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French grammar · Level A1

Présent: the French present tense

The présent is the first tense you learn: it says what is happening now, what happens regularly and what is generally true. French has just one present tense: je parle means both “I speak” and “I am speaking”. Most verbs end in -er and follow one pattern, while the most important ones — être, avoir, aller, faire — simply have to be learned.

QuizContents
Contents
  1. Verbs ending in -er
  2. Verbs ending in -ir: finir
  3. The key irregular verbs
  4. When to use the présent
  5. Common mistakes
  6. Quiz
  7. FAQ

Verbs ending in -er

This is the biggest group: parler, aimer, habiter, travailler, regarder. Drop -er and add the ending. The endings -e, -es, -e, -ent are silent: je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent all sound the same. Only -ons and -ez are heard.

Conjugating parler and aimer
Personparleraimer
jeparlej’aime
tuparlesaimes
il / elle / onparleaime
nousparlonsaimons
vousparlezaimez
ils / ellesparlentaiment

Tip: Before a vowel or silent h, je becomes j’: j’aime, j’habite. And the s of nous, vous, ils links to the vowel (liaison): nous‿aimons [nu-zɛ-mɔ̃], ils‿habitent.

Verbs ending in -ir: finir

The second group is -ir verbs that add -iss- in the plural: finir, choisir, réussir, grandir. Not every -ir verb works like this: partir, sortir and dormir are irregular (je pars, nous partons).

Conjugating finir
Personfinirchoisir
jefinischoisis
tufinischoisis
il / elle / onfinitchoisit
nousfinissonschoisissons
vousfinissezchoisissez
ils / ellesfinissentchoisissent

The key irregular verbs

These four verbs are the most frequent in the language and build other tenses: avoir and être form the passé composé, aller the futur proche. Learn them by heart.

être, avoir, aller, faire
Personêtreavoirallerfaire
jesuisj’aivaisfais
tuesasvasfais
il / elleestavafait
noussommesavonsallonsfaisons
vousêtesavezallezfaites
ils / ellessontontvontfont
  • Je suis étudiante.I’m a student.
  • Nous avons un chat.We have a cat.
  • Qu’est-ce que vous faites ?What are you doing?
  • Je prends le métro.I take the metro.

Tip: Another frequent verb is prendre: je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent. Comprendre and apprendre follow it.

When to use the présent

The présent describes an action now (Je mange), a habit (Je mange à midi), a general truth (L’eau bout à 100 degrés) and even the near future (Je pars demain). To stress that something is happening at this very moment, use être en train de + infinitive.

  • Je travaille à Kyiv.I work in Kyiv.
  • Il est en train de cuisiner.He’s cooking right now.
  • Nous partons demain.We’re leaving tomorrow.

Common mistakes

The mistakes people make most often — and the right way.

  • Wrong: Je suis parle français.

    Right: Je parle français.

    The présent is a single verb; être isn’t needed.

  • Wrong: Nous finons.

    Right: Nous finissons.

    Verbs like finir add -iss- in the plural.

  • Wrong: Vous faisez.

    Right: Vous faites.

    faire is irregular: vous faites.

  • Wrong: Je aime le café.

    Right: J’aime le café.

    Before a vowel, je becomes j’.

  • Wrong: Ils parlont.

    Right: Ils parlent.

    The ils ending for -er verbs is -ent (and it’s silent).

The présent tense

Quiz

10 questions: choose the right option — the explanation appears straight away.

  1. Question 1

    Je _____ français.

  2. Question 2

    Nous _____ à Odessa.

  3. Question 3

    Vous _____ quoi ce soir ?

  4. Question 4

    Ils _____ leurs devoirs.

  5. Question 5

    Tu _____ étudiant ?

  6. Question 6

    Elle _____ deux enfants.

  7. Question 7

    Nous _____ au cinéma.

  8. Question 8

    Je _____ le bus tous les matins.

  9. Question 9

    _____ aime la musique.

  10. Question 10

    Il _____ en train de manger.

Correct: 0 of 10

Read next

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

How do I say “I am reading”?

Just Je lis — the présent covers both habits and what’s happening now. To stress the ongoing action, say Je suis en train de lire.

Why do parle, parles and parlent sound the same?

Final -e, -es and -ent are silent in verbs. The pronoun shows the person, which is why French never drops it.

How do I learn the irregular verbs?

Start with être, avoir, aller, faire, prendre, pouvoir and vouloir — they come up all the time. Practise them in phrases rather than as lists, and see our conjugation guide.

Other topics

All topicsFrench verb conjugationFrench irregular verbs

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