French Present Tense Conjugations – Pronunciation & Audio Guide

Author: Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Learn the French present tense verb conjugations with audio recordings. 90% of French verb verbs are regular -er verbs; the -ir and -re verb groups are not all regular.

The present tense is the most common tense in everyday conversations.

Furthermore, when you conjugate French verbs, you often use a present verb form as a basis and then add another tense endings to that basis.

For these two reasons, it’s essential you know the present tense of your French verbs inside out.

Since most students learn their French verb conjugations from books, they often butcher the verb pronunciation… This free lesson comes with audio. If you’re learning French to speak French, the pronunciation is more important than the spelling!

How To Conjugate the Present Tense in French

To conjugate a verb in the present tense in French, we remove the ending of the verb in the infinitive (so the verb -er, -ir, or -re: it’s call “a stem”) and we add the following written endings to the French subject pronouns.

Play the audio recording to hear how the verb form endings sound. If there is no audio, it means the ending is silent and the verb pronunciation will end on the last letter of its stem (could be a consonant or a vowel sound)…

PersonTranslationer Verbsir Verbs-re Verbs
Je I-e-is-s
Tu  You informal-es-is-s
Il 
Elle
On
He / it
She / it
One /We colloquial
-e-it
Nous We formal-ons-issons-ons
VousFormal / Plural-ez-issez-ez
Ils
Elles
They-ent-issent-ent

Yes indeed, there are many silent letters in French verbs this is why learning your French verb conjugations with audio is a must!

Key To The French Present Tense Pronunciation

If you have to remember one thing of this lesson, let this be it:

For most regular and irregular verbs in the present tense the je, tu, il, elle, on forms are pronounced exactly the same way.
Only the spelling differs!

Before we dig deep into the various French verb forms, let me explain when we use the present indicative in French, and compare it to English.

What is The Present Tense?

The present tense focuses on the now: it can be when the speaker is speaking, an habitual action or a general truth.

This notion is then modified by the grammatical mood. Here is an article about French moods.

In this free French lesson, we will talk about the present tense of the indicative mood.

First, let’s explain the present tense in English.

The 4 Present Tense Forms In English

The present tense in English has 3 forms, each of them having a slightly different variation of the now:

  1. The present simple: “I speak French”.
    The present simple tense is used to talk about general truth and habits.
  2. The present progressive: “I am speaking French”.
    The present progressive tenses focuses on what is going on right now.
  3. The present emphatic “I do speak French”.
    The present emphatic insists on a statement.
  4. The present perfect progressive: “I have been speaking French for one hour”.
    The present perfect progressive focuses on the duration of something.

What is Le Présent?

In French, there is only one tense to translate the four English forms.

The French present tense is called “le présent“.

Je parle = I speak, I am speaking, I do speak, I have been speaking.

This is often a big problem for English speakers since you use the progressive form so much in English.

You must be careful to not translate these auxiliary verbs in French “to be” (progressive form) and “do” (emphatic form), but just use the appropriate French verb ending for the tense you wish to express.

What is The Present Progressive in French?

I cannot stress enough how important this point is in French: there is no progressive form in French! We don’t differentiate the action we are in the process of doing with the action we usually do.

Now let’s study in the various French verb groups in the present tense.

French Verbs Ending in Er

Verbs in -er follow a conjugation logic based on the infinitive of the verb minus its “er” ending.

What remains of the verb is called ‘the stem’: you add the present tense endings to it and the pronunciation of the stem holds the key to the pronunciation of the verb forms.

What is The First French Verb Group Conjugation?

Good news! 90% of French verbs end in -er and are perfectly regular: this means that their conjugation pattern is predictable and reliable.

Grammar methods tend to group the -er verbs in what they call the first group.

French Er Verb Conjugation Example & Pronunciation

Let’s take parler (to speak) as our example.

Play the audio recordings and focus on the fact that most verb forms are actually pronounced the same way!

Finding the stemInfinitive Minus er
Parler -er = parl
Written conjugationJe stem+e, tu stem+es, il stem+e
Je parle, tu parles, il parle
nous stem+ons / vous stem+ez / ils stem+ent
Nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent
Spoken conjugationJe stem, tu stem, il stem
Je parl, tu parl, il parl
nous stem+on, vous stem+é, ils stem
nou parlon, vou parlé, il parl

5 Common French -Er Verbs Conjugated

Donner: to give

Donner -> donn
Je donne, tu donnes, il donne, elle donne, on donne, nous donnons, vous donnez, ils donnent, elles donnent

Aimer: to like, to be in love

Aimer-> aim
J’aime, tu aimes, il aime, elle aime, on aime, nous aimons, vous aimez, ils aiment, elles aiment.

Since “aimer” starts with a vowel, you’ll have to apply elision (j’) and liaisons (nous‿Zaimons, vous‿Zaimez, ils‿Zaiment)

Écouter: to listen to

Écouter -> écout
J’écoute, tu écoutes, il écoute, elle écoute, on écoute, nous écoutons, vous écoutez, ils écoutent

Chercher: to look for

Chercher -> cherch
Je cherche, tu cherches, il cherche, elle cherche, on cherche, nous cherchons, vous cherchez, ils cherchent, elles cherchent

Étudier: to study

Etudier -> étudi
J’étudie, tu étudies, il étudie, elle étudie, on étudie, nous étudions, vous étudiez, ils étudient

As you can see a regular -er verb can end on a vowel sound if the stem ends on a vowel like étudier = étudi, or jouer (to play) = jou

2 Stem Verb Exceptions

However, among this “regular” group, you will find variations of spelling and pronunciation in the stem.

There are also minor spelling changes for verbs ending in “-cer”, “-ger”, “-yer”, etc… 

  1. French verbs in -ger
    We add an “e” before the “ons” to preserve the pronunciation
    Nous mangeons.
  2. French verbs ending in -cer
    We add a “ç” before the “ons” to preserve the pronunciation
    Nous lançons.
  3. French verbs ending in -yer
    The “y” becomes an “i” in the singular forms as well as in the 3rd person plural “ils / elles”.
    Envoyer (to send) : j’envoie, tu envoies, il envoie, nous envoyons, vous envoyez, ils envoient
  4. For many French verbs that end in -eler or -eter
    The final consonant is doubled before a silent “e” (but there are many exceptions as well)
    Examples:
    Appeler (to call) j’appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, nous appelons, vous appelez, ils appellent
    Jeter (to throw) je jette, tu jettes, il jette, nous jetons, vous jetez, ils jettent
    Exceptions: acheter, déceler, geler, haleter, harceler, modeler, peler…

So, French verbs in -ER are not always totally regular… Hum… My personal take on this is that it is a small change compared to irregular verbs which totally change spelling or pronunciation.

You need to study carefully the verbs with two stems if you are studying French to pass written exams. However, if you are learning French to speak, I wouldn’t worry about this too much at this time and consider the ‘verbs with 2 stems’ as a minor irregularity…

Only One Real -Er Irregular Verb

The only French verb ending in -ER which is truly irregular is “aller“.
Aller – je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont

Let’s move on to the next French regular verb group.

French Ir Verb Conjugation

Traditionally, verbs ending in -ir form what grammar method call the second group of regular French verbs.

French Ir Verb Conjugation Example & Pronunciation

Let’s take finir (to end) as our example.

Play the audio recordings and focus on the difference between spelling and pronunciation!

Finding the stemInfinitive Minus ir
Finir -ir = fin
Written conjugationJe stem+is, tu stem+is, il stem+it
Je finis, tu finis, il finit
nous stem+issons / vous stem+issez / ils stem+issent
Nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent
Spoken conjugationJe stem, tu stem, il stem
Je fini, tu fini, il fini
nous stem+isson, vous stem+issé, ils stem+iss
nou finisson, vou finissé, il finiss

5 Common French Ir Verb Conjugated

Let’s practice a bit with five common French Ir verbs.

Choisir: to choose

Choisir -> chois (ends on a z sound)
Je choisis, tu choisis, il choisit, elle choisit, on choisit, nous choisissons, vous choisissez, ils choisissent, elles choisissent

Grossir: to gein weigh

Grossir -> gross
Je grossis, tu grossis, il grossit, elle grossit, on grossit, nous grossissons, vous grossissez, ils grossissent, elles grossissent

Réussir: to succeed

Réussir -> réuss
Je réussis, tu réussis, il réussit, elle réussit, on réussit, nous réussissons, vous réussissez, ils réussissent

Guérir: to heal, get better

Guérir -> guér
Je guéris, tu guéris, il guérit, elle guérit, on guérit, nous guérissons, vous guérissez, ils guérissent, elles guérissent

Obéir: to obey

Obéir -> obé
J’obéis, tu obéis, il obéit, elle obéit, on obéit, nous obéissons, vous obéissez, ils obéissent, elles obéissent

Many verbs that come from French adjectives of colors are regular ir verbs: rougir, verdir, noirci, blanchir…

Way Too Many Irregular Ir Verbs

This being said, I personally don’t approve of this second verb group!

Why? Because many verbs ending in -ir in French are irregular. And this irregular -ir verbs are among the most commonly used one, such as venir, tenir, courir, partir, sortir, dormir etc…

The -ir verb subgroup absurdity

Some grammar methods present the Ir verbs with three sub-groups.

(endings that are not recorded are silent – so they only matter when writing French!)

  1. Verbs in -ir 1st group
    Endings: is, is, it, issons, issez, issent
    The majority of -ir verbs
  2. Verbs in -ir 2nd group
    Endings: e, es, e, ons, ez, ent
    Offrir, accueillir, couvrir, cueillir, découvrir, ouvrir, souffrir etc…
  3. Verbs in -ir 3rd group
    Ending: s, s, t, ons, ez, ent
    Dormir, courir, fuir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, sortir etc…

Ok, I get that patterns are a good thing. But so is reliability.

If you cannot rely on the fact that most ir verbs are going to follow one constant pattern, then, the ir ending is not a useful way to sort them!

My own -ir verb tip

My own tip is to recognise the possible patterns, but then learn each verb individually.

And the best way to memorize irregular French verbs is to drill – drill out-loud, with audio recordings, out of order and develop an ear for how the verb should sound.

French Verb Audio Drills

Train your verb memory with short 6-minute drills in 25 different forms and tenses

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More Details & Audio Samples

Now, let’s take a look at the third regular verb group.

French Re Verb Conjugation

Many methods who teach French as a foreign language include a third “regular” French verb group pattern: the verb in Re.

French Re Verb Conjugation Example & Pronunciation

The supposedly typical conjugation pattern is the following:
Remove the “re” to get the verb stem.
Add: s, s, nothing, ons, ez, ent.

Vendre (to sell)

Vendre -> vend
Je vends, tu vends, il vend, elle vend, on vend, nous vendons, vous vendez, ils vendent, elles vendent

Now, it’s interesting to note that original French grammars do not list a third group of regular verbs. In French, the -re verbs are usually just considered irregular.

And there is a reason why…

The Re Regular Group Absurdity

Indeed, as we saw in the previous chapter with the -ir verbs, there are some patterns involved. So it is tempting to form groups.

Yet, once more, when there are more exceptions to the rules than verbs following the main pattern, how reliable a group is it?

Here is the list of supposedly “regular” -re verbs.
How many would you actually be likely to use in an everyday conversation?

For fun, I listed in bold the ones I may have used in the present tense in the last week – I’m likely to have used more in the passé-composé.

19 Regular -er verbs

  1. attendre – to wait (for)
  2. confondre – to confuse
  3. correspondre – to correspond
  4. défendre – to defend
  5. dépendre – to depend
  6. descendre – to descend
  7. entendre – to hear, to understand
  8. étendre – to stretch
  9. fondre – to melt
  10. mordre – to bite
  11. pendre – to hang, suspend
  12. perdre – to lose
  13. prétendre – to claim
  14. rendre – to give back, to return
  15. répandre – to spread, to scatter
  16. répondre – to answer
  17. suspendre – to suspend
  18. tordre – to twist
  19. vendre – to sell

That’s less than twenty verbs.
5 among 19 being truly commonly used in the present tense.

Now let’s compare this to other verbs that “sound” like they could be a regular -re verb because the end on a French R sound.

50 Irregular R sounding verbs

  1. construire, conduire, cuire, déduire, détruire, instruire, introduire, nuire, produire, reproduire, réduire, séduire, traduire
  2. vivre: suivre, poursuivre, revivre, survivre
  3. prendre, apprendre, comprendre, surprendre
  4. recevoir, apercevoir, concevoir, décevoir, devoir, percevoir
  5. atteindre, craindre, éteindre, joindre, peindre, plaindre, teindre, boire, croire, dire, écrire, faire, lire, plaire, rire, avoir, devoir, mouvoir, pouvoir, savoir, voir, vouloir

That’s 50 confusing “R” sounding verbs versus 5 truly useful verbs following the typical -re group verb conjugation.

I raised my case.

4 Important Irregular Verbs: Avoir, Être, Aller and Faire

Here are the most common irregular verbs conjugated in the French present indicative tense.

avoir
have
être
be
aller
go
faire
make
j’aije suisje vaisje fais
tu astu estu vastu fais
il/elle/on ail/elle/on estil/elle/on vail/elle/on fait
nous avonsnous sommesnous allonsnous faisons
vous avezvous êtesvous allezvous faites
ils/elles ontils/elles sontils/elles vontils/elles font

I’ve written a complete guide to conjugate être – to be in French – with 450 audio recordings! You’ll find all the conjugations at all the tenses and moods in the affirmative and the negative, and since this verb is so important, I’ve included the everyday pronunciation of être verb forms.

How to Memorize the French Present Tense?

Many students of French spend hours learning to write their verbs. And then freeze when it comes to using the correct verb form. It’s such a shame.

First, you need to understand when to use the tenses with a clear French language course with audio recordings and many examples.

Then, once you understand the tenses, you need to drill. Verb conjugations, like anything else in French, need to be learned with audio so you get the right pronunciation, liaisons and elisions with the negative or the French pronouns.

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Author: Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 25+ years in the US and France. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable French audiobooks focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. Come to Paimpol and enjoy an exclusive French immersion homestay with me in Brittany.

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