6.3.1

Regular ER Verbs

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Regular ER Verbs

To form the imperfect tense in French with ER verbs, you take the present tense 'nous' form, take off the present tense ending and add the imperfect endings. Here is the example for 'parler':

Tu parl=ais= - you were talking/used to talk

Tu parlais - you were talking/used to talk

  • 'Tu' means 'you' (singular).
Vous parl=iez= - you were talking/used to talk

Vous parliez - you were talking/used to talk

  • 'Vous' means:
    • You (plural).
    • You (singular, formal).

5 Common ER Verbs

Aimer - to like

Aimer - to like

  • J'aimais - I was liking/used to like.
  • Tu aimais - you (singular) were liking/used to like.
  • Il/elle aimait - he/she was liking/used to like.
  • Nous aimions - we were liking/used to like.
  • Vous aimiez - you (plural/formal) were liking/used to like.
  • Ils/elles aimaient - they were liking/used to like.
Travailler - to work

Travailler - to work

  • Je travaillais - I was working/used to work.
  • Tu travaillais - you (singular) were working/used to work.
  • Il/elle travaillait - he/she was working/used to work.
  • Nous travaillions - we were working/used to work.
  • Vous travailliez - you (plural/formal) were working/used to work.
  • Ils/elles travaillaient - they were working/used to work.
Aider - to help

Aider - to help

  • J'aidais - I was helping/used to help.
  • Tu aidais - you (singular) were helping//used to help.
  • Il/elle aidait - he/she was helping/used to help.
  • Nous aidions - we were helping/used to help.
  • Vous aidiez - you (plural/formal) were helping/used to help.
  • Ils/elles aidaient - they were helping/used to help.
Demander - to ask

Demander - to ask

  • Je demandais - I was asking/used to ask.
  • Tu demandais - you (singular) were asking/used to ask.
  • Il/elle demandait - he/she was asking/used to ask.
  • Nous demandions - we were asking/used to ask.
  • Vous demandiez - you (plural/formal) were asking/used to ask.
  • Ils/elles demandaient - they were asking/used to ask.
Rester - to stay

Rester - to stay

  • Je restais - I was staying/used to stay.
  • Tu restais - you (singular) were staying/used to stay.
  • Il/elle restait - he/she was staying/used to stay.
  • Nous restions - we were staying/used to stay.
  • Vous restiez - you (plural/formal) were staying/used to stay.
  • Ils/elles restaient - they were staying/used to stay.
Jump to other topics
1

Home & Abroad

1.1

Town & Rural Life

1.1.1Town1.1.2What, Which, Where?1.1.3What is There in Your Region?1.1.4Places in the Town1.1.5Things To Do
1.2

Holiday, Tourism & Directions

1.2.1Countries1.2.2Holidays1.2.3Going on Holiday1.2.4Tourism1.2.5Food1.2.6Eating Out1.2.7Opinions on Food1.2.8Directions (1/2)1.2.9Directions (2/2)1.2.10Exam-Style Questions - Holidays
1.3

Customs

1.3.1Festivals & Customs1.3.2Festivals and Customs 2
1.4

Everyday Life & Traditions

1.4.1Greetings
2

Education & Employment

2.1

School Life & Routine

2.1.1Subjects (1/2)2.1.2Subjects (2/2)2.1.3School Routine2.1.4School Life2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - School Life
2.2

School Trips, Events & Exchanges

2.2.1School Trips
2.3

Future Plans & Work

2.3.1Education Post-162.3.2Jobs (1/2)2.3.3Jobs (2/2)2.3.4Job Applications2.3.5Career2.3.6Learning a Language2.3.7Charity2.3.8Exam-Style Questions - Charity Work
3

Personal Life & Relationships

3.1

House & Home

3.1.1Home3.1.2Rooms of the House3.1.3In Your House
3.2

Daily Routine & Helping at Home

3.2.1Routine3.2.2Helping at Home
3.3

Family & Friends

3.3.1Describing Yourself3.3.2Physical Appearance3.3.3Personality3.3.4Friends3.3.5Opinions on Friends3.3.6Relationships3.3.7Family3.3.8Other Family Members3.3.9Role Model3.3.10Childhood3.3.11Exam-Style Questions - Family
4

The World Around Us

4.1

Global Issues

4.1.1The Environment (1/2)4.1.2The Environment (2/2)4.1.3Exam-Style Questions - The Environment4.1.4Addressing the Issue4.1.5Poverty & Homelessness4.1.6Social Issues4.1.7Energy
4.2

Weather

4.2.1Good Weather4.2.2Bad Weather
4.3

Travel & Transport

4.3.1Transport
4.4

The Media

4.4.1Social Media4.4.2The Internet4.4.3Exam-Style Questions - Internet
4.5

Information & Tech

4.5.1Mobile Technology
5

Social Activities, Fitness & Health

5.1

Special Occasions

5.1.1Parties
5.2

Hobbies & Interests

5.2.1In Your Free-Time5.2.2Music5.2.3Cinema5.2.4TV5.2.5Sport5.2.6Why Do You Play Sport?5.2.7Sports (1/3)5.2.8Sports (2/3)5.2.9Sports (3/3)5.2.10Exam-Style Questions - Sport
5.3

Numbers

5.3.1Numbers 1-205.3.2Numbers 21-100
5.4

Shopping & Money

5.4.1Shopping For Food5.4.2Style & Fashion5.4.3Materials5.4.4Money Matters5.4.5Exam-Style Questions - Pocket Money
5.5

Illness & Health

5.5.1Healthy living5.5.2Unhealthy living5.5.3Illness (1/2)5.5.4Illness (2/2)5.5.5Aches & Pains
5.6

Food & Drink

5.6.1Fruits5.6.2Vegetables5.6.3Other Foods5.6.4Exam-Style Questions - Fruits5.6.5Meat5.6.6Fish5.6.7Drinks & Snacks
5.7

Time

5.7.1Telling the Time5.7.2Time of the Year5.7.3A Day, The Year5.7.4Expressions: The Past5.7.5Expressions: The Present5.7.6Expressions: The Future5.7.7Time Expressions
6

Common Tenses

6.1

Present Tense

6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2

Perfect Tense

6.2.1Avoir (1/2)6.2.2Avoir (2/2)6.2.3Irregular Past Participles (1/2)6.2.4Irregular Past Participles (2/2)6.2.5Être ER Verbs6.2.6Être IR & RE Verbs6.2.7Irregular Être6.2.8Perfect Infinitive
6.3

Imperfect tense

6.3.1Regular ER Verbs6.3.2Regular IR Verbs6.3.3Regular RE Verbs6.3.4Irregular ER Verbs6.3.5Irregular IR Verbs6.3.6Irregular RE Verbs6.3.7Être
6.4

Imperfect vs Perfect

6.4.1Which One to Use?
6.5

Future Tense

6.5.1Regular ER Verbs6.5.2Regular IR Verbs6.5.3Regular RE Verbs6.5.4Immediate future6.5.5Irregulars (1/2)6.5.6Irregulars (2/2)
7

Advanced Tenses

7.1

Conditional Tense

7.1.1Regular ER Verbs7.1.2Regular IR Verbs7.1.3Regular IR Verbs7.1.4Irregulars (1/2)7.1.5Irregulars (2/2)
7.2

Pluperfect Tense

7.2.1Avoir (1/2)7.2.2Avoir (2/2)7.2.3Être ER7.2.4Être IR & RE7.2.5Irregular Être
7.3

Present Subjunctive

7.3.1Regular Verbs (1/2)7.3.2Regular Verbs (2/2)7.3.3Irregulars (1/2)7.3.4Irregulars (2/2)7.3.5Using the Subjunctive7.3.6Imperative
8

Extra Grammar

8.1

The Passive Voice

8.1.1Être (1/6)8.1.2Être (2/6)8.1.3Être (3/6)8.1.4Être (4/6)8.1.5Être (5/6)8.1.6Être (6/6)8.1.7Avoiding the Passive
8.2

Pronouns

8.2.1Personal Pronouns (1/2)8.2.2Personal Pronouns (2/2)8.2.3Reflexive Pronouns8.2.4Indefinite Pronouns8.2.5Emphatic Pronouns8.2.6Relative Pronouns8.2.7Ça, Cela, Celui8.2.8Demonstrative Pronouns8.2.9Possessive Pronouns
8.3

Asking Questions

8.3.1Question Words (1/2)8.3.2Question Words (2/2)
8.4

Nouns

8.4.1The, A8.4.2Some8.4.3Masculine8.4.4Feminine (1/2)8.4.5Feminine (2/2)8.4.6Plurals8.4.7Irregular Plurals
8.5

Prepositions

8.5.1Prepositions (1/3)8.5.2Prepositions (2/3)8.5.3Prepositions (3/3)8.5.4Phrases
8.6

Adverbs

8.6.1Forming an Adverb8.6.2Good, Badly, Fast
8.7

Quantifiers & Intensifiers

8.7.1A Lot, Enough, Very
8.8

Adjectives

8.8.1Agreement (1/3)8.8.2Agreement (2/3)8.8.3Agreement (3/3)8.8.4Position (1/2)8.8.5Position (2/2)8.8.6Comparative8.8.7Superlative8.8.8Good, Better, Best8.8.9Demonstrative8.8.10Indefinite
8.9

Negative

8.9.1Negatives (1/2)8.9.2Negatives (2/2)
8.10

Conjunctions

8.10.1To Make Sentences Longer8.10.2To Add Extra Information
8.11

Miscellaneous

8.11.1Abbreviations

Practice questions on Regular ER Verbs

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    How do you say 'we were talking' in French?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Which one of these are NOT in the imperfect tense?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Which of these are the correct forms of the imperfect tense?True / false
  4. 4
    How do you say 'we were helping' in French?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Demander:Fill in the list
Answer all questions on Regular ER Verbs

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Perfect Infinitive

Regular IR Verbs