French -er Verb Cognates: Meaning and Prepositions
Use twelve checked French -er verb cognates in complete phrases, with prepositions and false-friend cautions.
Many useful French infinitives end in -er, and some resemble English verbs closely. This page teaches selected correspondences in real phrases. It does not claim that all French -er verbs are cognates, that every English verb has an -er counterpart, or that similar verbs take the same preposition.
Twelve selected verb pairs
| French infinitive | English clue | Useful French frame |
|---|---|---|
| organiser | organize | organiser une réunion |
| préparer | prepare | préparer un repas |
| accepter | accept | accepter une invitation |
| adopter | adopt | adopter une idée |
| calculer | calculate | calculer un coût |
| confirmer | confirm | confirmer une réservation |
| transformer | transform | transformer un bâtiment |
| décider | decide | décider de partir |
| comparer | compare | comparer deux options |
| communiquer | communicate | communiquer une date |
| participer | participate | participer à une discussion |
| accélérer | accelerate | accélérer le processus |
These English translations do not follow one spelling recipe: organiser/organize, calculer/calculate and confirmer/confirm have different English endings. -er is the French infinitive ending here. The OQLF entry on regular -er verbs describes a French conjugation model; it does not imply a cross-language translation rule.
Keep the preposition with the verb
Je participe à la réunion means "I am participating in the meeting." Nous avons décidé de partir means "We decided to leave." In Je compare ce plan avec l'autre, avec links the two plans; à is also possible with comparer in some contexts. Memorizing only participer = participate or décider = decide leaves out the part needed for a French sentence.
Three visual traps nearby
Demander commonly means ask or request, not the stronger English demand; exiger can mean demand. Assister à a meeting means attend it, though transitive assister quelqu'un can mean help someone. Attendre means wait for, not attend. This is why the preposition and the object matter more than the shape of the word.
A connected planning example
Nous organisons une réunion pour comparer deux projets. Je prépare un résumé et je confirme la date aux participants. Après la discussion, nous déciderons de la prochaine étape. The verbs perform different steps in one task. Retell the scene as something that happened yesterday: Nous avons organisé une réunion. J'ai préparé un résumé et confirmé la date. Nous avons décidé de la prochaine étape. This is a model of usage, not a rule that every -er verb translates word for word.
Practice and explained answers
- Complete "We participate in the discussion": Nous participons _____ la discussion.
- Complete "She decided to leave": Elle a décidé _____ partir.
- Translate "I asked for information": choose J'ai demandé des informations or J'ai exigé des informations for a neutral request.
- Translate "I attended the meeting": J'ai _____ à la réunion. Choose assisté or attendu.
Answers
- à. The frame is participer à quelque chose.
- de. The useful frame is décider de faire quelque chose.
- J'ai demandé des informations. Demander fits a neutral request; exiger would add a forceful demand.
- assisté. Assister à means attend. Attendre would mean wait for the meeting, which is a different situation.
Production check
Write a two-sentence invitation using organiser and participer à. A possible answer is Nous organisons une réunion jeudi. Souhaitez-vous participer à la discussion ? The question preserves the à after participer. The related noun une organisation belongs in the -tion lesson; here the focus is on what the verbs do in a sentence.