français · A1 · verb · 4 minutes

Parler: regular -er present

Master the ending pattern used by the largest French verb group.

Understand the choice

Parler models thousands of regular -er verbs. Four written endings are silent in ordinary speech, so subject pronouns and context remain crucial even when the spelling changes.

Core rule: Regular -er present endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent after removing -er.

Notice it in context

Je parle français et nous parlons anglais à la maison.

I speak French and we speak English at home.

Parle and parlons share the stem parl-; language names follow parler without an article here.

Tu parles avec ta famille chaque jour ?

Do you speak with your family every day?

Parles is the written tu form; its final -s is silent.

La professeure parle lentement.

The teacher speaks slowly.

Parle is third-person singular; lentement is an adverb.

What to remember

  • Parle, parles, and parlent sound alike in isolation despite representing different persons.
  • After nous and vous, -ons and -ez are usually audible and make person easier to hear.

Common trap: Do not pronounce the -ent of ils parlent as a separate syllable. It is a silent verb ending.

Practice this lesson with recall