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Present Tense: -re Verbs (entendre, prendre, traduire)

FoundationHigherAQA

Understand Present Tense: -re Verbs (entendre, prendre, traduire) for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). High-frequency -re verbs follow one of three anchor patterns: entendre, prendre and traduire.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

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Higher

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Topic overview

Verbs ending in -re follow a pattern in the singular but several are irregular in the plural.

Regular -re verbs such as entendre, attendre and vendre remove -re and add the endings -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent. So j'entends, tu entends, il entend, nous entendons, vous entendez, ils entendent. Note the third person singular has no ending at all.

Prendre is irregular in the plural: nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent — the d disappears and the n doubles. Comprendre and apprendre follow prendre exactly. Traduire and other -uire verbs add -s in the plural stem: nous traduisons.

Revision notes

Regular -re verbs

Entendre, attendre, vendre, répondre, perdre, descendre.

Remove -re and add -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent. J'entends, tu entends, il entend, nous entendons, vous entendez, ils entendent. The il form has no ending.

The prendre family

Prendre is irregular in the plural: nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent.

The d disappears and the n doubles in the ils form. Comprendre and apprendre follow prendre exactly, so learning one gives you three.

-uire verbs

Traduire, construire, conduire, produire.

Singular follows the regular pattern, but the plural stem gains an s: nous traduisons, vous traduisez, ils traduisent. This group is common in reading texts.

Key points

  • Regular -re verbs remove -re for the stem.
  • The endings are -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent.
  • The il form has no ending.
  • Prendre is irregular in the plural.
  • Comprendre and apprendre follow prendre.
  • -uire verbs add s in the plural stem.

Worked examples

Example 1

Give the il form of entendre. [2 marks]

Working

il entendremove -re and add no ending
The third person singular of regular -re verbs has no ending at allexplain the pattern

Example 2

Give the nous form of prendre. [2 marks]

Working

nous prenonsuse the irregular plural stem
The d of prendre disappears in the plural formsexplain the irregularity

Example 3

Give the ils form of prendre. [2 marks]

Working

ils prennentdouble the n in the third person plural
The d disappears and the n doubles in this form specificallyexplain the change

Common mistakes

  • Adding a -t to the il form.

    Il entend has no ending at all.

  • Keeping the d in the plural of prendre.

    Nous prendons is wrong; it is nous prenons.

  • Not doubling the n in ils prennent.

    The third person plural doubles it.

  • Treating prendre as regular.

    It is irregular in every plural form.

Exam tips

  • Remember the il form takes no ending.
  • Learn prendre, comprendre and apprendre together.
  • Watch for the doubled n in ils prennent.
  • Note the added s in -uire plurals.

Key terms

Regular -re verb
A verb such as entendre following the standard pattern.
Prendre
An irregular -re verb, model for comprendre and apprendre.
Stem
What remains after removing -re.
Third person singular
The il or elle form, taking no ending for -re verbs.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.