Group 1: regular -er verbs

Summary

Regular -er verbs form the present by dropping -er from the infinitive and adding the endings -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.

Explanation

Regular -er verbs are the first conjugation group and by far the largest, covering about nine out of ten French verbs. To conjugate one such as parler in the present, remove the -er to get the stem (parl-) and add the endings -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, tu parles, il/elle/on parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent. The same single pattern works for aimer, chanter, regarder, travailler and thousands more.

Because this group is so regular, it is the model on which new and borrowed verbs are built: French speakers naturally form googliser or zoomer on the -er pattern. Mastering these endings therefore gives you immediate access to a huge active vocabulary, and it is the natural place to start learning French conjugation.

A key point for the ear: the endings -e, -es and -ent are all silent, so je parle, tu parles and ils/elles parlent are pronounced identically even though they are spelled differently. Only the nous (-ons) and vous (-ez) forms add an audible syllable. This means the written endings carry information the spoken language does not, which matters greatly for spelling and dictation.

Watch out for two things. First, a handful of -er verbs are regular in sound but need small spelling adjustments to keep their pronunciation consistent — the -cer/-ger verbs (nous mangeons), the -yer verbs (j'essaie), and stem-changing verbs like acheter (j'achète) or appeler (j'appelle); these are sub-patterns, not exceptions to the endings. Second, and more importantly, aller ends in -er but is not a regular -er verb at all: it is highly irregular and belongs to group 3 (je vais, nous allons).

Rule of thumb: if a verb ends in -er, assume it is a regular group 1 verb and apply -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent to the stem — the only true exception to that assumption is aller, which must be memorised separately.

Examples

Je parle français avec mes amis. — I speak French with my friends.

Nous aimons la musique et ils chantent souvent. — We love music and they often sing. (nous adds an audible -ons; -ent stays silent.)

Tu regardes la télévision ce soir. — You are watching television this evening.

Elle travaille dans un bureau au centre-ville. — She works in an office downtown.

Vous écoutez la radio chaque matin. — You listen to the radio every morning.

Common mistakes

Related rules

• The three verb groups
• Present indicative
• Group 1 spelling: -cer / -ger
• Group 1 stem change: e → è / consonant doubling