Gap-fill
French -er, -é and -ez: choose the spelling in a gap-fill
Parler, parlé and parlez share /e/. Use the sentence to choose infinitives, past participles and vous forms in an eight-gap French story.
- A2
- 8 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Parler, parlé and parlez all sound /paʁle/. Choose the spelling from the construction: vouloir parler needs an infinitive, avoir parlé needs a past participle, and vous parlez needs a conjugated verb. The /e/ sound alone leaves all three possibilities open.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| Job | Example | What selects it |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive: -er | Elle veut parler. | A verb such as vouloir followed by an infinitive |
| Past participle: -é | Elle a parlé. | An auxiliary plus a participle |
| Vous form: -ez | Vous parlez. | The subject vous |
| Command: -ez | Parlez plus lentement. | An instruction addressed with vous |
Vous voulez parler.You want to speak.
Focus: The conjugated verb takes -ez; the following infinitive takes -er.
Vous voulez rester ici.
You want to stay here.
Vous avez parlé.You spoke.
Focus: The auxiliary agrees with vous; the participle is parlé.
Vous avez terminé.
You have finished.
The replacement test can help in writing. If prendre fits the construction, an infinitive is needed: je veux prendre → je veux parler. If pris fits after the auxiliary, use the participle: j’ai pris → j’ai parlé. This checks the verb’s job even when its ending is a homophone.
Do -er, -é and -ez sound the same in French?
Complete each gap with the form of the verb in brackets. Read the subject and the words before the gap. The eight answers use only the endings -er, -é and -ez; keep every accent.
Bienvenue au club !
Hier soir, j’ai (retrouver) Léa devant la salle. Nous voulions (parler) français avec de nouvelles personnes. Léa avait une question : « Tu veux (commencer) ou tu préfères écouter ? »
À l’entrée, une bénévole nous a (demander) nos prénoms. Puis elle a dit : « Vous (chercher) le groupe de conversation ? Vous (arriver) au bon moment ! »
Elle a ouvert la porte. Dans la salle, tout le monde discutait déjà. « (entrer), je vous en prie », a-t-elle ajouté. À la fin de la soirée, Léa m’a dit : « J’ai bien (aimer) cette rencontre. On revient la semaine prochaine ? »
Read it in English
Yesterday evening, I met Léa outside the room. We wanted to speak French with new people. Léa had a question: ‘Do you want to start or would you rather listen?’
At the entrance, a volunteer asked us our names. Then she said: ‘Are you looking for the conversation group? You’re arriving at the right time!’
She opened the door. In the room, everyone was already chatting. ‘Come in, please,’ she added. At the end of the evening, Léa told me: ‘I really enjoyed this meeting. Shall we come back next week?’