e-consonant-er Verbs Conjugation in The Present Tense [+6 Examples]

In this French grammar lesson, you will learn about e-consonant-er verbs conjugation in the present tense.

In this lesson you will learn about:

• how e-consonant-er verbs are conjugated in French
• the common e-consonant-er verbs in French
• how e-consonant-er verbs are pronounced in French
• how e-consonant-er verbs conjugation is used in sentences in French
• how e-consonant-er verbs conjugation Anki files can be downloaded
• how you can quiz yourself on e-consonant-er verbs conjugation

Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1.

By the end of the lesson, you will know all about e-consonant-er verbs conjugation in the present tense!

e-consonant-er Verbs Conjugation Table

	new ending	peser (to weigh)
je	e	pèse
tu	es	pèses
il/elle/on	e	pèse
nous	ons	pesons
vous	ez	pesez
ils/elles	ent	pèsent

e-consonant-er Verbs Conjugation Method

There is a four-step method that will make conjugating e-consonant-er verbs very easy for you.

In order to conjugate verbs that end with e-consonant-er in the present tense one must:

1. Find the infinitive (full verb)
2. Cut off the -er ending
3. Add the new ending (e, es, e, ons, ez, ent)
4. Use the “è” instead of the “e“, EXCEPT if you use the nous or vous form

In the conjugation table above you can see the verb peser which means “to weigh” in English.

We will take this verb and conjugate it in the “je” form using the four step method.

1. peser

The full verb of “to weigh” is peser in French.

2. pes

Once you cut of the er ending all that is left is pes.

3. pese

When we add the new ending e its becomes pese.

4. pèse

However because it is a e-consonant-er verb we have to add an accent grave to the e making it è.

So if you wish to say “I weigh” you’d say:

Je pèse

In French, some verbs end with e-consonant-er such as peser.

An accent grave is added to the “e” making it “è“.

This is done to all forms EXCEPT the nous and vous form.

Common e-consonant-er Verbs

French has three regular verb groups

• regular -er verbs
• regular -ir verbs
• regular -re verbs

e-consonant-er verbs are a variation on regular er verbs. That is why the endings are so similar.

Here is a list of common verbs that you are sure to encounter in day-to-day life:

acheter	to buy
emmener	to take along
enlever	to remove
lever	to raise
mener	to lead
peser	to weigh
semer	to sow

Pronunciation of e-consonant-er Verbs

In this section on e-consonant-er verbs conjugation we will focus on pronunciation.

There are 4 important rules to take into account when you want to pronounce verbs that end with e-consonant-er in French.

1. The je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles verb forms all have the same pronunciation. The -e, –es, and -ent endings are not pronounced. In this case, it is just the “pès” part that gets pronounced. The “è” has a short sound.

Je pèse

Tu pèses

Il pèse

Ils pèsent

These verbs are all pronounced in the same exact way.

You don’t pronounce the letters in red.

2. In the nous and vous form the “e” has a longer drawn out sound

Nous pesons

Vous pesez

Please note the longer “e” sound.

3. In the je form, there’s a special rule. If the first letter of the verb is a vowel or a silent “h“, then you must remove the “e” of “je” and replace this with an apostrophe.

acheter

J‘achète

Because the “e” of “je” disappeared, you then don’t have to pronounce that “e” anymore.

Please note how it is NOT “je achète“. This would be wrong.

4. If the first letter of the verb is a vowel or a silent “h“, then we must perform a liason. This happens in the nous, vous, and ils/elles form. This means that the final “s” of nous, vous, and ils/elles will have a “z” sound.

acheter

Nous achetons

Vous achetez

Ils achètent

Please note how the final “s” in all of the subject pronouns sounds like a “z”

Example Sentences with e-consonant-er Verbs

The final section of this lesson on e-consonant-er verbs conjugation is about seeing the verbs in action.

This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of e-consonant-er verbs conjugation through examples.

acheter

J’achète tous mes vêtements ici.

I buy all my clothes here.

emmener

Tu emmènes les enfants chez ta mère?

You are taking the children to your mother’s house?

enlever

Il enlève les photos de la famille

He’s taking down the family photos

mener

Nous menons une vie très ordinaire.

We lead a very ordinary life.

pesez

Pesez-vous plus que Jean ?

Do you weigh more than Jean?

semer

Les fermiers sèment des graines au printemps.

Farmers sow grain seeds in spring

Quiz Yourself on e-consonant-er Verbs

It’s not enough to just read this lesson.

You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.

It is also for this reason that it is recommended to download the Anki Decks and practice them.

At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.

You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.

You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.

Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.

You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!

Anki File for e-consonant-er Verbs

It is important to do the Anki exercises for this lesson so that you can better remember what you just studied.

By downloading the Anki File for French A1, you can practice every French A1 lesson that is on Language Atlas.

You can also choose to just get the Anki File for French A1 Verbs. This only has the verbs for French A1.

If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or if you don’t know what Anki is, then please click here.

Anki can be downloaded from here.