Présent
French Present Tense
The French present tense, called le présent or le présent de l'indicatif, is quite similar in usage to the English present tense.
Le présent is used to express:
| I. | Current actions and situations | |
| Je suis fatigué. Nous allons au marché. |
I am tired. We are going to the market. |
|
| II. | Habitual actions | |
| Il va à l'école tous les jours. Je visite des musées le samedi. |
He goes to school every day. I visit museums on Saturdays. |
|
| III. | Absolute and general truths | |
| La terre est ronde. L'éducation est importante. |
The earth is round. Education is important. |
|
| IV. | Actions which will occur immediately | |
| J'arrive ! Il part tout de suite. |
I'll be right there! He is leaving right away. |
|
| V. | Conditions in si clauses | |
| Si je peux, j'irai avec toi. | If I can, I will go with you. | |
Le présent has three different English equivalents. The English helping verbs to be and to do are not translated into the French present tense.
| I eat. | } | Je mange. |
| I am eating. | ||
| I do eat. |
If you want to emphasize the fact that something is happening right now, you can use the conjugated verb être + en train de + infinitive:
| I am eating right now. | } | Je suis en train de manger. |
| I'm in the process of eating. |
To learn how to conjugate verbs in the présent and then to test yourself, please see these related lessons:
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