By the end of this lesson, you should understand:
- Aimez-vous ce film ? Oui, je l'aime.
- Nous jouons aux cartes.
and possibly understand:
- Je lui donne le livre.
- Il adore jouer aux jeux vidéo.
Dialogue [edit]
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Grammar · Regular -er verbs · Les verbes en -er [edit]
Formation [edit]
Most French verbs fall into the category of -er verbs. To conjugate, drop the -er to find the stem or root. Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense.
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jouer (to play · 
/ʒwe/)
| Pronoun |
Ending |
Verb |
Pronunciation |
| je |
-e |
joue |
 /ʒu/ |
| tu |
-es |
joues |
 /ʒu/ |
| il/elle |
-e |
joue |
 /ʒu/ |
| nous |
-ons |
jouons |
/ʒwɔ̃/ |
| vous |
-ez |
jouez |
/ʒu.e/ |
| ils/elles |
-ent |
jouent |
 /ʒu/ |
Pronunciation, elision and liaison [edit]
The -e, -es, and -ent endings all have the same silent pronunciation. The -er and -ez endings are pronounced /e/ (ay), and the -ons ending is pronounced /ɔ̃/ (oh).
In all conjugations, je changes to j ' when followed by a vowel or silent h:
- J'aime… (I like…)
- J'habite… (I live…)
In all plural forms, the s at the end of each subject pronoun, normally unpronounced, becomes a z sound and the n of on becomes pronounced when followed by a vowel.
Conjugation examples [edit]
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| Infinitive |
Stem |
Present indicative conjugation |
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First person |
Second person |
Third person |
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| aimer |
aim |
J' |
aime |
Tu |
aimes |
Il |
aime |
Singular |
| Nous |
aimons |
Vous |
aimez |
Ils |
aiment |
Plural |
| parler |
parl |
Je |
parle |
Tu |
parles |
Il |
parle |
Singular |
| Nous |
parlons |
Vous |
parlez |
Ils |
parlent |
Plural |
| habiter |
habit |
J' |
habite |
Tu |
habites |
Il |
habite |
Singular |
| Nous |
habitons |
Vous |
habitez |
Ils |
habitent |
Plural |
| écouter |
écout |
J' |
écoute |
Tu |
écoutes |
Il |
écoute |
Singular |
| Nous |
écoutons |
Vous |
écoutez |
Ils |
écoutent |
Plural |
Supplementary vocabulary · Common -er verbs [edit]
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| aimer |
 /ɛ.me/ |
to like |
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J’aime beaucoup ce tableau. |
I love this painting. |
| arriver |
 /a.ʁi.ve/ |
to arrive, to happen |
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| chercher |
 /ʃɛʁʃe/ |
to look for |
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Je cherche du boulot. |
I'm looking for some work. |
| demander |
 /dǝ.mɑ̃.de/ |
to ask (for) |
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| donner |
 /dɔ.ne/ |
to give |
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| écouter |
 /ekute/ |
to listen to |
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J’écoute la radio. |
I'm listening to the radio. |
| entrer |
 /ɑ̃t.ʁe/ |
to enter |
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Il entre dans la salle. |
He's entering the room. |
| parler |
 /paʁle/ |
to speak, to talk |
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Zoé parle couramment le français. |
Zoé speaks French fluently. |
| passer |
 /pa.se/ |
to pass, to spend (time) |
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| porter |
 /pɔʁ.te/ |
to carry, to wear |
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Quentin porte un sac de blé. |
Quentin is carrying a bag of wheat. |
| regarder |
 /ʁǝ.ɡaʁ.de/ |
to watch |
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| sembler |
 /sɑ̃.ble/ |
to seem, to resemble |
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| trouver |
 /tʁu.ve/ |
to find, to surprise |
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Vocabulary · Places [edit]
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| la bibliothèque |
 /bi.bli.jɔ.tɛk/ |
library |
caution: a librairie is a bookshop |
On est à la bibliothèque publique. |
We are at the public library. |
| le parc |
 /paʁk/ |
park |
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| la piscine |
 /pi.sin/ |
swimming pool |
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| la plage |
 /plaʒ/ |
beach |
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| le restaurant |
 /ʁɛs.to.ʁɑ̃/ |
restaurant |
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On dîne au restaurant français. |
We are dining at the French restaurant. |
| la salle de concert |
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concert hall |
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le cinéma
la salle de cinéma |
 /si.ne.ma/ |
cinema |
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le casino
la maison de jeu |
/ka.zi.no/ |
casino |
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Les jeux de casino sont des bons exemples de jeu de hasard. |
Casino games are good examples of games of chance. |
| la salle de jeux |
/sal.də.ʒø/ |
game room, playroom |
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Le casino a six salles de jeu. |
The casino has six game rooms. |
| le stade |
 /stad/ |
stadium |
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| le théâtre |
 /te.atʁ/ |
theater |
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Grammar · Direct object pronouns le, la, and les [edit]
The direct object pronoun le (
/lə/), meaning it or him, replace masculine singular direct objects:
- Je donne le livre au prof. (I'm giving the book to the teacher.)
- Je le donne au prof. (I'm giving it to the teacher.)
La (
/la/), meaning it or her, replaces feminine singular direct objects:
- Je donne la calculatrice au prof. (I'm giving the calculator to the teacher.)
- Je la donne au prof. (I'm giving it to the teacher.)
Les (
/le/), meaning them, replaces plural direct objects:
- Je donne les livres au prof. (I'm giving the books to the teacher.)
- Je les donne au prof. (I'm giving them to the teacher.)
Le and la become l' before a vowel:
- Aimez-vous le concert ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the concert? Yes, I like it.)
Le, la, and les can replace either people or things:
- Aimez-vous le film ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the film? Yes, I like it.)
- Aimez-vous l'acteur ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the actor? Yes, I like him.)
Summary [edit]
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| masculine singular direct object |
le |
 /lə/ (luh) |
it, him |
| feminine singular direct object |
la |
 /la/ (lah) |
it, her |
| singular direct object, before a vowel |
l' |
/l/ |
it, him, her |
| plural direct object |
les |
 /le/ (lay) |
them |
Examples [edit]
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Vocabulary · Sports, games, and instruments [edit]
The verb jouer (
/ʒwe/) is a regular -er verb meaning to play. It can be used to refer to sports, games, and instruments.
When referring to sports or games, jouer à … is used; recall that au (
/o/) replaces à le, and aux (
/o/) replaces à les:
- Je joue au baseball. (I'm playing baseball.)
- Nous jouons aux cartes. (We are playing cards.)
When referring to instruments, jouer de … is used; recall that du (
/dy/) replaces de le, and des (
/dɛ/) replaces de les:
- Je joue du piano. (I'm playing the piano.)
Supplementary vocabulary · Sports [edit]
Supplementary vocabulary · Games · Les jeux [edit]
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| le jeu (les jeux) |
 /ʒø/ |
game |
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Nous avons plein de jeux pour les enfants. |
We have many games for the children. |
| le jeu de hasard |
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game of chance |
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Poker est un jeu de hasard.
Il joue aux jeux de hasard. |
Poker is a game of chance.
He plays games of chance. |
| le jeu vidéo |
/ʒø vi.deo/ |
video game |
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Ce jeu vidéo est très difficile. |
This video game is very difficult. |
| le jeu de société |
/ʒø də sɔ.sje.te/ |
board game |
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| le jeu de rôle |
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role-playing game |
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| les cartes |
 /kaʁt/ |
cards |
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| les dames |
 [daːm] |
checkers/draughts |
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| les échecs |
 /e.ʃɛk/ |
chess |
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Le jeu d’échecs a des règles complexes. |
The game of chess has complex rules. |
| les dés |
 /de/ |
dice |
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Supplementary vocabulary · Instruments [edit]
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| la clarinette |
/kla.ʁi.nɛt/ |
clarinet |
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Le son de cette clarinette est agréable. |
The sound of this clarinet is nice. |
| le piano |
 /pja.nɔ/ |
piano |
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Elle joue du piano depuis l’âge de trois ans. |
She plays the piano since the age of three. |
| la guitare |
 /ɡi.taʁ/ |
guitar |
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| le violon |
 /vjɔ.lɔ̃/ |
violin |
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On danse au son du violon. |
We are dancing to the sound of the violin. |
| la batterie |
 /batʀi/ |
drums |
singular in French |
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Supplementary grammar · Indirect object pronouns lui and leur [edit]
The indirect object pronoun lui (
/lɥi/) means to him or to her:
- Je lui donne le livre. (I'm giving the book to him/her.)
- Je lui donne un coup de main. (I'm giving a hand to him/her.)
Likewise, the indirect object pronoun leur (
/lœʁ/) means to them:
- Je leur donne le livre. (I'm giving the book to them.)
- Je leur donne un coup de main. (I'm giving a hand to them.)
Lui replaces à [person]:
- Je parle à Jean. (I'm speaking to Jean.)
- Je lui parle. (I'm speaking to him.)
Likewise, leur replaces à [people]:
- Je parle à Jean et Marie. (I'm speaking to Jean and Marie.)
- Je leur parle. (I'm speaking to them.)
Lui and leur usually only refer to people; they will sometimes also be used in reference to things.
Examples [edit]
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Supplementary grammar · Conjugated verb + infinitive [edit]
Like in English, some verbs can be followed by infinitives. Three -er verbs used in this manner are aimer, adorer, and détester:
- Nous aimons jouer aux cartes. (We like to play cards)
- Je déteste jouer au golf. (I hate playing golf.)
- Il adore jouer aux jeux vidéo. (He loves to play video games.)
Examples [edit]
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Supplementary grammar · To have fun · S'amuser [edit]
The verb s'amuser means to have fun in English. It is a type of pronominal verb (a verb that includes a pronoun as part of it) called a reflexive verb, which means that the action of the verb is reflected back onto the subject. Literally translated, the verb means To amuse oneself.
Formation [edit]
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| Infinitive |
Stem |
Present indicative conjugation |
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First person |
Second person |
Third person |
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| s'amuser |
amus |
Je m' |
amuse |
Tu t' |
amuses |
Il s' |
amuse |
Singular |
| Nous nous |
amusons |
Vous vous |
amusez |
Ils s' |
amusent |
Plural |
Examples [edit]
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Dialogue [edit]
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Exercises [edit]
ExerciseFill in the blank using jouer
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Fill in each blank with the correct form of jouer.
| nous ______ |
nous jouons |
| elle ______ |
elle joue |
| tu ______ |
tu joues |
| il ______ |
il joue |
| elles ______ |
elles jouent |
| vous ______ |
vous jouez |
| je ______ |
je joue |
| ils ______ |
ils jouent |
| nous ______ |
nous jouons |
| tu ______ |
tu joues |
| on ______ |
on joue |
| ils ______ |
ils jouent |
| nous ______ |
nous jouons |
| je ______ |
je joue |
| vous ______ |
vous jouez |
| on ______ |
on joue |
| elles ______ |
elles jouent |
| vous ______ |
vous jouez |
ExerciseTranslation
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate from French to English.
| le théâtre |
theater |
| le parc |
park |
| la piscine |
swimming pool |
| la salle de jeux |
game room, playroom |
| le restaurant |
restaurant |
| le stade |
stadium |
le cinéma
la salle de cinéma |
cinema |
| la plage |
beach |
le casino
la maison de jeu |
casino |
| la salle de concert |
concert hall |
| la bibliothèque |
library |
ExerciseTranslation
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate from English to French.
| restaurant |
le restaurant |
| game room, playroom |
la salle de jeux |
| theater |
le théâtre |
| concert hall |
la salle de concert |
| swimming pool |
la piscine |
| cinema |
le cinéma
la salle de cinéma |
| casino |
le casino
la maison de jeu |
| library |
la bibliothèque |
| stadium |
le stade |
| beach |
la plage |
| park |
le parc |
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Supplementary exercises [edit]
ExerciseTranslation
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate from French to English.
| porter |
to carry, to wear |
| donner |
to give |
| regarder |
to watch |
| écouter |
to listen to |
| parler |
to speak, to talk |
| entrer |
to enter |
| aimer |
to like |
| demander |
to ask (for) |
| sembler |
to seem, to resemble |
| trouver |
to find, to surprise |
| passer |
to pass, to spend (time) |
| chercher |
to look for |
| arriver |
to arrive, to happen |
ExerciseTranslation
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Translate from English to French.
| to find, to surprise |
trouver |
| to look for |
chercher |
| to give |
donner |
| to watch |
regarder |
| to carry, to wear |
porter |
| to speak, to talk |
parler |
| to enter |
entrer |
| to arrive, to happen |
arriver |
| to listen to |
écouter |
| to seem, to resemble |
sembler |
| to like |
aimer |
| to ask (for) |
demander |
| to pass, to spend (time) |
passer |
ExerciseFill in the blank using -er verbs
(Highlight or hover over a line to show the answer.) Fill in each blank with the correct form of the -er verb in parentheses.
| nous ______ (parler) |
nous parlons |
| elle ______ (chercher) |
elle cherche |
| tu ______ (écouter) |
tu écoutes |
| il ______ (entrer) |
il entre |
| elles ______ (regarder) |
elles regardent |
| vous ______ (aimer) |
vous aimez |
| je ______ (demander) |
je demande |
| ils ______ (sembler) |
ils semblent |
| nous ______ (donner) |
nous donnons |
| tu ______ (arriver) |
tu arrives |
| on ______ (porter) |
on porte |
| ils ______ (chercher) |
ils cherchent |
| nous ______ (demander) |
nous demandons |
| je ______ (regarder) |
je regarde |
| vous ______ (sembler) |
vous semblez |
| on ______ (aimer) |
on aime |
| elles ______ (donner) |
elles donnent |
| vous ______ (chercher) |
vous cherchez |