Verbs: Present Tense –er Verbs

Regular -er verbs follow this pattern:

donner (to give)
je donne	I give
tu donnes	You give (singular)
il/elle donne	He/she gives
nous donnons	We give
vous donnez	You give (plural)
ils/elles donnent	They give

Note that for the above verb we say that the infinitive is donner, donn is the stem, and the endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent (the hyphen isn't part of the ending, it just indicates that it follows the stem). Regular -er verbs are:

regarder (to look)

arrive (to arrive)

chanter (to sing)

parler (to speak)

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Some irregular -er verbs may have just have one or two differences, and sometimes have their own patterns within groups of similar irregular verbs. Below are common ones.

manger (to eat) Follows regular –er verbs except for the nous form
je mange	I give
tu manges	You give (singular)
il/elle mange	He/she gives
nous mangeons	We give
vous mangez	You give (plural)
ils/elles mangent	They give

The above structure also applies to changer (to exchange), charger (to charge), déranger (to disturb), interroger (to question), mélanger (to mix), nager (to swim), obliger (to compel), partager (to share), plonger (to dive) and voyager (to travel).

commencer (to start) Follows regular –er verbs except for the nous form
je commence	I start
tu commences	You start (singular)
il/elle commence	He/she starts
nous commençons	We start
vous commencez	You start (plural)
ils/elles commencent	They start

The above structure also applies to announcer (to announce), divorcer (to divorce), se fiancer (to get engaged) and manacer (to threaten).

jeter (to throw) Follows regular –er verbs except the constant t is repeated in the je, tu, il(s) and elle(s) forms.
je jette	I throw
tu jettes	You throw (singular)
il/elle jette	He/she throws
nous jetons	We throw
vous jetez	You throw (plural)
ils/elles jettent	They throw

Most verbs ending in ter repeat the t, exceptions are acheter (to buy) and haleter (to gasp) – see espérer below

appeler (to call) Follows regular –er verbs except the constant l is repeated in the je, tu, il(s) and elle(s) forms.
j'appelle	I call
tu appelles	You call (singular)
il/elle appelle	He/she calls
nous appelons	We call
vous appelez	You call (plural)
ils/elles appellent	They call

Most verbs ending in ler repeat the l including s'appeler (to be called), rappeler (to call back), se rappeler (to remember) and étinceler (to twinkle). Exceptions that do not repeat the l include céler (to conceal), geler (to freeze), marteler (to hammer), modeller (to model) and peler (to peel) - see espérer below.

espérer (to hope) Follows regular –er verbs except the é towards the end of the stem is changed to a è in the je, tu, il(s) and elle(s) forms.
j'espère	I call
tu espères	You call (singular)
il/elle espère	He/she calls
nous espérons	We call
vous espérez	You call (plural)
ils/elles espèrent	They call

The above structure applies to acheter (to buy), céler (to conceal), geler (to freeze), haleter (to gasp), lever (to lift), marteler (to hammer), mener (to lead), modeller (to model), peler (to peel), and répéter (to repeat).

envoyer (to send) and other verbs ending in yer follow regular –er verbs except the y in the stem is changed to an i in the je, tu, il(s) and elle(s) forms.
j'envoie	I send
tu envoies	You send (singular)
il/elle envoie	He/she sends
nous envoyons	We send
vous envoyez	You send (plural)
ils/elles envoient	They send

The above structure also applies to assayer (to try), employer (to employ), ennuyer (to annoy), nettoyer (to clean) and payer (to pay).

aller (to go) is very irregular in the je, tu, il(s) and elle(s) forms.
je vais	I go
tu vas	You go (singular)
il/elle va	He/she goes
nous allons	We go
vous allez	You go (plural)
ils/elles vont	They go