French/Grammar/Tenses/Present indicative

Usage of the Present When you want to talk about something that's happening now. Formation of the Present To form the present tense, there are seven categories of verbs that you need to know about, sorted by their endings, and if they are regular (follow the rules) or irregular (have their own rules). They are: -er verbs -ir verbs -re verbs and irregular -er verbs irregular -ir verbs irregular -re verbs really really irregular verbs Regular Verbs Regular -er Verbs For non stem-changing regular -er verbs, the stem is determined by removing the final -er. After determining the stem, conjugate by adding the appropriate endings. SubjectEndingje-etu-esil-enous-onsvous-ezils-ent Conjugation of Regular -ir Verbs For regular -ir verbs, the stem is determined by removing the final -ir. After determining the stem, conjugate by adding the appropriate endings. SubjectEndingje-istu-isil-itnous-issonsvous-issezils-issent Conjugation of Regular -re Verbs For regular -re verbs, the stem is determined by removing the final -re. After determining the stem, conjugate by adding the appropriate endings. SubjectEndingje-stu-sil-nous-onsvous-ezils-ent Irregular Conjugations Several verbs are irregularly conjugated in the present. Some verbs can be categorized by the general pattern they follow, while others are completely irregular. Irregular verbs are too numerous to be entirely provided here. Only some common irregular verbs will be shown. Stem Changing -er Verbs Several French verbs are stem-changing; the endings for conjugation basically remain the same, but slight changes occur with the stem. One may divide the category of stem-changing verbs into two subcategories: verbs whose stems change only in the nous form and verbs whose stems change only in the je, tu, il, and ils forms. -cer Verbs To conjugate a -cer verb in the nous form, change the c to a ç. Conjugations in the je, tu, il, vous, and ils forms remain unaffected. -ger Verbs To conjugate a -ger verb in the nous form, add an e between the final g and the ending ons. Conjugations in the je, tu, il, vous, and ils forms remain unaffected. -ayer, -oyer, and -uyer Verbs To conjugate an -ayer, -oyer, or -uyer verb in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the y to i. Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected. -eler Verbs To conjugate an -eler verb in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the l to ll. Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected. -eter Verbs To conjugate an -eter verb in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the t to tt. Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected. Verbs with e in the second to last syllable To conjugate a verb with an e in the second to last syllable in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the e to è. Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected. Verbs with é in the second to last syllable To conjugate a verb with an é in the second to last syllable in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the é to è. Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected. Irregular -ir Verb Patterns Couvrir The verbs couvrir, cueillir, offrir, ouvrir, and souffrir, follow this pattern. The stem is determined by removing the final -ir. Although the verbs are -ir verbs, they are treated like regular -er verbs for the purpose of conjugation. Thus, they utilize the regular endings for -er verbs. Dormir The verbs dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, and sortir follow this pattern. For conjugating the plural forms (nous, vous, ils), the stem is determined by removing the final -ir. For conjugating the singular forms (je, tu, il), the stem is the same as the plural stem, except that the last letter of the plural stem is removed in addition to the -ir. The verb ending pattern for these verbs is as follows: SubjectEndingje-stu-sil-tnous-onsvous-ezils-ent Irregular -re Verb Patterns -aindre, -eindre, and -oindre Verbs Verbs ending with -aindre, -eindre, and -oindre follow this pattern. For conjugating the singular forms (je, tu, il), the stem is determined by removing the final -dre. For conjugating the plural forms (nous, vous, ils), the stem is the same as the singular stem, except that a g is immediately after the final i and before the final n. The verb ending pattern for these verbs is as follows: SubjectEndingje-stu-sil-tnous-onsvous-ezils-ent Completely Irregular Verbs Aller - To Go SubjectConjugationjevaistuvasilvanousallonsvousallezilsvont S'asseoir - To Sit SubjectConjugationje m'assiedstu t'assiedsil s'assiednous nousasseyonsvous vous asseyezils s'asseyent Avoir - To Have SubjectConjugationj'aituasilanousavonsvousavezilsont Boire - To Drink SubjectConjugationjeboistuboisilboitnousbuvonsvousbuvezilsboivent Conduire - To Drive SubjectConjugationjeconduistuconduisilconduitnousconduisonsvousconduisezilsconduisent Connaître - To Know (A person) SubjectConjugationjeconnaistuconnaisilconnaîtnousconnaissonsvousconnaissezilsconnaissent Croire - To Believe SubjectConjugationjecroistucroisilcroitnouscroyonsvouscroyezilscroient Devoir - To Have To SubjectConjugationjedoistudoisildoitnousdevonsvousdevezilsdoivent Dire - To Say/To Tell SubjectConjugationjedistudisilditnousdisonsvousditesilsdisent Écrire - TO Write SubjectConjugationj'écristuécrisilécritnousécrivonsvousécrivezilsécrivent Être - To Be SubjectConjugationjesuistuesilestnoussommesvousêtesilssont Faillir - To Almost Do SubjectConjugationjefaillis / fauxtufaillis / fauxilfaillit / fautnousfaillissons / faillonsvousfaillissez / faillezilsfaillissent / faillent Faire - To Do/To Make SubjectConjugationjefaistufaisilfaitnousfaisonsvousfaitesilsfont Falloir - To Have To/To Need (This verb can only be used in the impersonnal form) SubjectConjugationilfaut Lire - To Read SubjectConjugationjelistulisillitnouslisonsvouslisezilslisent Mettre - To Put/To Place SubjectConjugationjemetstumetsilmetnousmettonsvousmettezilsmettent Mourir - To Die SubjectConjugationjemeuretumeuresilmeurtnousmouronsvousmourezilsmeurent Naître - To Be Born SubjectConjugationjenaistunaisilnaîtnousnaissonsvousnaissezilsnaissent Prendre - To Take SubjectConjugationjeprendstuprendsilprendnousprenonsvousprenezilsprennent Rire - To Laugh SubjectConjugationjeristurisilritnousrionsvousriezilsrient Savoir - To Know (a fact) SubjectConjugationjesaistusaisilsaitnoussavonsvoussavezilssavent Sortir - To Go Out SubjectConjugationjesorstusorsilsortnoussortonsvoussortezilssortent Venir - To Come SubjectConjugationjevienstuviensilvientnousvenonsvousvenezilsviennent Vivre - To Live SubjectConjugationjevistuvisilvitnousvivonsvousvivezilsvivent Voir - To See SubjectConjugationjevoistuvoisilvoitnousvoyonsvousvoyezilsvoient Vouloir - To Want SubjectConjugationjeveuxtuveuxilveutnousvoulonsvousvoulezilsveulent es:Francés/Gramática/El verbo/Tiempos/Le présent de l'indicatif