Present Tense-

Irregular R E Verbs, Part 1-

We will now learn to conjugate in the present tense several irregular French verbs whose infinitives end with the letters R E. Some examples include: prendre (to take; also used to tell what you are having to eat or drink), apprendre (to learn), and comprendre (to understand).

Here is the verb prendre conjugated in the present tense. Be sure to listen for the nasal sound in the singular forms. In the plural, the [n] IS pronounced and there is NO nasal sound in the stem.

Prendre-	English Translation-
je prends-	I take, am having-
tu prends-	you (familiar) take, are having-
il, elle, on prend-	he, she, one takes, is having-
nous prenons-	we take, are having-
vous prenez-	you take, are having-
ils, elles prennent-	they take, are having-

Now, listen to comprendre, another verb in this family, conjugated in the present tense:

Comprendre-	English Translation-
je comprends-	I understand-
tu comprends-	you (familiar) understand-
il, elle, on comprend-	he, she, one understands-
nous comprenons-	we understand-
vous comprenez-	you understand-
ils, elles comprennent-	they understand-