Les verbs en "-er" - conjugaison du présent et prononciation

Bonjour à tous!

All French learners know that the regular verbs of the first group are the easiest because they are indeed REGULAR! However, the spelling and pronunciation of some verbs can still be quite tricky. 

Let's take a look at the basic rule first:

We simply add "e", "es", "ons", "ez" and "ent". Très facile!

Pay attention to the pronunciation, though. We don't pronounce everything:

Je parle        Tu parles        Il parle

The endings should NOT be pronounced!!! However, for ils or elles:

Ils parlent       Ils chantent      Ils dansent

The endings should be pronounced and in these cases, you should pronounce the words with a light "l", "t" and "s" sound. 

(Although many grammar books point out that "ent" altogether should not be pronounced, all my teachers say that the ending should be read gently. I trust my teachers. of course. What's more, the words sound more beautiful with their endings.)

Yet, there are bound to be exceptions or special cases in French...

1. When "c" is followed by "o", it becomes "ç":

2. When "g" is followed by "o", it becomes "ge":

3. When "y" is followed by a silent "e", it becomes "i":

4. "e" or "é" becomes "è" when there is a silent "e" after the consonant:

5. "l" and "t" become "ll" and "tt" respectively when they are followed by a silent "e":

One last thing, the "e" followed by "ll" or "tt" should be pronounced as "é", and this rule applies to the verbs of other groups:

Ils jettent => (jétte)

Ils prennent => (prénne)

Ils mettent => (métte)

I really can't believe my eyes! This post introducing regular verbs of the first group can be this long! Anyway, I hope my notes are well-organized enough so that everyone can fully understand.

À bientôt!