Present Tense Basics
Present tense is your foundation for all French communication - it's what you use to talk about what's happening right now or what you regularly do. French verbs fall into three main groups based on their endings: -er verbs, -ir verbs, and -re verbs.
For regular -er verbs (like "aimer"), you drop the -er and add: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. Regular -ir verbs follow a similar pattern but often add -iss- before some endings. Regular -re verbs (like "vendre") simply drop the -re and add: -s, -s, -, -ons, -ez, -ent.
Some irregular -ir verbs like "venir" (to come) and "tenir" (to hold) change their stems completely, so you'll need to memorise these separately.
Quick Tip: Regular patterns work for most verbs, so master these first before tackling the irregular ones!
