Memorize French ER Present Tense Verbs Using Visual Imagery Mnemonics
Ever had problems remembering the endings to present tense ER verbs? Here is a way to memorize the verbs using visual imagery, similar to the concept of creating a memory palace.
Steps
- Fix all ER verb tenses in a scene so you can visualise it when you need to call on it from memory. Your local town is a good choice, as it will have everything you need in it.
- Associate ER verbs with an image -- EAR is the perfect one! Example: Present tense can make you think of Christmas (presents!). So you can have your whole ER Present tense scene based around a giant Christmas tree that is on display in your local town. At the top of the Christmas tree is a giant EAR and there is lots of earwax dripping out from it! It’s all messy and sticky under that tree!When you think of present tense it will remind you of Christmas, then the tree. If it is a verb ending in ER then you will see the giant EAR at the top of it and then your associated ER verb endings.
- Choose a commonly used ER verb. Try "manger": to eat.
- Je mange ----- I eat
- Tu manges ----- You eat (singular, familiar)
- Il, elle, on mange ----- He, she, we eats (please note: on is a familiar term)
- Nous mangeons ----- We eat (note that the 'e' is irregular, all regular ER verbs drop the 'e')
- Vous mangez ----- You eat (plural, formal (unfamiliar))
- Ils, elles mangent ----- They eat
- Use the number shape system to memorise the Je, Tu, Il, Nous, Vous, Ils forms. That way you have a definite order to follow and it makes it much easier to recall it later on!
- one sounds like nun
- two sounds like shoe
- three sounds like tree
- four sounds like door
- five sounds like hive
- six sounds like sticks
- Associate the nun with the Je, the shoe with the Tu and so on… Let’s look at that now:
- one sounds like nun: Je suis
- two sounds like shoe: Tu es
- three sounds like tree:Il est
- four sounds like door:Nous ons
- five sounds like hive:Vous ez
- six sounds like sticks:Ils ent
- Go back to your scene. At the Christmas tree you see the nun standing there. But what is she doing? She is Shouting out "Jesus!" But she is saying it funny… "JEsus". The nun is shouting out the Je part loudly but the sus softly! Incorporate the “e�? of the ending of mange (French part of "I" eat) into our nun image. Imagine a large Snail coming up to the nun and starts shouting out Je too! The idea of the snail as an “e�? is because the shell of the snail reminds some of an “e�? with the pattern of it.
- Try Tu –You. The number rhyme is Two Shoe. Imagine that you see this giant shoe kick the snail! (this helps to keep the image moving). Look up at the giant shoe, smell the leather of it! Wow, it must be brand new! (helps to anchor the image). So you look at the shoe and it spits at you! Making a spit sounds like Tu – try it and see for yourself! Turn to the shoe and say to it “Was that you, shoe?�? And the shoe replies “yES�? getting louder after the y. Try doing it as a whisper, it sounds freaky! Another anchor help.
- Link "Il" with number rhyme 3: tree. You start to walk away from the shoe and walk straight into a tree! You look up and notice that instead of a tree trunk it is a giant fat eel! (the eel reminds you of il - French for He He looks at me and says “Do you mind, I am trying to eat�? You look down and notice the Eel is using a knife and fork and eating snails! The snails remind you of “e�?, the ending of the verb.
- Number 4, door is linked with Nous. After walking away from the tree, you walk to the entrance of a shop near to where the Christmas tree is…but you can’t open the door. Someone has thrown a cowboy lasso to make a noose (Nous)and it has wrapped around your hand! You can’t grab the door handle! But luckily your friend “the Fonz�? (from Happy Days TV comedy!! Fonz reminds you of ons) rescues you!
- Five is hive and links with vous which reminds you of Pooh as in Winnie the Pooh (the bear, check Google if you are unfamiliar). So you manage to get into the shop and walk straight over to the sweets section. There you see some lovely looking honey coming straight fresh out of the bee hive!! And who better to be eating all the honey than Pooh Bear! But he is jammed inside the bee hive and you ask him how he got in there. He replies “it was EEEEZZZZZZ�? (sounds like easy). This lets you know that the ending for Vous verbs is ez.
- Walk past Poo Bear and hear a cracking sound… I realise I am standing on lots of sticks (sounds like 6). You look down and see that there are lots of eels (ils in the bunch of sticks too! Eels remind me of Ils. You ask them what on earth they are doing down there and they respond “We are pitching a tent. Go away!�?. The ENT of tent lets you know the ending of the verb for Ils.
- This method is easy. It lets you memorise the present tense endings very well. But like everything else you need to go over it again and again. Do it out once, then after half an hour do it again in your head, then an hour later, then when in bed, then in the morning, then when in bed, then once every couple of days. Believe me after a week or so of this it will stick. But whatever you do, do not miss going over it on a regular basis. This is the time when it gets lost in your memory banks!
Tips
- You can also try memorizing these endings by rote memorization -- i.e. writing or saying them over and over.
