There is only one Present tense in French which can be translated into any of the three English Present tenses: je parle can be translated as "I speak," "I do speak," and "I am speaking," nous parlons as "we speak," "we do speak," "we are speaking," etc.

PARLER—"to speak"
 

Some verbs of the -er conjugation will show some spelling variations, such as répéter—"to repeat," manger—"to eat," or commencer—"to begin."
 

In the case of manger and commencer, the spelling change is dictated by the need to show that the g- or the c- before –o is to be pronounced soft (like an "s"). g- is always pronounced soft before -e or –i, but hard before -a, -o or -u. Likewise, a c- is always pronounced soft before -e and –i, but hard before a, -o or -u. To make these letters soft, French adds an -e after the g- and uses the ç instead of the c.

Here are a few common –er verbs:
 

Examples of Regular -er Verbs

• Ça ne fait rien. Je ne parle pas anglais.
• Excusez-moi.
• Parlez-vous anglais?