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• The present tense in French is used to express both ‘I (do)’ and ‘I am (doing)’ in English.

• It can also be used with time adverbs to express the future.

• There are three groups of regular verbs in French, with infinitives ending in -er, -ir or -re.

• The subject pronouns require different verb endings.

• Higher Tier only – knowing the full conjugation patterns of the –r�� verbs é���������� (to write) and ���DzԲԲ�î�ٰ��� (to know, be familiar with) is important for learning other verbs that follow a similar pattern.

In French, the present tense is used to talk about things that happen regularly or are happening now.

For example:

Je joue – ’I play’ or ‘I am playing’

The present tense can also be used with time adverbs to refer to something that is happening in the future.

For example:

Demain je joue au foot avec mon frère – Tomorrow I am playing football with my brother.

Les examens commencent la semaine prochaine. – The exams start next week.

French has regular and irregular verbs. The regular verbs follow a set pattern while irregular verbs do not. There are many more regular verbs than irregular verbs, but many of the irregular verbs are used very often.

The three groups of regular verbs are named after their endings. They are called -er verbs, -ir verbs and -re verbs.

For example:

arriver – to arrive

��é�ܲ������� – to succeed

��é��DzԻ���� – to reply

French verbs have different endings depending on who is doing the action. To form the present tense of regular verbs, take the ending off the infinitive and add the necessary endings for each person.

Here are the endings for -er verbs, using the example infinitive parler (to speak).

Remember

Other -er verbs follow this pattern, such as the verb travailler (to work).

For example:

Ce soir elles travaillent dans le supermarché. – This evening they are working in the supermarket.

The majority of -ir verbs follow the pattern shown below for the verb choisir (to choose).

Other useful verbs that follow this pattern are finir (to finish), remplir (to fill), ��é�ܲԾ��� (to reunite) and ��é�ܲ������� (to succeed).

For example:

• Nous finissons les devoirs demain. – We are finishing the homework tomorrow.

Some other commonly used -ir verbs follow different patterns:

partir – to leave

Another useful verb that follows the same pattern is dormir (to sleep).

For example:

• Elles dorment dans un hôtel. – They are sleeping in a hotel.

venir – to come

Another useful verb that follows the same pattern is devenir (to become).

For example:

• Ça devient difficile à faire – It’s becoming difficult to do.

ouvrir – to open

Another useful verb that follows the same pattern is ��é���dzܱ������� (to discover).

For example:

• Nous découvrons de nouvelles choses. - We are discovering new things.

Many -re verbs follow the pattern shown below for the verb entendre (to hear).

Other useful verbs that follow the same pattern as entendre are descendre (to go down), perdre (to lose) and attendre (to wait).

For example:

• Je descends l’escalier. – I go down the stairs/I am going down the stairs.
• Demain matin je descends l’escalier. – Tomorrow morning I am going down the stairs.

Some other commonly used -re verbs follow different patterns:

prendre – to take

Another useful verb that follows the same pattern as prendre is comprendre (to understand).

For example:

• Tu comprends la leçon ? – Do you understand the lesson?

traduire – to translate

Other useful verbs that follow the same pattern as traduire are construire (to build) and ��é��ܾ����� (to reduce).

For example:

• Les enfants construisent un château de sable. – The children are building a sandcastle.

Practise what you've learned about present tense regular verbs in French with this quiz.

Some other commonly used -re verbs that follow a different pattern are é���������� (to write) and ���DzԲԲ�î�ٰ��� (to know, be familiar with).

é���������� – to write

Dé���������� (to describe) and ��’i�Բ����������� (to register) follow a similar pattern to é����������.

For example:

• Elle décrit son chien. – She describes her dog/She is describing her dog.

• Demain elle décrit son chien devant la classe. – Tomorrow she is describing her dog in front of the class.

���DzԲԲ�î�ٰ��� – to know, be familiar with

�پ����貹����î�ٰ��� (to disappear) and re���DzԲԲ�î�ٰ��� (to recognise) follow a similar pattern to ���DzԲԲ�î�ٰ���.

For example:

Les gâteaux disparaissent vite. – The cakes disappear fast./The cakes are disappearing fast.

Practise what you've learned about present tense regular verbs in French with this Higher Tier quiz.

Now you’ve learned about present tense regular verbs, why not explore present tense irregular verbs?