French Present Tense: Regular -RE Verbs

Level: A1. The third regular verb family in French ends in -re (vendre, attendre, répondre). It is smaller than the -ER and -IR groups, but its verbs are everyday words — to sell, to wait, to answer, to hear. The one thing to watch is the third-person singular, where the verb takes no ending at all.

The rule

A verb names an action or a state (to sell, to wait). Its infinitive is the dictionary form. For regular -RE verbs you build the present tense in two steps:

1. Find the stem. Drop the -re ending from the infinitive. From vendre (to sell) the stem is vend-.
2. Add the present ending for the subject: -s, -s, — (nothing), -ons, -ez, -ent.

So vendre becomes je vends, tu vends, il/elle vend, nous vendons, vous vendez, ils/elles vendent. The endings are the same for every regular verb in this group; only the stem changes.

The forms (vendre, “to sell”)

How to say it

The spelling hides a lot of sound here; watch these:

Example sentences

1. Je vends ma voiture.
   I'm selling my car.
2. Tu vends des légumes au marché.
   You sell vegetables at the market.
3. Il vend des journaux.
   He sells newspapers.
   no ending: il vend
4. Nous vendons notre maison.
   We're selling our house.
5. Vous vendez de beaux fruits.
   You sell lovely fruit.
6. Ils vendent des fleurs.
   They sell flowers.
   -ent silent, but the d is heard
7. J'attends le bus.
   I'm waiting for the bus.
   attendre, same endings
8. Elle attend ses amis.
   She is waiting for her friends.
   elle attend, no -t added
9. Nous attendons depuis une heure.
   We've been waiting for an hour.
10. Tu réponds à la question.
    You answer the question.
    répondre à
11. Il répond au téléphone.
    He answers the phone.
12. Vous répondez très vite.
    You answer very quickly.
13. J'entends la musique.
    I hear the music.
    entendre
14. Nous entendons le train.
    We hear the train.
15. Elle perd ses clés.
    She loses her keys.
    perdre: elle perd
16. Ils descendent l'escalier.
    They go down the stairs.
    descendre
17. Je rends le livre à la bibliothèque.
    I return the book to the library.
    rendre
18. On vend des billets ici.
    Tickets are sold here.
    on takes the il/elle form: on vend

Common mistakes

• ❌ il vendt / il vende → ✅ il vend. The third-person singular of a regular -RE verb has no ending — just the bare stem.
• ❌ je vend → ✅ je vends. The je and tu forms still need the -s, even though it is silent.
• ❌ pronouncing the -d in il vend → ✅ say “vɑ̃”. In the singular the final consonant is silent.
• ❌ ils vendentent / saying the -ent → ✅ ils vendent (said “VɑND”). The -ent ending is silent, but the stem’s d is pronounced in the plural.
• ❌ je prends treated as fully regular → ✅ prendre is irregular in the plural (nous prenons, ils prennent), even though the singular looks regular.
• ❌ je réponds la question → ✅ je réponds à la question. Répondre needs the preposition à.

A short conversation

A: Tu vends ton vélo ? — Are you selling your bike? B: Oui, je vends mon vélo et j’attends un acheteur. — Yes, I’m selling my bike and I’m waiting for a buyer. A: Il répond à ton annonce ? — Is he answering your ad? B: Pas encore. Nous attendons. — Not yet. We’re waiting.

Usage notes

• The bare stem is normal. Only regular -RE verbs leave the il/elle/on form with no ending. Trust it: il attend, elle répond, on descend.
• on = “we” in speech. In conversation on usually means “we” and takes the il/elle form: on vend = “we sell”.
• Watch the required preposition. Répondre à (answer), attendre (wait for — no preposition in French, unlike English “wait for”).
• Common regular -RE verbs: vendre (sell), attendre (wait), entendre (hear), répondre (answer), perdre (lose), rendre (give back), descendre (go down), défendre (defend).
• Beware the -re irregulars: prendre, apprendre, comprendre, mettre, faire, dire all end in -re but do not follow this pattern — learn each separately.

Compared with…

• -ER verbs (like parler) take -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: the il form ends in -e (il parle). See regular -ER verbs.
• -IR verbs (like finir) take -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent: the il form ends in -it (il finit) and the plural adds -iss-. See regular -IR verbs.
• The giveaway is the third-person singular: -ER → il parle (-e), -IR → il finit (-it), -RE → il vend (no ending).

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Practice

French -RE verbs present practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which is correct: 'Il ___ des journaux' (vendre)?

vende vendt vend vends

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vend — The il/elle/on form of a regular -RE verb has no ending: il vend.

2 Fill in (attendre): J'____ le bus.

Check

Hint: je form of attendre

Show answer

attends — je takes -s: j'attends (the stem attend- + -s).

3 Fill in (répondre): Vous ____ à la question.

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Hint: vous ending

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répondez — vous takes -ez: vous répondez.

4 Order the words: 'They sell flowers.'

des fleursIlsvendent

CheckReset

Show answer

Ils vendent des fleurs — Ils vendent des fleurs. The -ent is silent but the d is heard.

5 Match each subject to the ending of a regular -RE verb.

• je / tu Match for je / tu — choose — -ent-ons-s(none)
• il / elle / on Match for il / elle / on — choose — -ent-ons-s(none)
• nous Match for nous — choose — -ent-ons-s(none)
• ils / elles Match for ils / elles — choose — -ent-ons-s(none)

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• je / tu → -s
• il / elle / on → (none)
• nous → -ons
• ils / elles → -ent

je -s, tu -s, il —, nous -ons, vous -ez, ils -ent.

6 Which verb looks like -RE but is IRREGULAR?

vendre attendre prendre répondre

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prendre — prendre changes its stem in the plural: nous prenons, ils prennent.

Quiz

Check yourself

French -RE verbs present quiz

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1To conjugate a regular -RE verb, you first…

   A add -ing B drop -re to get the stem C add an accent D change the vowel
   Show answer

   drop -re to get the stem — Drop -re from the infinitive to find the stem (vendre → vend-).

2. 2The six present endings for regular -RE verbs are…

   A -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent B -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent C -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent D -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent
   Show answer

   -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent — Regular -RE verbs take -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent.

3. 3'Il ___' (vendre):

   A vende B vends C vend D vendt
   Show answer

   vend — The il/elle/on form has no ending: il vend.

4. 4'Nous ___ le train' (entendre):

   A entend B entends C entendons D entendent
   Show answer

   entendons — nous → -ons: nous entendons.

5. 5Which three forms sound identical?

   A je vends, nous vendons, vous vendez B je vends, tu vends, il vend C nous vendons, vous vendez, ils vendent D tu vends, nous vendons, il vend
   Show answer

   je vends, tu vends, il vend — The singular -s, -s and bare stem are all silent, so je vends / tu vends / il vend are said 'vɑ̃'.

6. 6How is the final consonant of 'il vend' pronounced?

   A like 't' B like 'd' C it is silent D like 's'
   Show answer

   it is silent — In the singular the final -d is silent: il vend = 'vɑ̃'.

7. 7Why does 'ils vendent' sound different from 'il vend'?

   A the -ent is pronounced B the plural brings back the d sound C it has an accent D they sound the same
   Show answer

   the plural brings back the d sound — The -ent is silent, but the stem's d is heard in the plural: 'VɑND' vs 'vɑ̃'.

8. 8'Tu ___ à la question' (répondre):

   A réponds B répond C répondes D répondt
   Show answer

   réponds — tu takes -s: tu réponds (and répondre needs à).

9. 9Which is a regular -RE verb?

   A prendre B faire C attendre D mettre
   Show answer

   attendre — attendre is regular; prendre, faire and mettre are irregular.

10. 10'On vend des billets' uses which form?

    A the nous form -ons B the il/elle form (bare stem) C the vous form -ez D the ils form -ent
    Show answer

    the il/elle form (bare stem) — on takes the il/elle form: on vend.

11. 11The third-person singular differs by group: -ER, -IR, -RE give…

    A -e, -it, (none) B (none), -e, -it C -it, -e, (none) D -e, -e, -e
    Show answer

    -e, -it, (none) — il parle (-e), il finit (-it), il vend (no ending).

12. 12Fill in (perdre): Elle ____ ses clés.
    Check
    Show answer

    perd — il/elle/on → bare stem: elle perd (no ending).

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Revisit the other regular family first: regular -IR verbs
• Compare the biggest group: regular -ER verbs
• Back to the French grammar section