The Verb Map
French Grammar 2
Chapter 1 · The Verb Map
🗺️ The Verb Map — La carte du verbe
French Grammar 1 finished the noun phrase. This course turns to the verb, the word that changes most in French. In English a verb has only a few forms (I speak, you speak, she speaks); in French almost every person has its own ending, so a verb is a small system of forms built from a stem and an ending. You met the present tense in French Basic Conversation 1 and 2 as phrases; here it becomes a map. This chapter gives you the map: how a verb is built, how verbs are grouped, who the subject pronouns are, and how the rest of the course is laid out.
Stem and ending
| Infinitive | Stem | Ending removed | Je form | Nous form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parler to speak | parl- | -er | je parle | nous parlons |
| finir to finish | fin- | -ir | je finis | nous finissons |
| vendre to sell | vend- | -re | je vends | nous vendons |
The three groups
| Group | Infinitive | Typical verbs | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st: regular -er | -er | parler, aimer, habiter, travailler, manger | French Grammar 2 2 |
| 2nd: regular -ir with -iss- | -ir | finir, choisir, réussir, grandir | French Grammar 2 3 |
| 3rd: everything else | -ir, -re, -oir | partir, dormir, vendre, prendre, voir, pouvoir | French Grammar 2 3 and 5 |
The subject pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | je (j' before a vowel) I | nous we |
| 2nd person | tu you (informal, one person) | vous you (formal, or several people) |
| 3rd person | il he, it · elle she, it · on one, we | ils they (masculine or mixed) · elles they (all feminine) |
Il and elle also stand for things (la table → elle, le livre → il), because every noun is masculine or feminine. Ils is used for a mixed group, even if it has only one man (the same rule as for adjectives in French Grammar 1 7). Il is also the "empty" subject in il pleut (it is raining) and il y a (there is).
Tu or vous?
Vous has two jobs: it is the formal "you" for one person and the plural "you" for any group. Tu is used for one person you know well:
| Use tu for… | Use vous for… |
|---|---|
| family, friends, children, animals | strangers, shop staff, people older than you |
| people of your own age or group (students, many colleagues) | formal contexts: bosses, officials, new clients |
| anyone who has said On se tutoie ? ("shall we use tu?") | any group of two or more, friends included |
On: the all-purpose pronoun
On takes the verb form of il / elle (third person singular), but it has several meanings:
| Meaning | Example |
|---|---|
| we (informal, spoken) | On mange ensemble ? Shall we eat together? |
| one, people in general | En France, on mange tard. In France people eat late. |
| they (unspecified) | On parle français ici. French is spoken here. |
In everyday speech on has largely replaced nous as "we", so on parle is more common in conversation than nous parlons. Both are correct; nous is more formal and is the usual form in writing.
What you hear and what you write
Many endings are silent, so the verb alone often does not tell you the person. Compare:
| Written | What you hear |
|---|---|
| je parle · tu parles · il parle · ils parlent | the same sound four times: only the pronoun tells you who |
| nous parlons · vous parlez | different sounds: these two forms are always audible |
| il arrive against ils arrivent | the plural is heard through liaison (ilz arrivent, French Grammar 1 2) |
Endings that rarely change
Almost every French verb follows three fixed endings, with only a handful of exceptions:
| Person | Ending | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| nous | -ons | nous sommes |
| vous | -ez | vous êtes, vous faites, vous dites |
| ils / elles | -ent | ils ont, ils sont, ils font, ils vont |
That is a strong shortcut: even for an irregular verb, the nous, vous and ils forms are usually predictable, and only the je, tu, il forms need to be learnt separately.
Where this course goes
| Chapter | Title | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Regular -er Verbs and Their Spelling Changes | the biggest group, with manger, commencer, appeler |
| 3 | Regular -ir and -re Verbs | finir against partir; attendre, vendre |
| 4 | Être, Avoir and Their Idioms | the two most important verbs |
| 5 | The Irregular Present | aller, faire, venir, prendre, pouvoir, vouloir… |
| 6 | Reflexive and Pronominal Verbs | se lever, s'appeler |
| 7 | Negation | ne … pas, jamais, rien, personne |
| 8 | Questions | intonation, est-ce que, inversion |
| 9 | Modals, Verb + Infinitive and the Imperative | pouvoir + infinitive, commands |
| 10 | Putting It Together | a procedure, an error clinic and the recap |
🗣️ In Use — En situation
Read these aloud and notice which pronoun each verb form belongs to.
① Tu or vous?
② On is we
③ Family
📋 Quick Reference — Aide-mémoire
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| verb | stem + ending; the infinitive ends in -er, -ir, -re (or -oir) |
| groups | 1st -er · 2nd -ir with -iss- · 3rd all the rest |
| present tense | one form for I speak, I am speaking, I do speak |
| pronouns | je, tu, il / elle / on, nous, vous, ils / elles |
| tu / vous | tu for friends and family · vous for formal or plural |
| on | we (spoken), one, they · verb in the il form |
| fixed endings | nous -ons · vous -ez · ils -ent (few exceptions) |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Exercices
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Find the stem: parler, finir, vendre, manger.
Show answer
parl- · fin- · vend- · mang-. Remove -er, -ir, -re from the infinitive.
2. Which group: aimer, choisir, attendre, habiter?
Show answer
aimer: 1st · choisir: 2nd (-iss-) · attendre: 3rd · habiter: 1st.
3. Say "I speak", "I am speaking" and "I do speak" in French.
Show answer
Je parle, for all three. French has only one present tense.
4. Tu or vous? (a) your best friend; (b) a shopkeeper; (c) two friends together; (d) your grandmother.
Show answer
(a) tu · (b) vous · (c) vous (any group) · (d) tu (family), although a few families still use vous to grandparents.
5. Choose the pronoun: Marie et Paul → ___ · Marie et Claire → ___ · la table → ___.
Show answer
ils (a mixed group) · elles (all feminine) · elle (table is feminine).
6. Replace nous by on: Nous mangeons ensemble.
Show answer
On mange ensemble. On takes the third person singular form.
7. Which of these sound identical: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, ils parlent?
Show answer
je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent. Nous parlons sounds different.
8. What are the endings for nous, vous, ils in nearly every verb?
Show answer
-ons, -ez, -ent. Exceptions include nous sommes, vous êtes, ils ont, ils vont.
9. Find the error: Mes frères travaille à Paris.
Show answer
Mes frères travaillent à Paris. The subject frères is plural, so the verb ends in -ent (silent, but written).