Learning French verbs

 
    I remember being 7, and staring at my teacher explaining the groups verbs in French, with "des yeux ronds". And as a kid I felt as astonished as main of French students, while discovering this -absurd- classification with the "3 groups". 

THE OLD DUSTY WAY
​So, basically in this old classification the first group is the most friendly :
​     All  -er verbs, easy. But as soon as we see the 2nd one, we get confused, because it deals with -ir verbs but not all...

And the 3rd one is a complete garbage with every verbs that didn't fit in the other ones. So.... that sounds like a bad start if you were taught this way.


THE REVOLUTION​
​   When I started teaching French as a second language, I discovered the new way some brilliant minds had invented. A new classification. A revolution. 
​

The concept : here we talk about "BASE" which can be translated as "ROOT" for English speakers. The BASE is the part of the verb that doesn't change and to which we'd add the different endings. 

Ex : parler  >  parl-  is the BASE, because -er is the infinitive ending. 

VERBS WITH ONE BASE

• Main part of -ER verbs (= 90% of French verbs)

PARLER (to talk, speak) > PARL / ER (the green letters mean they are mute)
je       PARL -e
tu      PARL -es
Il        PARL -e
Ils      PARL -ent
Nous PARL -ons
Vous PARL -ez

• Some other verbs 

OUVRIR > OUVR / IR (to open).
                                          Also : OFFRIR, CUEILLIR, COUVRIR, SOUFFRIR
J'        OUVR -e
Tu      OUVR -es
Il         OUVR-e
Ils       OUVR-ent
Nous OUVR-ons
Vous  OUVR-ez

COURIR, CONCLURE (INCLURE/EXCLURE), RIRE/SOURIRE
For the these ones, observe the change of endings
RiRE > Ri/RE
Je      Ri-s
Tu      Ri-s
Il        Ri-t
Ils      Ri-ent
Nous Ri-ons
Vous  Ri-ez

In the next article, we'll discover the rest of the verbs..
                                                                          ***
This lesson comes from La Grammaire des Premiers Temps (PUG) by two brilliant French professors Dominique Abry and Marie-Laure Chalaron, from the university of Grenoble.  

Some exercises to practice
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