By Calixte Wondje, Ph.D.
The Present Tense
En général nous nageons dans une piscine, mais aujourd’hui nous nageons dans la mer.
We generally swim in a pool, but today we are swimming in the ocean.
Welcome!!!
The Present Tense
A verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being.
In French, most verbs are divided into three classes, or conjugations, according to the ending of the infinitive.
- First conjugation: -er verbs like parler
- Second conjugation: -ir verbs like finir
- Third conjugation: -re verbs like rendre
Verbs that fall into these three categories are called regular verbs.
The Present Tense of Regular Verbs: -er, -ir, and –re Verbs
The present tense of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending (-er, -ir, or –re) and adding the appropriate present tense ending.
- Verbs of the first conjugation (-er verbs) are conjugated like parler (to speak)
| singular | plural | |
| First person | Je parle | Nous parlons |
| Second person | Tu parles | Vous parlez |
| Third person | Il/elle parle On parle | Ils/elles parlent |
Some common -er verbs
| Accepter – to accept | Continuer – to continue | Emprunter – to borrow |
| Accompagner – to accompany | Danser – to dance | Enseigner – to teach |
| Adorer – to adore, to love | Decider – to decide | Entrer – to enter, to come in, to go in |
| Aider – to help | Déjeuner – to have lunch | Étudier – to study |
| Aimer – to like, to love | Demander – to ask | Fermer – to close |
| Apporter – to bring | Dépenser – to spend (money) | Gagner – to earn, to win |
| Apprécier – to appreciate (value, rate highly) | Dessiner – to draw | Garder – to keep |
| Arriver – to arrive | Detester – to hate | Habiter – to live (to reside) |
| Bavarder – to chat | Diner – to have dinner | Hésiter – to hesitate |
| Cesser – to stop | Donner – to give | Inviter – to invite |
| Chater – to sing | Écouter – to listen | Jouer – to play |
| Chercher – to look for | Emporter – to carry/take away, carry off | Laisser – to let, to leave behind |
| Laver – to wash | Preparer – to prepare | Retourner – to return; to come back; to go back |
| Marcher – to walk | Presenter – to present | Retrouver – to meet (by appointment) |
| Monter – to go up (stairs) | Prêter – to lend | Saluer – to greet |
| Montrer – to show | Raconter – to tell; to tell about; to relate | Supporter – to bear, to stand |
| Organiser – to organize | Refuser – to refuse | Téléphoner – to phone |
| Oublier – to forget | Regarder – to look at | Travailler – to work |
| Parler – to speak | Remercier – to thank | Traverser – to cross |
| Passer – to pass; to spend (time) | Rencontrer – to meet (by chance) | Trouver – to find |
| Penser – to think | Rentrer – to return; to go back | |
| Porter – to carry | ||
| Pratiquer – to practice |
Verbs of the second conjugation (-ir verbs) are conjugated like finir (to finish)
| singular | plural | |
| First person | Je finis | Nous finissons |
| Second person | Tu finis | Vous finissez |
| Third person | Il/elle finit On finit | Ils/elles finissent |
Some common –ir verbs
| Applauder – to applaud | Finir – to finish | Obéir – to obey |
| Avertir – to warn | Grossir – to get fat | Réfléchir – to think, to reflect |
| Bâtir – to build | Guérir – to cure, to make better | Remplir – to fill |
| Choisir – to choose | Maigrir – to get thin | Réussir – to succeed |
| Désobéir – to disobey | Mincir – to get thin | Rougir – to blush |
| Établir – to establish |
Verbs of the third conjugation (-er verbs) are conjugated like rendre (to give back)
| singular | plural | |
| First person | Je rends | Nous rendons |
| Second person | Tu rends | Vous rendez |
| Third person | Il/elle rend On rend | Ils/elles rendent |
Some common –re verbs
| Attendre – to wait for | Entendre – to hear | Répondre – to answer |
| Confondre – to confuse | Interrompre – to interrupt | Romper – to break, to break off (especially figuratively) |
| défendre – to forbid | Perdre – to lose | Vendre – to sell |
| Descendre – to go down(stairs) | Pretender – to pretend | |
| Rendre – to give back |
Notes
If the verb begins with a vowel or a mute h, then je becomes j’.
J’arrive ——- j’entends ——– j’habite
The subject pronoun on refers to people in general or to a nonspecific subject. It is often equivalent to the passive voice in English.
Ici, on parle français. ——– French is spoken here.
On cherche un secretaire ——Secretary wanted.
In colloquial language, on + the third person singular verb means we.
Notes
In colloquial language, on + the third person singular verb means we.
Aujourd’hui on dîne au restaurant. Today we’re having dinner at a restaurant.
On habite à Paris maintenant. We live in Paris now.
Most verbs of the third conjugation (-re verbs) have a stem ending in d like vendre. Those few whose stems don’t ends in d, such as rompre (to break) and interrompre (to interrupt), add a t in the third person singular.
Il/elle rompt
Il/elle interrompt
Spelling Changes in the Present Tense of Regular –er Verbs
First conjugation verbs whose stems end in c, g, or y have spelling changes in the present tense. These changes are required by the rules of French spelling.
Verbs whose stems end in c, such as commencer (to begin), add a cedilla under the c (ç) in the nous form.
| singular | plural | |
| first person | Je commence | Nous commençons |
| second person | tu commences | Vous commencez |
| third person | il/elle commence on commence | Ils/elles commencent |
Some common verbs like commencer:
| annoncer – to announce | lancer – to launch | remplacer – to replace |
| avancer – to advance | menacer – to threaten | renoncer – to resign, quit |
| divorcer – to divorce | placer – to place, invest | |
| effacer – to erase | prononcer – to pronounce |
Verbs whose stems end in g, such as manger (to eat), add an e after the g in the nous form.
| singular | plural | |
| first person | Je mange | Nous mangeons |
| second person | tu manges | Vous mangez |
| third person | il/elle mange on mange | Ils/elles mangent |
Some common verbs like manger:
| aménager – to fix up, convert (a room, etc.) | déménager – to move (change residence) | partager – to share |
| arranger – to arrange | déranger – to bother | plonger – to dive |
| changer – to change | Diriger – to direct | ranger – to put away |
| corriger – to correct | encourager – to encourage | rédiger – to draft, write |
| décourager – to discourage | nager – to swim | voyager – to travel |
Verbs whose stems end in y, such as nettoyer (to clean), change the y to i before a silent e (all the singular forms and the third person plural).
| singular | plural | |
| first person | Je nettoie | Nous nettoyons |
| second person | Tu nettoies | Vous nettoyez |
| third person | Il/elle nettoie On nettoie | Ils/elles nettoient |
Note
Verbs ending in –ayer may either make the change as in nettoyer or keep the y in all forms: je paie or je paye. Verbs in –oyer and –uyer must change y to i before a silent e.
Some common verbs like nettoyer:
| balayer – to sweep | essayer – to try, try on | tutoyer – to use the tu form to address someone |
| effrayer – to frighten | essuyer – to wipe | vouvoyer – to use the vous form to address someone |
| employer – to use | payer – to pay | |
| ennuyer – to bore | renvoyer – to send back, dismiss | |
| envoyer – to send |
First Conjugation (–er) Verbs With Mute e as the Stem Vowel
First conjugation verbs that have mute e as their stem vowel, such as acheter (to buy), change the mute e to è in those forms where the ending has a mute e.
| singular | plural | |
| first person | J’achète | Nous achetons |
| second person | Tu achètes | Vous achetez |
| third person | Il/elle achète On achète | Ils/elles achètent |
Other verbs like acheter:
| Amener – to bring (someone) | Geler – to freeze | Peser – to weigh |
| Emmener – to take (someone) | Lever – to pick up, raise | Promener – to walk |
| Enlever – to remove, take off | Mener – to lead |
Note: Verbs like appeler (to call) double the consonant after the mute e instead of changing e to è.
| singular | plural | |
| first person | J’appelle | Nous appelons |
| second person | Tu appelles | Vous appelez |
| third person | Il/elle appelle On appelle | Ils/elles appellent |
Other verbs like appeler:
| Épeler – to spell | Projeter – to plan | Renouveler – to renew |
| Feuilleter – to leaf through | Rappeler – to call back | |
| Jeter – to throw | Rejeter – to reject |
First Conjugation (-er) Verbs with é as the Stem Vowel
Verbs that have é as the stem vowel, such as espérer (to hope). Change é to è when the ending has a mute e.
| singular | plural | |
| first person | J’espère | Nous espérons |
| second person | Tu espères | Vous espérez |
| third person | Il/elle espère On espère | Ils/elles espèrent |
Note: In verbs such as préférer (to prefer), only the é before the infinitive ending changes to è.
| singular | plural | |
| first person | Je préfère | Nous préférons |
| second person | Tu préfères | Vous préférez |
| third person | Il/elle préfère On préfère | Ils/elles préfèrent |
Other verbs like espérer and préférer.
| Céder – to yield | Protéger – to protect | Révéler – to reveal |
| Célébrer – to celebrate | Refléter – to reflect | |
| Completer – to complete | Répéter – to repeat |
Use of the Present Tense
The French present tense has several meanings in English.
Example:
En général nous nageons dans une piscine, mais aujourd’hui nous nageons dans la mer.
We generally swim in a pool, but today we are swimming in the ocean.
The French present tense can express the future, especially if an expression in the sentence refers to future time.
Examples:
- Je t’emmène en ville demain.
- I will take you downtown tomorrow.
- Merci, tu es gentil. Mais demain je travaille.
- Thanks, that nice of you. But I’m working tomorrow.
The present tense + depuis, il y a, or voilà + a time expression is used to express an action that began in the past but continues into the present.
Examples:
- Depuis combien de temps (Depuis quand) attends-tu l’autobus?
- How long have you been waiting for the bus?
- J’attends depuis 20 minutes.
- I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.
The present tense + depuis, il y a, or voilà + a time expression is used to express an action that began in the past but continues into the present.
Examples:
- Il y a combien de temps que tu achètes tes livres dans cette librairie?
- How long have you been buying your books in this bookstore?
- Il y a deux ans (Voilà deux ans) que j’achète mes livres ici.
- I’ve been buying my books here for two years.
Please Watch this video on YouTube where the course is in English and French for better understanding and pronunciation learning.
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