Mastering Group 1 French Verbs

French verbs are categorized into three groups. Group 1 verbs are those that end in -er (excluding aller). These are the most common verbs in the French language and follow a very predictable pattern of conjugation, making them the best starting point for any student.

The Standard Pattern

To conjugate a regular -er verb, you remove the "-er" ending to find the "stem" of the verb. Then, you add the appropriate endings for the subject. We will use the verb parler (to speak) as our primary example. Its stem is parl-.

Subject	Present	Imperfect	Future Simple	Conditional	Pass Compos
Je	parle	parlais	parlerai	parlerais	ai parl
Tu	parles	parlais	parleras	parlerais	as parl
Il/Elle	parle	parlait	parlera	parlerait	a parl
Nous	parlons	parlions	parlerons	parlerions	avons parl
Vous	parlez	parliez	parlerez	parleriez	avez parl
Ils/Elles	parlent	parlaient	parleront	parleraient	ont parl

Breakdown of the Tenses

1. Present (Le Prsent)

This tense is used for actions happening now or general truths. The endings are: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.

2. Imperfect (L'Imparfait)

Used for describing habitual actions in the past or setting the scene. The stem is based on the "nous" form of the present tense (minus the -ons). The endings are: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

3. Future Simple (Le Futur Simple)

This tense expresses what will happen. For -er verbs, you keep the entire infinitive (e.g., parler) and add: -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont.

4. Conditional (Le Conditionnel)

Used to express what "would" happen, often in hypothetical situations or for polite requests. Similar to the future tense, you take the full infinitive and add: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

5. Pass Compos

The most common past tense for completed actions. It is a compound tense formed by using the auxiliary verb avoir (in the present tense) followed by the past participle of the main verb. For -er verbs, the past participle is formed by replacing "-er" with "-" (e.g., parler becomes parl).