In this section:

• Review of -ER and -RE verb conjugations

• Nombres ordinaux

Review of -ER and -RE verb conjugations

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Remember, in French there are three types of verbs : Those ending in -er, -ir and -re.

To conjugate an ER verb, such as the ones below, drop the ER and add the appropriate endings :

To conjugate the -er verb “traverser“, drop the “er” so you have “travers”.

je traverse

tu traverses

il/elle/iel/on traverse

nous traversons

vous traversez

ils/elles/iels traversent (remember, the “ent” is silent!)

Here are some useful -er verbs to talk about getting around town:

marcher – to walk

tourner – to turn

traverser – to cross

continuer – to continue

demander – to ask

Se trouver and se déplacer are examples of pronominal verbs. They take a reflexive pronoun. We will learn more about these verbs in a future chapter. To read more information about this grammar topic click here.

*se trouver – to be found, to be located
exemple : L’église se trouve à côté de l’école. Les magasins se trouvent au centre ville.

*Se déplacer – to get around (town)

*aller à pied – To go on foot
Aller is an irregular verb, which means it doesn’t follow the typical -er verb pattern! Click here to review the conjugation of the verb aller.

To conjugate -ir verbs, drop the “-re” from the end of the verb. For example, to conjugate the verb prendre, drop the -re and add the following endings depending on the pronoun you’re using:

je prends

tu prends

il/elle/iel/on prend

nous prenons

vous prenez

ils/elles/iels prennent

Here are some useful re verbs when talking about getting around town:

prendre le métro, un taxi, etc  – to take the metro, a taxi, etc.

attendre – to wait

entendre – to hear

perdre – to lose

rendre – to hand in/give back

rendre visite à quelqu’un – to pay a visit to someone

répondre – to respond

vendre – to sell

Nombres ordinaux

Ordinal numbers are used to rank and place things in order. Note that premier/première are irregular, as the rest of the ordinal numbers have a “ième” ending.

premier, première – first
deuxième – second
troisième – third
quatrième – fourth
cinquième – fifth
sixième – sixth
septième – seventh
huitième – eighth
neuvième – ninth
dixième – tenth

onzième – eleventh
douzième – twelfth
treizième – thirteenth
quatorzième – fourteenth
quinzième – fifteenth
seizième – sixteenth
dix-septième – seventeenth
dix-huitième – eighteenth
dix-neuvième – nineteenth
vingtième – twentieth

When writing, one can abbreviate the ordinal numbers.

1st = 1er or 1re (depending on the grammatical gender)
2nd = 2e,  2d or 2de​
3rd = 3e
4th = 4e
5th = 5e
6th = 6e
7th = 7e
8th = 8e
9th = 9e
10th = 10e.

Exemples :

– Les célébrations du 100e anniversaire de la ville Boise auront lieu demain.

– La boulangerie se trouve au carrefour de la 9e Rue et de la 5e Avenue.