Regular -ER Verbs Review & Expansion

Why this matters

You already know a few -ER verbs from A1. Now it's time to level up. The -ER family is the largest in French — over 90% of new verbs you encounter will follow this pattern. Mastering it means you can guess how to conjugate almost any new verb on the spot.

🦝 Remy says: "Think of -ER verbs as your French superpower. Learn the pattern once, unlock hundreds of verbs forever. Not bad for one lesson, right?"

The -ER Conjugation Pattern

Remove the -er ending from the infinitive, then add these endings:

| Pronoun | Ending | Example: parler (to speak) | |

|

--|

-| | je | -e | je parle [zhuh parl] | | tu | -es | tu parles [tü parl] | | il/elle/on | -e | il parle [eel parl] | | nous | -ons | nous parlons [noo par-lohn] | | vous | -ez | vous parlez [voo par-lay] | | ils/elles | -ent | ils parlent [eel parl] |

Key insight: The je, tu, il/elle, and ils/elles forms are all pronounced the same for most -ER verbs. The -ent ending is always silent!

Expanding Your -ER Verb Vocabulary

Here are 12 essential -ER verbs you must know at A2:

| Infinitive | Meaning | Example | |

|

|

| | travailler | to work | Je travaille beaucoup. = I work a lot. | | habiter | to live (somewhere) | Tu habites où ? = Where do you live? | | chercher | to look for | Elle cherche ses clés. = She's looking for her keys. | | écouter | to listen | Nous écoutons de la musique. = We listen to music. | | regarder | to watch | Vous regardez la télé ? = Do you watch TV? | | penser | to think | Je pense que oui. = I think so. | | détester | to hate | Elle déteste attendre. = She hates waiting. | | oublier | to forget | J'oublie toujours ! = I always forget! | | montrer | to show | Montre-moi ! = Show me! | | expliquer | to explain | Tu peux expliquer ? = Can you explain? | | essayer | to try | J'essaie de comprendre. = I'm trying to understand. | | changer | to change | Ça change tout. = That changes everything. |

🦝 Remy's memory trick: "To remember that -ent is silent, picture the letters sleeping at the end of the word. Ils parlent — they speak... but those last letters? Completely napping."

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the blank

Conjugate the verb in parentheses correctly.

1. Nous ________ (habiter) à Paris.
2. Tu ________ (chercher) quoi ?
3. Ils ________ (écouter) la radio.
4. Je ________ (travailler) ce soir.
5. Vous ________ (regarder) quel film ?

✅ Answers:

1. habitons
2. cherches
3. écoutent
4. travaille
5. regardez

📝 Exercise 2 — Make a sentence

Use these prompts to write a full sentence in French.

1. (I / love / French music) → ___
2. (She / forget / her bag) → ___
3. (We / explain / the problem) → ___
4. (You [formal] / think / it's good?) → ___

✅ Model answers:

1. J'aime la musique française.
2. Elle oublie son sac.
3. Nous expliquons le problème.
4. Vous pensez que c'est bon ?

📝 Exercise 3 — Translate

1. They (f.) watch the news. → ___
2. I'm looking for a job. → ___
3. He lives in Lyon. → ___
4. We try to speak French. → ___
5. Do you (tu) listen to podcasts? → ___

✅ Answers:

1. Elles regardent les informations.
2. Je cherche un emploi.
3. Il habite à Lyon.
4. Nous essayons de parler français.
5. Tu écoutes des podcasts ?

🎯 Today's challenge

Pick three -ER verbs from the table above that you don't use yet. Write one sentence with each — about your own life. Say them aloud three times each. Hearing yourself speak French is the fastest way to make it stick!

⭐ Key takeaways

• The -ER verb pattern is the most common in French — learn it deeply and you unlock hundreds of verbs.
• The endings -e, -es, -e, -ent are all silent — only -ons and -ez are clearly pronounced.
• Practice with verbs that are personally relevant to you — it makes them stick much faster.