Mission: tell a new colleague where you live and work
Present tense of -er verbs. One pattern for most French verbs: parler, habiter, aimer, travailler.
FrenchA1 · About meAbout 5 min: 2 reading, 3 practiceUpdated
- Conjugate regular -er verbs in the present
- Know which endings are silent
- Shorten je to j' before a vowel (j'habite, j'aime)
About me: lesson 4 of 6
- A1 · About me
- Mission: introduce yourself to your new neighbour 5 min
- Mission: say who you are and what you have 5 min
- Mission: describe your family and your town 5 min
- Mission: tell a new colleague where you live and work 5 min
- Mission: say no politely to a street survey 5 min
- Mission: show a colleague photos of your family 6 min
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Level Level A1 (around the DELF A1 exam). Real French: making small talk with a new colleague at the canteen.
What it is
Your mission: it is your first week at work. Your colleague Bastien sits next to you at lunch and asks, « Vous habitez où ? Vous travaillez dans quel service ? ». Tell him where you live, where you work, which languages you speak and what you like.
Most French verbs end in -er in the dictionary: parler (to speak), habiter (to live), aimer (to like, love), travailler (to work). To use one, take off -er and add the ending for the person:
Text description
Present tense of parler: je parle (ending -e); tu parles (ending -es); il / elle / on parle (ending -e); nous parlons (ending -ons); vous parlez (ending -ez); ils / elles parlent (ending -ent).
The good news for speaking: -e, -es, -e and -ent are all silent. Je parle, tu parles, il parle, ils parlent all sound the same. Only nous parlons and vous parlez sound different.
On (one, we) takes the same form as il: on parle français (we speak French; French is spoken).
Real French: in conversation on usually replaces nous: on habite à Lyon, on travaille ensemble. Bastien will say on mange ? for "shall we eat?".
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
Which ending goes with nous?
- That is vous
- That is ils / elles
Show answer
-ons. nous parlons.
Why it matters
Small talk with a new colleague is about where you live, where you work and what you like. Almost every answer uses an -er verb: J'habite à…, Je travaille dans…, J'aime…. Learn one pattern and you can use hundreds of verbs.
Worked example
- J'habite à Marseille. I live in Marseille.
- Je travaille dans une banque. I work in a bank.
- Nous parlons anglais et français. We speak English and French.
- Vous aimez le cinéma ? Do you like the cinema?
- Mes parents habitent à Lille. My parents live in Lille.
Notice j'habite and j'aime: before a vowel or a silent h, je becomes j'.
Common mistake
Pronouncing the silent -ent of ils parlent as "parl-ENT". It is silent: ils parlent sounds just like il parle. (The -ent is only said in some other words, such as souvent, often.)
The written ending still matters, though: in a message or an email, ils parle is wrong.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
How is elles aiment said?
- The -ent ending is silent
Show answer
"el-zem": the s links to the vowel, and -ent is silent. -ent is silent; the s of elles links to the vowel: elles‿aiment.
Key terms
- -er verb
- a verb whose dictionary form ends in -er (parler)
- parler
- to speak
- habiter
- to live (somewhere)
- aimer
- to like, to love
- travailler
- to work
- on
- one, we (same form as il)
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| -er verb | a verb whose dictionary form ends in -er (parler) |
| parler | to speak |
| habiter | to live (somewhere) |
| aimer | to like, to love |
| travailler | to work |
| on | one, we (same form as il) |
Practice
Recognition drill
Pick the right answer, as fast as you can.
All pairs
Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| je | -e |
| tu | -es |
| il / elle / on | -e |
| nous | -ons |
| vous | -ez |
| ils / elles | -ent |
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
« Vous … à Paris ? » (habiter)
- That is the nous form
- That is je or il / elle
Show answer
habitez. vous → -ez: vous habitez.
« … le chocolat. » (je, aimer: I like chocolate)
- je becomes j' before a vowel
- -es is the tu ending
Show answer
J'aime. j' + aime.
Spot the error
One line is wrong. Tap it.
Which line has a mistake?
Show answer
Ils travaille à Nice.. ils needs -ent: ils travaillent.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Bastien, a friendly new colleague at the canteen, at level A1. Speak slowly and clearly. Use only these words and patterns: vous habitez où, j'habite à, vous travaillez où, je travaille dans, vous parlez quelles langues, je parle, vous aimez, j'aime, une banque, un bureau, une école, un magasin, le français, l'anglais, le cinéma, le sport, la musique, oui, non, et. Ask me one question at a time about where I live, where I work, which languages I speak and what I like. I will make up the answers. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again. When I have answered about where I live, where I work, my languages and what I like, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. Ask 8 questions. Explain corrections in English.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- Take off -er, add: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.
- -e, -es, -e and -ent are silent; -ons and -ez are said.
- je → j' before a vowel or silent h: j'habite, j'aime.
- on takes the il form.
- Key verbs: parler, habiter, aimer, travailler.
Mastery check
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Check yourself
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What is « tu » with travailler?
Show answer
tu travailles.
Which forms of parler sound the same?
Show answer
je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, ils/elles parlent.
How do you say "We live in Lyon"?
Show answer
Nous habitons à Lyon (or: On habite à Lyon).
Further reading
- RFI, Journal en français facile: listen for -e / -ent endings you cannot hear, and for on where you would expect nous.
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français, free A1 exercises on regular verbs.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.