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Present Tense

Spoken Description

Apprenez le présent simple en français : règles de conjugaison, verbes réguliers et irréguliers, emplois courants, exemples et exercices interactifs pour parler et écrire des phrases naturelles au présent.

Learn the French present tense: conjugation rules, regular and irregular verbs, common uses, example sentences and interactive exercises to help you speak and write natural present-tense French confidently.

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The present tense describes habitual actions, current states, and near-future events. This guide focuses on the indicative present le présent de l'indicatif, which is essential for everyday communication.

Usage

Utilisez le présent pour parler de routines, de vérités générales, d'actions en cours et d'événements planifiés. Il exprime des habitudes, des faits et des situations considérées comme stables ou répétées. Il peut également décrire des actions qui se passent maintenant ou qui sont généralement vraies à tout moment. Lorsqu'il est associé à des expressions de temps, il peut adoucir les instructions ou indiquer qu'une action récente a eu lieu.

Use the present tense to talk about routines, general truths, ongoing actions, and planned events. It expresses habits, facts, and situations that are considered stable or repeated. It can also describe actions that are happening now or are generally true at any time. When combined with time expressions, it can soften instructions or indicate that something has recently occurred.
Chaque matin, je(arrose) les plantes sur le balcon.

Every morning, I water the plants on the balcony.

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Formation

Les verbes réguliers suivent des modèles prévisibles en fonction de leur terminaison : -er, -ir, et -re. Apprendre ces terminaisons standard facilite la conjugaison de nouveaux verbes dans des phrases.

Regular verbs follow predictable patterns based on their endings: -er, -ir, and -re. Learning these standard endings makes it easy to conjugate new verbs in sentences.

-er Verbs

-er verbs are the most common and follow a straightforward pattern in the present tense. The stem comes from removing -er, and endings are added consistently for each person.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
je parleI speak / I am speaking
tu parlesyou speak / you are speaking
il/elle parlehe/she speaks / is speaking
nous parlonswe speak / we are speaking
vous parlezyou (pl.) speak / are speaking
ils/elles parlentthey speak / they are speaking
Elle(chanter) dans le jardin le dimanche.

She sings in the garden on Sundays.

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-ir Verbs

-ir verbs that follow the regular pattern keep the stem and add endings like -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. These endings apply to common verbs such as finir.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
je finisI finish / I am finishing
tu finisyou finish / you are finishing
il/elle finithe/she finishes / is finishing
nous finissonswe finish / we are finishing
vous finissezyou (pl.) finish / are finishing
ils/elles finissentthey finish / they are finishing
Je(choisir) les graines pour l'année prochaine.

I choose the seeds for next year.

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-re Verbs

-re verbs drop the final -re for the stem and add endings like -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent. This pattern applies to verbs such as vendre.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
je vendsI sell / I am selling
tu vendsyou sell / you are selling
il/elle vendhe/she sells / is selling
nous vendonswe sell / we are selling
vous vendezyou (pl.) sell / are selling
ils/elles vendentthey sell / they are selling
Ils(vendre) les plants excédentaires au marché.

They sell the surplus plants at the market.

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Irregular Verbs

Some high-frequency verbs change their stem or endings in ways you must memorize. These irregular verbs appear in everyday speech and writing.

être (to be)

Être is fundamental and irregular in the present tense. It is used for descriptions, identities, locations, and forming compound tenses.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
je suisI am
tu esyou are
il/elle esthe/she is
nous sommeswe are
vous êtesyou (pl.) are
ils/elles sontthey are
Aujourd'hui, je(être) content du progrès du jardin.

Today, I am happy with the garden's progress.

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avoir (to have)

Avoir is irregular and widely used for possession, age, sensations, and as an auxiliary. Its forms must be learned to function smoothly.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
j'aiI have
tu asyou have
il/elle ahe/she has
nous avonswe have
vous avezyou (pl.) have
ils/elles ontthey have
Tu(avoir) plusieurs variétés de tomates cette année.

You have several varieties of tomatoes this year.

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aller (to go)

Aller is irregular and commonly used both literally and to form the near future with aller + infinitive. Its present forms are important for planning and movement.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
je vaisI go / I am going
tu vasyou go / you are going
il/elle vahe/she goes / is going
nous allonswe go / we are going
vous allezyou (pl.) go / are going
ils/elles vontthey go / they are going
Je(aller) au marché cet après-midi.

I am going to the market this afternoon.

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faire (to do, to make)

Faire is irregular and appears in many expressions for activities, weather, and tasks. Its present forms are essential for describing actions and plans.
French ConjugationEnglish Translation
je faisI do / I make
tu faisyou do / you make
il/elle faithe/she does / makes
nous faisonswe do / we make
vous faitesyou (pl.) do / make
ils/elles fontthey do / they make
Il(faire) le désherbage cet après-midi.

He is doing the weeding this afternoon.

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Summary

The present tense describes habitual, current, and near-future actions. Regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs follow predictable patterns, while high-use irregular verbs like être, avoir, aller, and faire must be learned. Mastering these forms enables clear communication about everyday activities.

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