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French Verbs

French verbs are a cornerstone of the language, governing sentence structure, mood, and aspect. They are conjugated to reflect different tenses and moods, aligning with the subject's number and person. Understanding verb conjugations and their proper uses is essential for communicating effectively in French. French verbs are divided into three groups based on their infinitive endings: -er, -ir, and -re, with a few irregular verbs that do not follow standard conjugation patterns.

Each verb group has its own set of conjugation rules. For example, -er verbs, like "parler" (to speak), follow a very regular pattern except for "aller" (to go), which is highly irregular. The -ir verbs include two subgroups: those like "finir" (to finish), which are regular, and others like "partir" (to leave), which are irregular. The -re verbs, such as "vendre" (to sell), are less common and include several irregularities.

Conjugation affects not only the verb ending but also sometimes the stem. For example, in the verb "lire" (to read), the stem changes in the past historic (lu) and subjunctive (lise) forms. These variations can significantly change the pronunciation and meaning, demonstrating the verb’s mood and tense.

In the example "Nous parlons français tous les jours," the verb "parlons" comes from "parler," which is an -er verb. This form is the first person plural of the present indicative, used here to express a habitual action. It shows how verbs are conjugated according to the subject and the tense, in this case, "nous" (we) in the present tense.