You've mastered reflexive verbs for the morning routine — now it's time to head to work! In this lesson, Camille and Lucas describe their workday: when they arrive, what they do during the day, and when they head home. You'll meet regular -er verbs, the backbone of French conjugation. These verbs all follow the same pattern, so learning the endings once gives you a tool you can use with hundreds of verbs. Let's get to the office!
Learning tips
- Regular -er verbs are the most common verb group in French. The endings are: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. The je/tu/il forms sound identical for most -er verbs, so context makes the meaning clear.
- Commencer is almost regular, but needs a cedilla (ç) before -ons to keep the soft 'c' sound: nous commençons (not *nous commoncons). This spelling rule applies to all verbs ending in -cer.
- The je form drops the subject pronoun vowel before a vowel: j'arrive, j'écoute (not je arrive). This liaison applies any time je is followed by a vowel-initial verb.
- Toujours (always) normally sits right after the conjugated verb: Je parle toujours avec mes collègues. It can also open a sentence for emphasis: Toujours il arrive tôt !
- Rentrer à la maison (to go back home) is a fixed expression — remember it as a chunk. Alternatively, rentrer chez moi (go back to my place) is even more natural in conversation.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| se lever | to get up |
| se doucher | to shower |
| s'habiller | to get dressed |
| prendre | to take |
| le petit déjeuner | breakfast |
| le matin | the morning |
| tôt | early |
| tard | late |
| puis | then |
| d'abord | first |
Dialog
Camille and Lucas arrive at their Paris office and chat about their workday schedule — start times, meetings, and evening routines. Notice the regular -er verbs in action: arriver, écouter, regarder, parler, commencer, terminer, rentrer.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| arriver | /a.ʁi.ve/ | to arrive | Regular -er verb — j'arrive, tu arrives, il arrive; note the j' contraction |
| rentrer | /ʁɑ̃.tʁe/ | to go back home, to return home | Regular -er verb — rentrer à la maison is the most natural fixed phrase |
| parler | /paʁ.le/ | to speak, to talk | Regular -er verb and a model for the conjugation pattern — je parle, tu parles, etc. |
| écouter | /e.ku.te/ | to listen (to) | Regular -er verb — écouter takes a direct object in French: j'écoute la radio (no preposition needed) |
| regarder | /ʁə.ɡaʁ.de/ | to watch, to look at | Regular -er verb — je regarde la télévision; also used for je regarde par la fenêtre (I look out of the window) |
| commencer | /kɔ.mɑ̃.se/ | to start, to begin | Near-regular -er verb — spelling change: nous commençons (cedilla to keep the soft c) |
| terminer | /tɛʁ.mi.ne/ | to finish, to end | Regular -er verb — je termine, tu termines; do not confuse with the -ir verb finir |
| l' l'après-midi | /la.pʁɛ.mi.di/ | the afternoon | l'après-midi — the article l' contracts before the vowel; it is masculine despite ending in -i |
| le soir | /lə swaʁ/ | the evening, in the evening | Le soir as a time expression = in the evening; le soir at the start of a sentence is very natural |
| toujours | /tu.ʒuʁ/ | always | Frequency adverb — placed after the conjugated verb: Je travaille toujours le lundi |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| le cours | /lə kuʁ/ | ||
| la réunion | /la ʁe.y.njɔ̃/ | ||
| le collègue | /lə kɔ.lɛɡ/ | ||
| le projet | /lə pʁɔ.ʒɛ/ | ||
| la pause | /la poz/ | ||
| ensemble | /ɑ̃.sɑ̃bl/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| je commence à | I start at (a time) |
| rentrer à la maison | to go back home |
| le soir | in the evening |
Grammar: Present tense of regular -er verbs
| Pronom | parler | écouter | regarder |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | parle | écoute | regarde |
| tu | parles | écoutes | regardes |
| il/elle | parle | écoute | regarde |
| nous | parlons | écoutons | regardons |
| vous | parlez | écoutez | regardez |
| ils/elles | parlent | écoutent | regardent |
Regular -er verbs are the largest and most predictable verb group in French. To conjugate them, remove the -er from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the following endings: je → -e, tu → -es, il/elle → -e, nous → -ons, vous → -ez, ils/elles → -ent. For example, parler (to speak): je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent. Notice that the singular forms (je, tu, il/elle) and the ils/elles form all have silent endings — they sound the same when spoken. The only endings you can actually hear are -ons (nous) and -ez (vous). One common spelling variation: verbs ending in -cer (like commencer) change c → ç before -ons to preserve the soft /s/ sound: nous commençons. Verbs ending in -ger (like manger) add an extra e before -ons: nous mangeons. These small changes only affect the nous form. Once you know this pattern, you can conjugate over 6,000 French verbs.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct conjugated form of the verb in parentheses.
- J' au bureau à neuf heures. (arriver)(arriver, je — remember j' contraction before vowel)
- Elle la radio le matin. (écouter)(écouter, elle — 3rd person singular -er ending)
- Nous français avec les collègues. (parler)(parler, nous — we form: -ons ending)
- Tu à la maison le soir ? (rentrer)(rentrer, tu — 2nd person singular -er ending)
- Ils la télévision l'après-midi. (regarder)(regarder, ils — 3rd person plural: -ent ending, silent)
Grammar Application
Conjugate each regular -er verb with the subject given.
- Conjuguez : je / commencer → (je + commencer — remember the cedilla: ç before -ons? No, here it's je form: regular)
- Conjuguez : tu / terminer → (tu + terminer — regular -er ending)
- Conjuguez : elle / arriver → (elle + arriver — regular 3rd person singular)
- Conjuguez : nous / écouter → (nous + écouter — -ons ending)
- Conjuguez : ils / parler → (ils + parler — silent -ent ending)
Translate into French
Translate each sentence into French using the vocabulary and regular -er verbs from this lesson.
- I always arrive early at the office.
- She listens to the lesson in the afternoon.
- We speak with our colleagues.
- He goes back home in the evening.
- What time do you finish?
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 1–3 sentences in French about your own workday or school day. Use at least two different regular -er verbs and mention a time of day (le matin, l'après-midi, le soir).
Takeaway
Regular -er verbs follow one simple pattern — remove -er, add the six endings (-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent) — and that unlocks over 6,000 French verbs instantly.