5.7. Les verbes réguliers en -re

Regular -re Verbs

5.7.1. The Main Idea

Some French verbs end in -re. A common group of regular -re verbs follows this pattern:

vendre	to sell
attendre	to wait / to wait for
répondre	to answer / to respond
perdre	to lose
descendre	to go down / to get off

To use a regular -re verb in the present tense, remove -re and add the correct ending.

5.7.2. The Regular -re Pattern

vendre	to sell
vend-	stem

je vends	I sell / I am selling
tu vends	you sell / you are selling
il vend	he sells / he is selling
elle vend	she sells / she is selling
nous vendons	we sell / we are selling
vous vendez	you sell / you are selling
ils vendent	they sell / they are selling
elles vendent	they sell / they are selling

5.7.3. Regular -re Endings

je	-s
tu	-s
il / elle	no ending
nous	-ons
vous	-ez
ils / elles	-ent

The d in je vends, tu vends, and il vend is usually silent.

5.7.4. Example: Attendre

j’attends	I wait / I am waiting
tu attends	you wait / you are waiting
il attend	he waits / he is waiting
elle attend	she waits / she is waiting
nous attendons	we wait / we are waiting
vous attendez	you wait / you are waiting
ils attendent	they wait / they are waiting
elles attendent	they wait / they are waiting

Because attendre begins with a vowel sound, je becomes j’.

5.7.5. Example: Répondre

je réponds	I answer / I am answering
tu réponds	you answer / you are answering
il répond	he answers / he is answering
elle répond	she answers / she is answering
nous répondons	we answer / we are answering
vous répondez	you answer / you are answering
ils répondent	they answer / they are answering
elles répondent	they answer / they are answering

5.7.6. Example: Perdre

je perds	I lose / I am losing
tu perds	you lose / you are losing
il perd	he loses / he is losing
elle perd	she loses / she is losing
nous perdons	we lose / we are losing
vous perdez	you lose / you are losing
ils perdent	they lose / they are losing
elles perdent	they lose / they are losing

5.7.7. Common Regular -re Verbs

vendre	to sell
attendre	to wait / to wait for
répondre	to answer / to respond
perdre	to lose
descendre	to go down / to get off
entendre	to hear
rendre	to give back / to return
rendre visite à	to visit someone

5.7.8. Examples in Context

J’attends mon ami.	I am waiting for my friend.
Tu réponds à la question.	You answer the question.
Il vend du pain.	He sells bread.
Elle perd son stylo.	She loses her pen.
Nous descendons au café.	We are going down to the café.
Vous entendez la musique ?	Do you hear the music?
Ils rendent les livres.	They return the books.

5.7.9. Negative Sentences

Place ne… pas around the conjugated verb.

Je vends du café.	I sell coffee.
Je ne vends pas de café.	I do not sell coffee.
J’attends mon ami.	I am waiting for my friend.
Je n’attends pas mon ami.	I am not waiting for my friend.
Tu réponds à la question.	You answer the question.
Tu ne réponds pas à la question.	You do not answer the question.

5.7.10. Informal Questions

In informal speech, keep the same word order and raise your voice.

Tu attends ton ami ?	Are you waiting for your friend?
Tu réponds à la question ?	Are you answering the question?
Tu vends du pain ?	Do you sell bread?
Tu perds ton stylo ?	Are you losing your pen?
Vous entendez la musique ?	Do you hear the music?

5.7.11. Core Patterns

infinitive ending in -re	vendre
remove -re	vend-
je + stem + s	je vends
tu + stem + s	tu vends
il / elle + stem	il vend / elle vend
nous + stem + ons	nous vendons
vous + stem + ez	vous vendez
ils / elles + stem + ent	ils vendent / elles vendent

5.7.12. Practice

I am waiting for my friend. |

You answer the question. informal |

He sells bread. |

She loses her pen. |

We hear the music. |

You return the books. formal |

They are going down to the café. masculine or mixed |

I do not sell coffee. |

Are you waiting for your friend? informal |

5.7.13. Answers

I am waiting for my friend.	J’attends mon ami.
You answer the question. informal	Tu réponds à la question.
He sells bread.	Il vend du pain.
She loses her pen.	Elle perd son stylo.
We hear the music.	Nous entendons la musique.
You return the books. formal	Vous rendez les livres.
They are going down to the café. masculine or mixed	Ils descendent au café.
I do not sell coffee.	Je ne vends pas de café.
Are you waiting for your friend? informal	Tu attends ton ami ?

5.7.14. Short Dialogue

A : Tu attends quelqu’un ?	A: Are you waiting for someone?
B : Oui, j’attends mon ami. Et toi ?	B: Yes, I am waiting for my friend. And you?
A : Je descends au café. Tu viens ?	A: I am going down to the café. Are you coming?
B : Oui, j’arrive.	B: Yes, I’m coming.

5.7.15. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to recognize regular -re verbs, form the present tense by removing -re and adding the correct endings, and use common verbs such as attendre, répondre, vendre, perdre, entendre, and descendre.