aimer at A1 — the present tense
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« aimer » is the first verb that lets you have an opinion in French.
Saying what you like
« aimer » is a perfectly regular -ER verb, so once you have it you have a thousand others. The only surprise is the spelling of the first person: aimer starts with a vowel, so je loses its e and you write j’aime, never « je aime ». Say it as one word, “zhem”.
The rule that actually catches learners is the article. In English you say “I like coffee” with no article. French will not let you: you must say j’aime le café. When you like a thing in general, French puts le, la or les in front of it. Drop it and the sentence sounds broken to a native ear.
Three of the six forms — aime, aimes, aiment — are pronounced identically. That is not a mistake in your ear: written French keeps distinctions that spoken French threw away centuries ago. Only aimons and aimez really sound different.
💡 Focus at this level: Basics — saying what you like
👨🏫 How to use « aimer » at A1
1. Start from the thing, not the verb. Pick five things in the room and say « j’aime le/la… » about each one. The article comes with practice, not with theory.
2. Add the negative straight away. « Je n’aime pas le thé. » Beginners who learn the positive alone stay silent the first time they dislike something.
3. Ask, do not just tell. « Tu aimes le chocolat ? » with the voice rising at the end is a complete French question. You do not need « est-ce que » to be understood.
🎮 Practise « aimer »
Play the free French games → · Back to the full « aimer » chart →