)
jouer	to play	Il joue au football. (He plays football.)
travailler	to work	Elle travaille dans un bureau. (She works in an office.)
habiter	to live	Nous habitons à Paris. (We live in Paris.)
aimer	to like/love	J'aime la musique. (I like music.)
détester	to hate	Je déteste le lundi. (I hate Mondays.)
regarder	to watch/look at	Vous regardez la télévision. (You watch television.)
écouter	to listen to	Ils écoutent de la musique. (They listen to music.)
chercher	to look for	Elle cherche ses clés. (She is looking for her keys.)
donner	to give	Je donne un cadeau. (I give a present.)
acheter	to buy	Tu achètes du pain. (You buy bread.)
arriver	to arrive	Le train arrive à midi. (The train arrives at noon.)
commencer	to begin	Le film commence à huit heures. (The film starts at 8.)
penser	to think	Je pense que oui. (I think so.)
demander	to ask	Il demande l'addition. (He asks for the bill.)
marcher	to walk	Nous marchons dans le parc. (We walk in the park.)
chanter	to sing	Elle chante bien. (She sings well.)
danser	to dance	Ils dansent le tango. (They dance the tango.)
cuisiner	to cook	Tu cuisines ce soir ? (Are you cooking tonight?)

Full Conjugation Examples

Manger (to eat)

Subject	Conjugation
je	mange
tu	manges
il/elle/on	mange
nous	mangeons
vous	mangez
ils/elles	mangent

Spelling note: With manger and other verbs ending in -ger (like nager, voyager, partager), an extra e is added before -ons in the nous form: nous mangeons (NOT nous mangons). This preserves the soft "zh" sound of the g.

Commencer (to begin)

Subject	Conjugation
je	commence
tu	commences
il/elle/on	commence
nous	commençons
vous	commencez
ils/elles	commencent

Spelling note: Verbs ending in -cer (like commencer, lancer, placer) change c to ç before -ons in the nous form: nous commençons. This preserves the "s" sound.

Verbs with Stem Changes

Some -er verbs have stem changes in certain forms (boot verbs), though they keep the regular -er endings.

Acheter (to buy) — e → è

Subject	Conjugation
je	achète
tu	achètes
il/elle/on	achète
nous	achetons
vous	achetez
ils/elles	achètent

The e in the stem changes to è when the ending is silent (-e, -es, -ent). The nous and vous forms keep the original stem.

Appeler (to call) — l → ll

Subject	Conjugation
je	appelle
tu	appelles
il/elle/on	appelle
nous	appelons
vous	appelez
ils/elles	appellent

Préférer (to prefer) — é → è

Subject	Conjugation
je	préfère
tu	préfères
il/elle/on	préfère
nous	préférons
vous	préférez
ils/elles	préfèrent

Negation with -er Verbs

Wrap the conjugated verb in ne...pas:

Je ne parle pas anglais. — I don't speak English.
Elle ne mange pas de viande. — She doesn't eat meat.
Nous ne travaillons pas le dimanche. — We don't work on Sundays.
Ils n'aiment pas le froid. — They don't like the cold.

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Conjugate travailler (to work).

je ____ → travaille
tu ____ → travailles
il ____ → travaille
nous ____ → travaillons
vous ____ → travaillez
elles ____ → travaillent

Exercise 2: Fill in the blank with the correct form.

Je ____ (habiter) à Londres. → habite
Nous ____ (manger) au restaurant. → mangeons
Vous ____ (parler) français ? → parlez
Ils ____ (jouer) au tennis. → jouent
Elle ____ (écouter) la radio. → écoute

Exercise 3: Translate into French.

"We live in Paris." → Nous habitons à Paris. / On habite à Paris.
"She doesn't like coffee." → Elle n'aime pas le café.
"They play football on Saturdays." → Ils jouent au football le samedi.
"I work in an office." → Je travaille dans un bureau.

Summary

Regular -er verbs are conjugated by removing -er and adding: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. Four of the six forms sound identical in speech. Verbs ending in -ger add an extra e before -ons (nous mangeons), and verbs ending in -cer change c to ç before -ons (nous commençons). Some -er verbs have stem changes in the "boot" forms. Mastering -er verb conjugation gives you access to the vast majority of French verbs.