Look up a verb shape that stops you

Open this when a verb shape blocks you. It gives the dictionary form beside the shape a story prints, the endings most French verbs take, and what follows can, must and want.

≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter

Open this when a verb shape blocks you; the two readings do not need any of it.
After can, must and want, the second verb stays in its dictionary shape — so many French sentences end in a word you can look up exactly as printed.
Most French verbs end in -er, and those all take the same set of endings.
Four of those six endings sound identical, which is the silent -ent problem in its purest form.
Aimereh-may is like and love at once, and only the context tells you which.

You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Every verb the two readings use has already been taught. Open it when a verb shape stops you — an ending you do not recognise, or a word you cannot find in a dictionary because the book changed its shape — and then go back to the story.

Want, can, must — and like

After these four, the next verb stays in its dictionary shape, so you can look it up exactly as printed.

Dictionary shape	I —	he or she —	English
vouloirvoo-lwahr	je veuxzhuh vuh	il veuteel vuh	to want
pouvoirpoo-vwahr	je peuxzhuh puh	il peuteel puh	to be able — can
devoirduh-vwahr	je doiszhuh dwah	il doiteel dwah	to have to — must
aimereh-may	j'aimezhem	il aimeeel em	to like; to love

After can, must and want, the second doing word stays in its dictionary shape — the same as English, “I must go”, not “I must goes”. So Il veut dormir.eel vuh dor-meer“He wants to sleep.” ends in a word you can look up exactly as printed.

Ordinary verbs a story uses

The dictionary shape is the one to look up. The middle column is the shape a story usually prints.

Dictionary shape	he or she —	English
mangermah(n)-zhay	il mangeeel mah(n)zh	to eat
boirebwahr	il boiteel bwah	to drink
dormirdor-meer	il dorteel dor	to sleep
donnerdoh-nay	il donneeel don	to give
prendreprah(n)-druh	il prendeel prah(n)	to take
trouvertroo-vay	il trouveeel troov	to find
aidereh-day	il aideeel ed	to help
courirkoo-reer	il courteel koor	to run
volervoh-lay	il voleeel vol	to fly
tombertoh(n)-bay	il tombeeel toh(n)b	to fall
s'appelersah-play	il s'appelleeel sah-pel	to be called — literally, to call oneself

French does not say “his name is”; it says he calls himself: il s'appelle Tobieel sah-pel toh-bee“his name is Tobi”. In a narrated fable it wears the scene-setting past: il s'appelaiteel sah-peh-leh“his name was”.

The endings most French verbs take

Most French verbs end in -er, and they all take this set of endings. Say them aloud and count how many sound alike.

French	English
je donnezhuh don	I give
tu donnestew don	you give
il donneeel don / elle donneel don	he gives / she gives
nous donnonsnoo doh-noh(n)	we give
vous donnezvoo doh-nay	you give
ils donnenteel don / elles donnentel don	they give

Four of those six sound exactly the same. That is the silent-ending problem in its purest form, and it is why the little word in front of the verb is dropped only in an order.

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