French present tense: formation, uses and practice

The French present tense is the first tense every learner meets, and it is simpler than the English one: there is no separate “-ing” form. This lesson shows when to use it, how to build it for regular and irregular verbs, and which mistakes English speakers make most often.

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When do you use the French present tense?

English has two main present tenses (I speak and I am speaking), and French uses a single one for both. It also replaces several English constructions.

Use	French	English
Habit or fact	Je mange à midi.	I eat at noon.
Action happening now	Je mange en ce moment.	I am eating right now.
General truth	La Terre tourne autour du Soleil.	The Earth goes around the Sun.
Something that started in the past and continues (with depuis)	J’habite à Lyon depuis trois ans.	I have been living in Lyon for three years.
Very recent past (venir de + infinitive)	Elle vient d’arriver.	She has just arrived.
Near future (aller + infinitive)	Nous allons partir.	We are going to leave.
Emphasis (“do”)	Oui, il parle français.	Yes, he does speak French.

How do you form the present tense of regular verbs?

Remove the infinitive ending (-er, -ir, -re) to get the stem, then add the endings. Verbs in -er are by far the biggest group, and all new French verbs follow it.

Subject	-er verbs (parler)	-ir verbs (finir)	-re verbs (vendre)
je	parle	finis	vends
tu	parles	finis	vends
il / elle	parle	finit	vend (no ending)
nous	parlons	finissons	vendons
vous	parlez	finissez	vendez
ils / elles	parlent	finissent	vendent

Check the full tables below. The endings -e, -es, -e, -ent of parler are silent: je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent sound exactly the same.

parler	finir	vendre
je parle	je finis	je vends
tu parles	tu finis	tu vends
il parle	il finit	il vend
nous parlons	nous finissons	nous vendons
vous parlez	vous finissez	vous vendez
ils parlent	ils finissent	ils vendent

Spelling changes in -er verbs

Some -er verbs change their spelling so that the pronunciation stays the same.

• manger: add an e before -ons (nous mangeons).
• commencer: c becomes ç before -ons (nous commençons).
• payer and envoyer: y becomes i before a silent ending (je paie, il envoie).
• acheter and préférer: the accent changes (j’achète, je préfère), but not in the nous and vous forms.
• appeler doubles the l before a silent ending (j’appelle).

The irregular verbs you must memorize

Four verbs are so common that you will see them on every page. Learn them first.

être	avoir	aller	faire
je suis	j’ai	je vais	je fais
tu es	tu as	tu vas	tu fais
il est	il a	il va	il fait
nous sommes	nous avons	nous allons	nous faisons
vous êtes	vous avez	vous allez	vous faites
ils sont	ils ont	ils vont	ils font

Other frequent irregular verbs: il peut, il veut, il sait, il dit, il vient, il voit, il prend (the il form is shown). Note the irregular vous forms vous dites and vous faites.

Common mistakes English speakers make

• Translating “I am eating” as Je suis mangeant. French has no progressive: say Je mange. For emphasis you can say Je suis en train de manger.
• Adding “do” (Je fais parler or Je ne fais pas parler). Questions and negatives use no auxiliary: Parlez-vous français ?, Je ne parle pas français.
• Using the present perfect for ongoing actions. “I have lived here for ten years” is J’habite ici depuis dix ans, in the present.
• Forgetting that vous and tu are different registers: tu for friends and children, vous for strangers, adults you do not know well, and groups.
• Mixing up the -ir groups. finir adds -iss- in the plural (nous finissons), but partir does not (nous partons).

22 practice problems

Write your answers on paper first, then check them in the answer key below. Use the exact French forms, with accents.

Problem 1. Nous ___ français en classe. (parler)

Problem 2. Tu ___ ton devoir ? (finir)

Problem 3. Ils ___ leur vieille voiture. (vendre)

Problem 4. Je ___ étudiant. (être)

Problem 5. Elle ___ deux frères. (avoir)

Problem 6. Vous ___ au cinéma ce soir ? (aller)

Problem 7. Nous ___ une tarte pour le dessert. (faire)

Problem 8. Nous ___ à midi. (manger)

Problem 9. Nous ___ le cours à huit heures. (commencer)

Problem 10. Tu ___ la facture ? (payer)

Problem 11. J’___ du pain tous les matins. (acheter)

Problem 12. Je ___ le thé au café. (préférer)

Problem 13. Vous ___ la vérité. (dire)

Problem 14. Elle ___ de Paris. (venir)

Problem 15. Ils ___ parler trois langues. (savoir)

Problem 16. Je ___ partir maintenant. (vouloir)

Problem 17. Nous ___ un taxi. (prendre)

Problem 18. Translate into French: “We are going to the market.”

Problem 19. Translate into French: “She is reading a book.”

Problem 20. Translate into French: “I have been living here for two years.”

Problem 21. Correct the mistake: Je suis mangeant une pomme.

Problem 22. Correct the mistake: Nous mangons à midi.

Answer key

Show the answer key for problems 1 to 22

Problem 1. parlons

Problem 2. finis

Problem 3. vendent

Problem 4. suis

Problem 5. a

Problem 6. allez

Problem 7. faisons

Problem 8. mangeons

Problem 9. commençons

Problem 10. paies

Problem 11. achète

Problem 12. préfère

Problem 13. dites

Problem 14. vient

Problem 15. savent

Problem 16. veux

Problem 17. prenons

Problem 18. Nous allons au marché.

Problem 19. Elle lit un livre.

Problem 20. J’habite ici depuis deux ans.

Problem 21. Je mange une pomme. (no progressive form in French)

Problem 22. Nous mangeons à midi. (add e before -ons)

Quiz: 10 questions

One question at a time, with instant feedback and an explanation for each answer.

Related tenses

• French imperfect tense
• French passé composé
• French simple future
• French imperative