etre, avoir, aller -er verbs, regular -ir and -re verbs

1. The Present Tense of
être, avoir, aller, -er verbs,
regular - ir & - re verbs
How to say
Actions in the present.

2. - er verbs
 Most verbs in French end in –er in the
infinitive.
 You follow 3 steps with forming – er
verbs.

3. STEP 1 Determine who is doing
the action of the verb.
 Je
 Tu
 Il
 Elle
 On
 Nous
 Vous
 Ils
 Elles
 I
 You (s)
 He
 She
 We / one
 We
 Y’all (pl)
 They (m)
 They (f)

4. STEP 2 Find the stem (remove
the –er)
 manger (to eat)  mang
 jouer (to play)  jou

5. STEP 3 – Add the correct ending to the
stem, depending on who the person is
who is doing the verb.
 Je = e  je joue
 tu = es  tu joues
 Il/ elle/ on = e  il joue
 Nous = ons  nous jouons
 Vous = ez  vous jouez
 Ils/ elles = ent  ils jouent

6. - ir verbs
 You also follow 3 steps when forming – ir
verbs.

7. STEP 1 Determine who is doing
the action of the verb.
 Je
 Tu
 Il
 Elle
 On
 Nous
 Vous
 Ils
 Elles
 I
 You (s)
 He
 She
 We / one
 We
 Y’all (pl)
 They (m)
 They (f)

8. STEP 2 Find the stem (remove
the –ir)
 finir (to finish)  fin
 choisir ( to choose)  chois

9. STEP 3 – Add the correct ending to the
stem, depending on who the person is
who is doing the verb.
 Je = is  je finis
 tu = is  tu finis
 Il/ elle/ on = it  il finit
 Nous = issons  nous finissons
 Vous = issez  vous finissez
 Ils/ elles = issent  ils finissent

10. - re verbs
 They follow 3 steps too.

11. STEP 1 First find out who is
doing the verb.
 Je
 Tu
 Il
 Elle
 On
 Nous
 Vous
 Ils
 Elles
 I
 You (s)
 He
 She
 We / one
 We
 You (pl)
 They (m)
 They (f)

12. STEP 2 Find the stem > remove
the –re
 vendre (to sell) vend
 répondre (to reply ) répond

13. STEP 3 – Add the correct ending to
the stem, depending on who the
person is who is doing the verb.
 Je = s  je vends
 tu = s  tu vends
 Il/ elle/ on =  il vend
 Nous = ons  nous vendons
 Vous = ez  vous vendez
 Ils/ elles = ent  ils vendent

14. être
 You follow only 2 steps when forming
être.

15. STEP 1 Determine who is doing
the action of the verb.
 Je
 Tu
 Il
 Elle
 On
 Nous
 Vous
 Ils
 Elles
 I
 You (s)
 He
 She
 We / one
 We
 Y’all (pl)
 They (m)
 They (f)

16. STEP 2 – There are NO endings to remove,
use the correct verb depending on who is
who is doing the action of the verb.
 Je = suis  je suis
 tu = es  tu es
 Il/ elle/ on = est  il est
 Nous = sommes  nous sommes
 Vous = êtes  vous êtes
 Ils/ elles = sont  ils sont

17. avoir
 You follow 2 steps with forming avoir.

18. STEP 1 Determine who is doing
the action of the verb.
 Je
 Tu
 Il
 Elle
 On
 Nous
 Vous
 Ils
 Elles
 I
 You (s)
 He
 She
 We / one
 We
 Y’all (pl)
 They (m)
 They (f)

19. STEP 2 – There are NO endings to remove,
use the correct verb depending on who is
who is doing the action of the verb.
 Je = ai  j’ai
 tu = as  tu as
 Il/ elle/ on = a  il a
 Nous = avons  nous avons
 Vous = avez  vous avez
 Ils/ elles = ont  ils vont

20. aller
 You follow only 2 steps with forming
aller.

21. STEP 1 Determine who is doing
the action of the verb.
 Je
 Tu
 Il
 Elle
 On
 Nous
 Vous
 Ils
 Elles
 I
 You (s)
 He
 She
 We / one
 We
 Y’all (pl)
 They (m)
 They (f)

22. STEP 2 – There are NO endings to remove,
use the correct verb depending on who is
who is doing the action of the verb.
 Je = vais  je vais
 tu = vas  tu vas
 Il/ elle/ on = va  il va
 Nous = allons  nous allons
 Vous = allez  vous allez
 Ils/ elles = vont  ils vont