There is only one Present tense in French which can be translated into any of the three English Present tenses: je parle can be translated as "I speak," "I do speak," and "I am speaking," nous parlons as "we speak," "we do speak," "we are speaking," etc.
PARLER—"to speak" Stem | Ending | Conjugation | parl- | e | je parle | parl- | es | tu parles | parl- | e | il, elle parle | parl- | ons | nous parlons | parl- | ez | vous parlez | parl- | ent | ils, elles parlent |
Some verbs of the -er conjugation will show some spelling variations, such as répéter—"to repeat," manger—"to eat," or commencer—"to begin." je répète | tu répètes | il, elle répète | nous répétons | vous répétez | ils, elles répètent |
je mange | tu manges | il, elle mange | nous mangeons | vous mangez | ils, elles mangent |
je commence | tu commences | il, elle commence | nous commençons | vous commencez | ils, elles commencent |
In the case of manger and commencer, the spelling change is dictated by the need to show that the g- or the c- before –o is to be pronounced soft (like an "s"). g- is always pronounced soft before -e or –i, but hard before -a, -o or -u. Likewise, a c- is always pronounced soft before -e and –i, but hard before a, -o or-u. To make these letters soft, French adds an -e after the g- and uses the ç instead of the c. Here are a few common –er verbs: parler | to speak | travailler | to work | aimer | to like | adorer | to love | chanter | to sing | danser | to dance | donner | to give | jouer | to play | manger | to eat | arriver | to arrive | noter | to note | regarder | to look at, watch |
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