Regular -ER Verbs in the Present Tense

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French verbs are divided into three groups based on their infinitive ending. The largest and most regular group is the -ER verbs. Once you know the pattern, it applies to hundreds of verbs. This page covers the regular -ER conjugation in the present tense. The -IR verbs and a third, more varied group encompassing -RE, -OIR and other endings follow their own patterns, covered in separate pages.

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The pattern

Every regular -ER verb follows the same logic. Take the infinitive, identify the stem, and add the present tense ending for each person.

The three steps

1. Start with the infinitive: demander
2. The -er part is the infinitive ending. Everything before it is the stem: demand-
3. Drop the -er ending and add the present tense ending for each person

Verbe 1 sur 2

demander

radical

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Here are a few examples in context. The verb ending is highlighted in each sentence.

Je parle français, mais Mathias parle allemand.

Nous écoutons de la musique tous les jours.

Vous aimez cuisiner ?

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Two points to know

1. Four endings that sound identical

In spoken French, je demande, tu demandes, il demande and ils demandent are all pronounced exactly the same way. The written endings -e, -es, -e and -ent are all silent. Only nous demandons and vous demandez are audibly distinct.

This means the verb ending alone cannot tell you who is performing the action in speech. The subject pronoun carries that information, which is why dropping it in French, unlike in Spanish or Italian, is not an option.

2. Spelling adjustments for -ger and -cer verbs

Verbs ending in -ger (such as manger, voyager, nager) and -cer (such as commencer, lancer, placer) have a small spelling adjustment in the nous form only.

In French, "g" and "c" have two possible sounds depending on the vowel that follows. Before "a", "o" or "u", they produce a hard sound, as in gare or carte. Before "e" or "i", they produce a soft sound, as in genre or ciel. The ending -ons starts with "o", which would normally trigger the hard sound. To preserve the soft sound of the infinitive, an "e" is inserted after the "g" for -ger verbs, and the "c" takes a cedilla for -cer verbs.

manger → nous mangeons — without the "e", mangons would produce a hard "g" sound

commencer → nous commençons — without the cedilla, commençons would produce a hard "c" sound

All other forms of these verbs follow the regular pattern.

A note on aller

Aller (to go) ends in -er but is completely irregular in the present tense. Its forms — je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont — bear no resemblance to the regular -ER pattern. It is one of the most frequently used verbs in French and worth learning as a standalone form.