1.1 Le Présent

Adapté de Law, J. (2022). Grammaire Ouverte. BYU Open Learning Network. CC B

Objectives

• To conjugate regular and irregular verbs in the present indicative.
• To identify the contexts where we use the present indicative.

Observe

What do you notice about the bolded parts of the following text?

Dutertre en est venu là où il souhaitait en venir, et je lève la tête, pendant que mademoiselle Sergent lui répond :
— Claudine ? oh ! si ! Mais ce n’est pas sa faute, elle est douée pour cela et ne se fatigue pas.
Il est assis sur la table, une jambe pendante, et me tutoie pour ne pas perdre l’habitude :
— Alors, tu es paresseuse ?
— Dame, c’est mon seul plaisir sur la terre.
— Tu n’es pas sérieuse ! Tu aimes mieux lire, hein ? Qu’est-ce que tu lis ? Tout ce que tu trouves ? Toute la bibliothèque de ton père ?
— Non, Monsieur, pas les livres qui m’ennuient.
— Tu te fais une jolie instruction, je parie ! Donne-moi ton cahier.
Pour lire plus commodément, il appuie une main sur mon épaule et roule une boucle de mes cheveux. La grande Anaïs en jaunit plus que de raison.

To consider

• Do the words in bold in this passage evoke actions that occur at the time of the narration? Is this always the case?
• Most of the words in bold end with what letter? Which bolded words have a different form? Why ?

Introduction

The present tense generally indicates a situation that is occurring at the time of speaking or a situation that is always the case (like a general truth).

Note that the present in French can express three different ways of expressing the present in English, depending on the context or meaning:

Léon fait de la sculpture.

Léon is sculpting (at this time, continuing action)

Léon sculpts (in general, regular action)

Léon does sculpt (emphatic or contrasting)

Other elements of a sentence besides the verb can affect the interpretation of a verb in the present tense as an ongoing action, a habit, a general truth, etc. Note the following examples:

August vient toujours se promener par ici. (‘always comes’ : habit)

Regardez, vous penchez trop votre verre. (‘are tilting’ : at this moment, continuing action)

Mais si, vous le connaissez. (‘you do know him’ : emphatic)

Additionally, the present tense is sometimes used instead of the past or future tense if the time is clear in context:

En 1805, le musicien rapporte des difficultés à entendre les instruments à vent lors des concerts.

Demain, je vous remets la somme.

Regular verbs

The vast majority of verbs in French are regular in the present tense. In the infinitive, these verbs have a stem and an ending (-er, -ir, or -re). To conjugate these verbs in the present tense, we replace the ending of the infinitive with the appropriate ending of the present tense. The endings of all regular verbs are very similar. Where there are differences, we group together regular verbs that have the same endings.

For almost all these verbs, the endings of the singular (je, tu, il/elle/on) and of the third person plural (ils/elles) are not pronounced ( are silent) Above all, note that the ending -ent which indicates the third person plural for nearly all verbs is never pronounced. If this three letter sequence ent occurs in other words (like comment), it is usually pronounced.

-er verbs

-er verbs like parler

If the stem of an -er verb ends with a vowel (étudierétudi,continuer; continu), don’t forget that the endings of the singular and the third person plural are silent. Therefore we pronounce the vowel at the end of the stem, but not the endings : j’étudie, ils continuent

-er verbs with a spelling change in the stem

Spelling changes in the stem occur in several groups of -er verbs in the present. These spelling changes reflect the pronunciation of the forms of the present.

Verbs like appeler

Verbs like acheter

Verbs like préférer

Verbs like envoyer

Verbs like commencer

Verbs like voyager

-IR verbs

-ir verbs like finir

-ir verbs like ouvrir

A very limited group of verbs whose infinitive is in -ir have the same endings as regular -er verbs.

-ir verbs like partir

The verbs partir, sortir et dormir have a regular stem in the plural, but the stem in the singular ends in r. The endings in the singular are those of finir, and the endings in the plural are those of ouvrir.

-re verbs

-re verbs like rendre

The verb mettre is conjugated like rendre except that the stem has only t in the singular. Also note the difference in the form of the past participle.

The verb prendre is conjugated like rendre in the singular, but the stem is irregular in the plural. Also note the difference in the form of the past participle.

-re verbs like rire

Verbs like rire are conjugated like rendre except for the ending of the third person singular (-t). These verbs have also past participles in -i, not in -u.

Many verbs are conjugated in a very similar way to rire and sourire, but with certain changes.

The verbs suivre, poursuivre, vivre, and survivre are conjugated like rire except that the last letter of the stem (v ) is omitted in the singular : je suis, tu suis, il suit. The past participle of suivre is suivi (poursuivre : poursuivi). Vivre and survivre have an irregular past participle: (sur)vécu.

The verb écrire is conjugated like rire except that a v is added to the end of the stem in the plural: nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils écrivent. The past participle end in t (écrit).

• Verbs conjugated like écrire include : décrire, inscrire, prescrire, transcrire

The verb conduire is conjugated like écrire except that a s is added ajouté is added to the end of the stem in the plural in stead of a v : nous conduisons, vous conduisez, ils conduisent.

• Verbs conjugated like conduire include : construire, cuire, déduire, détruire, élire, instruire, introduire, lire, nuire, plaire, produire, réduire, séduire, traduire
• The verbs lire, élire, and plaire have an irregular past participle : lu, élu, plu

-ndre verbs (like peindre)

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs have stems and sometimes endings which don’t follow a pattern. There are relatively few irregular verbs, but these verbs are amongst the most frequently used.

The only verb that has a nous form that does not end in -ons is être (nous sommes).
The only verbs that have a vous form that does not end in -ez are être (vous êtes), faire (vous faites), and dire (vous dites).
The only verbs that have une ils/elles form that does not end in -ent are être (ils sont), faire (ils font), avoir (ils ont), and aller (ils vont).

The verbs paraitre et apparaitre are conjugated like connaitre.

Past participle: assis

Let’s practice

Exercice 1

Exercice 2

Exercice 3

Exercice 4