French Present Tense

The French Present Tense is used to imply that which one is doing at the moment


He learns his lesson
We go to the swimming pool

Regular verbs are easily conjugated into this tense by adding the following endings to the radical form of the verb.

French present tense verb endings


English person French person Present ending
ER IR RE
I Je ~e ~is ~s
You(informal) Tu ~es ~is ~s
He/she Il/elle ~e ~it ~
We Nous ~ons ~issons ~ons
I Je ~e ~is ~s
You(formal) Vous ~ez ~issez ~ez
They Ils/elles ~ent ~issent ~ent


There are examples bellows for each of the three types of regular verbs:

French Present Tense ~ ER verbs

e.g. donner – to give

Je donne – I give
Tu donnes – You give
Il/elle donne – he/she gives
Nous donnons – we give
Vous donnez – you give
Ils/elles donnent – they give

Example:
Je regarde la television – I watch television


Irregular ~ER verbs

Jeter – to throw: double T –Je jette…
Appeler – to call: double L – Je appelle…

The é become è

Espérer– to hope – J’espère…
Répéter– to repeat – Je répète…
Acheter– to buy – J’ achète…
Lever– to lift – Je lève…


French Present Tense ~ IR verbs

e.g. finir– to finish

Je finis– I finish
Tu finis– you finish
Il/elle finit – he/she finishes
Nous finissons– we finish
Vous finissez– you finish
Ils/elles finissent– they finish

Example
Nous finissons de boire notre chocolat – we finish drinking our chocolate

Irregular ~ IR verbs

Courir – to run - je cours…
Dormir – to sleep - je dors…
Fuir – to flee - je fuis…
Ouvrir – to open - j’ouvre…
Partir – to leave - je pars…
Venir – to come - je viens…


French Present Tense ~ RE verbs

e.g. vendre - to sell

Je vends – I sell
Tu vends – you sell
Il/elle vend – he/she sells
Nous vendons – we sell
Vous vendez – you sell
Ils vendent – they sell

Example
Ils vendent leur maison – they sall their house

Irregular ~ RE verbs

Etre – to be - je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont
Battre – to fight - je bats…
Boire – to drink - je bois…
Conduire – to drive - je conduis…
Connaître – to know - je connais…
Craindre – to fear - je crains…
Croire – to believe - je crois…
Dire – to say - je dis…
Ecrire – to write - j’écris…
Faire - to do, make - je fais
Lire – to read - je lis…
Mettre – to put - je mets…
Prendre – to take - je prends…
Rire – to laugh - je ris…
Suivre – to follow - je suis…
Vivre – to live - je vis…



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