Present tense of regular verbs

Kurz erklärt

The French present tense describes what is happening now and what happens regularly. With regular verbs, the ending changes to match the subject. The three main patterns are verbs ending in -er, -ir, and -re.

Bildung

Remove the infinitive ending and add: -er: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent; -ir: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent; -re: -s, -s, no ending, -ons, -ez, -ent. The subject order is je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles.

Verwendung

• Use it for actions happening now.
• Use it for habits and routines.
• Use the ending that agrees with the subject pronoun.

Beispiele

• Je parle français avec Marie. — I speak French with Marie.
• Nous finissons le travail à cinq heures. — We finish work at five o’clock.
• Tu vends des livres. — You sell books.
• Ils regardent un film ce soir. — They are watching a movie tonight.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Nous parler français.

✅ Nous parlons français.

Do not keep the infinitive after the subject. Unlike English, French verb endings change to match the subject.

Merke

Start with the stem, then choose the ending for the subject. The written -ent ending for ils and elles is silent.