French -ER Verbs: 50 Essential Regular Verbs (A1)
🇫🇷 French · 51 cards · A1 · by Théo Marchand
Nine out of ten French verbs end in -er, so this is the family to learn first: six endings (-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent) and you can suddenly use hundreds of verbs. I chose the 50 you actually hear in daily conversation, from parler and manger to acheter, payer and envoyer.
Two things catch learners out. The "regular" ones aren't always spelled regularly: nous mangeons, nous commençons, j'achète, j'appelle, je préfère. And a small group (arriver, rester, tomber, rentrer, monter, passer) takes être in the passé composé. Both are flagged in the notes, along with the meals — déjeuner and dîner are not the same meal in Lyon and in Montréal.
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How to use this deck
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 51 cards
| # | French | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | parler parler à quelqu'un = to talk to someone; parler de = to talk about. | to speak, to talk | On parle français à la maison. We speak French at home. | |
| 2 | aimer About a person, aimer means "to love"; add bien (je l'aime bien) to soften it to "I like him/her". | to like, to love | J'aime bien ton nouveau manteau. I really like your new coat. | |
| 3 | habiter habiter à Lyon, habiter en France; dropping the preposition (j'habite Lyon) is also correct. | to live, to reside | Tu habites encore chez tes parents ? Do you still live at your parents' place? | |
| 4 | travailler Only for people. For a machine or an app that works, use marcher or fonctionner. | to work | Elle travaille dans un café le samedi. She works in a café on Saturdays. | |
| 5 | manger Keeps the e before -ons: nous mangeons, to preserve the soft "g" sound. | to eat | Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ce soir ? What are we eating tonight? | |
| 6 | regarder No preposition: regarder quelque chose. voir = to see (without trying). | to watch, to look at | Arrête de regarder ton téléphone. Stop looking at your phone. | |
| 7 | écouter Direct object, never "à": écouter la radio, écouter quelqu'un. | to listen to | J'écoute un podcast dans le métro. I listen to a podcast on the subway. | |
| 8 | chercher The "for" is inside the verb: chercher un appartement, chercher du travail. | to look for, to search for | Je cherche mes clés depuis ce matin. I've been looking for my keys since this morning. | |
| 9 | trouver je trouve ça bizarre = I think that's weird. Very common for opinions. | to find; to think (opinion) | Tu trouves ça normal, toi ? Do you think that's normal? | |
| 10 | donner donner quelque chose à quelqu'un. | to give | Donne-moi ton numéro, je t'écris. Give me your number, I'll message you. | |
| 11 | demander False friend: it does not mean "to demand". To ask a question = poser une question. | to ask, to ask for | Il demande toujours de l'aide. He always asks for help. | |
| 12 | penser penser à = think about someone/something; penser que = think that. | to think | Je pense souvent à toi. I often think about you. | |
| 13 | jouer jouer à + game or sport, jouer de + instrument: jouer au foot, jouer du piano. | to play | Les enfants jouent dans la cour. The kids are playing in the yard. | |
| 14 | chanter chanter faux = to sing out of tune; chanter juste = in tune. | to sing | Elle chante faux mais elle s'amuse. She sings off-key but she's having fun. | |
| 15 | danser Passé composé with avoir: j'ai dansé. | to dance | On a dansé toute la nuit. We danced all night. | |
| 16 | aider aider quelqu'un à faire quelque chose: il m'aide à déménager. | to help | Tu peux m'aider deux minutes ? Can you help me for a couple of minutes? | |
| 17 | porter Same verb for clothes and for carrying something. | to wear, to carry | Il porte toujours la même veste. He always wears the same jacket. | |
| 18 | fermer Its opposite, ouvrir, is not an -ER verb: j'ouvre, nous ouvrons. | to close, to shut | Ferme la fenêtre, il fait froid. Close the window, it's cold. | |
| 19 | montrer montrer quelque chose à quelqu'un. | to show | Montre-moi les photos du week-end. Show me the photos from the weekend. | |
| 20 | oublier oublier de + infinitive: j'ai oublié de t'appeler. Keeps the i: nous oublions. | to forget | J'ai oublié mon parapluie au bureau. I forgot my umbrella at the office. | |
| 21 | arriver Passé composé with être: je suis arrivé(e). ça arrive = it happens, no big deal. | to arrive; to happen | Le train arrive dans cinq minutes. The train arrives in five minutes. | |
| 22 | entrer Takes être: elle est entrée. In casual speech on both sides of the Atlantic, people often say rentrer instead. | to enter, to come in | Entrez, la porte est ouverte ! Come in, the door is open! | |
| 23 | rester False friend: not "to rest" (= se reposer). Takes être: je suis resté(e). | to stay, to remain | On reste encore une heure ? Shall we stay another hour? | |
| 24 | rentrer Takes être: je suis rentré(e) à minuit. With an object it takes avoir: j'ai rentré la voiture. | to go/come back home | Je rentre tard ce soir. I'm coming home late tonight. | |
| 25 | passer être for movement (je suis passé chez lui), avoir for time (j'ai passé deux heures). Watch out: passer un examen = to take an exam, not to pass it. | to drop by, to pass; to spend (time) | Je passe te voir demain. I'll drop by to see you tomorrow. | |
| 26 | monter être for movement: il est monté. With a direct object it takes avoir: j'ai monté les valises. | to go up, to get on | Monte, je t'attends en haut. Come up, I'm waiting for you upstairs. | |
| 27 | tomber Takes être: elle est tombée. tomber amoureux de = to fall in love with. | to fall | Attention, tu vas tomber ! Careful, you're going to fall! | |
| 28 | marcher Informal but everywhere for machines. ça marche ! = works for me / sounds good. | to walk; to work (function) | Le wifi ne marche pas ici. The wifi doesn't work here. | |
| 29 | gagner Same verb for winning a match and earning money. | to win, to earn | Elle gagne bien sa vie. She earns a good living. | |
| 30 | quitter Always needs an object. With no object, use partir: je pars. On the phone: ne quittez pas = hold the line. | to leave (a person, a place, a job) | Il a quitté son travail en juin. He left his job in June. | |
| 31 | rencontrer For an arranged meet-up, French prefers retrouver: on se retrouve à huit heures. | to meet, to run into | J'ai rencontré ma voisine à la boulangerie. I ran into my neighbour at the bakery. | |
| 32 | adorer Stronger than aimer and used constantly in casual speech. resto is the familiar word for restaurant. | to love, to adore | J'adore ce resto, on y va souvent. I love this restaurant, we go there often. | |
| 33 | détester Everyday word, not dramatic. haïr is literary and rare in speech. | to hate | Je déteste faire la vaisselle. I hate doing the dishes. | |
| 34 | visiter For people, say rendre visite à quelqu'un or, more casually, aller voir quelqu'un. | to visit (a place) | On a visité le vieux port hier. We visited the old port yesterday. | |
| 35 | commander Restaurants and online shopping; also "to command" in a military context. | to order | On commande une pizza ce soir ? Shall we order a pizza tonight? | |
| 36 | coûter Mostly third person. coûter cher = to be expensive. | to cost | Ça coûte combien, un billet ? How much does a ticket cost? | |
| 37 | apporter apporter for things, amener for people: j'amène mon frère. | to bring (something) | Apporte du pain en rentrant. Bring some bread on your way home. | |
| 38 | expliquer expliquer quelque chose à quelqu'un. | to explain | Explique-moi encore une fois, s'il te plaît. Explain it to me one more time, please. | |
| 39 | raconter For stories and news. To tell a fact, the time or the truth, use dire. | to tell (a story), to recount | Raconte, il s'est passé quoi ? Tell me, what happened? | |
| 40 | déjeuner In France le déjeuner is the midday meal; in Québec and Belgium it's breakfast. Agree on a time, not just a meal name. | to have lunch (France); to have breakfast (Québec) | On déjeune ensemble jeudi ? Shall we have lunch together on Thursday? (breakfast in Québec) | |
| 41 | dîner France: the evening meal. Québec: the midday meal, the evening one being souper. | to have dinner (France); to have lunch (Québec) | Vous dînez à quelle heure ? What time do you eat dinner? | |
| 42 | étudier Keeps the i: nous étudions, vous étudiez. In France, studying for an exam is réviser; in Québec, étudier works for that too. | to study | Elle étudie le droit à Montréal. She studies law in Montréal. | |
| 43 | commencer Cedilla before -ons: nous commençons. commencer à + infinitive. | to start, to begin | Le film commence à vingt heures. The film starts at eight p.m. | |
| 44 | voyager Keeps the e: nous voyageons. | to travel | Il voyage beaucoup pour son travail. He travels a lot for work. | |
| 45 | acheter Stem change: j'achète, tu achètes, ils achètent, but nous achetons, vous achetez. | to buy | J'achète le pain juste à côté. I buy my bread right next door. | |
| 46 | appeler Double l in the stressed forms: j'appelle, ils appellent, but nous appelons. je m'appelle = my name is. | to call; (s'appeler) to be named | Comment on appelle ça en français ? What do you call that in French? | |
| 47 | téléphoner téléphoner à quelqu'un (with à), unlike appeler quelqu'un. Slightly old-fashioned; appeler is more common today. | to phone, to call up | Téléphone-moi quand tu arrives. Call me when you get there. | |
| 48 | préférer é becomes è when stressed: je préfère, ils préfèrent, but nous préférons. | to prefer | Je préfère rester à la maison. I'd rather stay home. | |
| 49 | payer Two accepted spellings: je paie (more common) or je paye. No preposition: payer le café. | to pay, to pay for | C'est moi qui paie, range ta carte. I'm paying, put your card away. | |
| 50 | essayer j'essaie (or j'essaye); essayer de + infinitive: j'essaie de dormir. | to try, to try on | Essaie encore, tu y es presque. Try again, you're almost there. | |
| 51 | envoyer y becomes i when stressed: j'envoie, but nous envoyons. Irregular future: j'enverrai. | to send | Je t'envoie l'adresse par message. I'll send you the address by text. |
Théo Marchand
Native French · Speaks English, Spanish
Born in Lyon, living in Montréal. I write the phrases the way people actually say them on both sides of the Atlantic and mark the difference when it matters.
Published
Questions about this deck
- How do you conjugate a regular -ER verb in the present tense?
- Drop the -er and add -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent. For listening, the key point is that parle, parles and parlent are pronounced identically, so only the subject pronoun tells you who is doing the action.
- Are all French verbs ending in -er regular?
- Almost all of them. Aller (to go) is the one truly irregular -er verb, and envoyer has an irregular future (j'enverrai). The rest are regular but adjust their spelling: nous mangeons and nous voyageons keep the e, nous commençons takes a cedilla, and acheter, appeler, préférer, payer and essayer change in the je/tu/il/ils forms (j'achète, j'appelle, je préfère, je paie, j'essaie).
- Which -ER verbs in this deck take être in the passé composé?
- Arriver, entrer, rentrer, rester, monter, tomber and passer when it means moving past or dropping by: je suis arrivé(e), elle est tombée, on est restés (agreement with the subject). Monter, rentrer and passer switch to avoir as soon as they have a direct object: j'ai monté les valises, j'ai rentré la voiture, j'ai passé deux heures au téléphone.
- Do déjeuner and dîner mean the same thing in France and in Québec?
- No, and it causes real confusion. In France, déjeuner is lunch and dîner is the evening meal. In Québec (and Belgium), déjeuner is breakfast, dîner is lunch and the evening meal is souper. If someone invites you to dîner, ask for the time rather than guessing the meal.
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