1- Use
2- Formation
3- Time indicators
There is only 1 form of the present
tense in French,
eg Je joue au tennis
whereas there are three in English...
A.
The present tense is used to express a
repeated action, a habit or a general
truth.
i.e. What happens regularly.
eg: Tous les samedis, je joue au foot.
(Every Saturday, I play football).
B.To express an action taking place at the
time of speaking or in the immediate
future.
i.e. What is happening right now.
eg: Je regarde Eastenders maintenant.
(I am watching Eastenders now).
C.
To express a contrast, an emphasis or
a negative.
i.e. To emphasise what is happening.
eg: Je suis d’accord.
I do agree.
Je joue au tennis.
I do play tennis.
Je ne joue pas au tennis.
I don’t play tennis.
D.
E.
F.
Also use the present tense in French...
To tell a story that happened in the
past, to make it more lively.
With expressions of time such as
depuis, ça fait to express ‘has/have
been doing’.
With si to express a hypothesis or
condition.

The present tense is used with the
expressions “depuis” and “ça fait” when
the action is still going on.
eg: J’apprends le français depuis cinq
ans.
(I’ve been learning French for five
years).
As 90% of all French verbs are
regular ER verbs it is essential
that you know the verb endings off
by heart.
Regular verbs:
-ER verbs
Je
Tu
Il, Elle, On
Nous
Vous
Ils, Elles
JOUER (to play)
I play
joue
joues you play
he / she /one plays
joue
jouons we play
jouez you all play
jouent they play
Regular Verbs
-IR verbs
Je
Tu
Il, Elle, On
Nous
Vous
Ils, Elles
FINIR
finis
finis
finit
finissons
finissez
finissent
I finish
you finish
he / she /one finishes
we finish
you all finish
they finish
Regular Verbs
-RE verbs
Je
Tu
Il, Elle, On
Nous
Vous
Ils, Elles
VENDRE
vends
vends
vend
vendons
vendez
vendent
I sell
you sell
he/she/one sells
we sell
you all sell
they sell
Summary of Regular Verb Endings
To form the present tense take off the last
2 letters of the infinitive (ER, RE or IR)
and add the following endings.
ER
RE
IR
I
Je
-e
-s
-is
You
Tu
-es
-s
-is
-
-it
He/She/We Il/Elle/On -e
We
Nous
-ons -ons -issons
You all/You (f)
Vous
-ez -ez -issez
They Ils/Elles -ent -ent -issent
Verbs starting with a vowel or “h”:
When a verb starts with a vowel (A, E, I, O,
U, Y) or a silent “h”, the pronoun “Je”
becomes “ J’ ”.
eg: Je aime

J’aime.
Je habite 
J’habite.
It is the same when a verb is preceded by a
reflexive pronoun.
eg: s’appeler: Je me appelle  Je m’appelle.
s’habiller: Tu te habilles  Tu t’habilles.
s’endormir: Elle se endort  Elle s’endort.
Some regular verbs have spelling
changes for je, tu, il and ils.
i.e. before a silent syllable.
It is important that you are at least
aware of these so that you will
recognise these verbs.
In verbs that end in -eler or -eter
the final consonant is doubled up in all
but the nous and vous forms.

jeter: (to throw)
Je jette
Tu jettes
Il jette
Nous jetons
Vous jetez
Ils jettent.
Another common verb
belonging to this group is:
appeler (to call)
Exception to this rule:
acheter
Verbs with –é or –e in second
last syllable in the infinitive


Some stems with -e change to -è
Stems with –é change to -è
in all forms except the nous and vous forms
– préférer:
Je préfère
Tu préfères
Il préfère
Nous préférons
Vous préférez
Ils préfèrent.
acheter:
J’achète
Tu achètes
Il achète
Nous achetons
Vous achetez
Ils achètent.
Verbs that end in –ayer, -oyer,
-uyer change –y to –i

nettoyer: (to clean)
Je nettoie
Tu nettoies
Il nettoie
Nous nettoyons
Vous nettoyez
Ils nettoient.
Verbs with spelling changes in
the NOUS form

Verbs ending in –cer
become –çons
commencer: (to begin)
Je commence
Tu commences
Il commence
Nous commençons
Vous commencez
Ils commencent.

Verbs ending in –ger
become –eons
manger: (to eat)
Je mange
Tu manges
Il mange
Nous mangeons
Vous mangez
Ils mangent
Reflexive verbs
Many of these verbs are used to talk
about your daily routine. They mean
that you do something to yourself (eg:
to wash oneself, to brush one’s teeth, to
wake up, to go to bed…).
You conjugate them in the exact same
way as regular verbs but they also need
a reflexive pronoun in between the
subject pronoun and the verb:…
Reflexive verbs
Je me
Tu te
Il se
Elle se
On se
Nous nous
Vous vous
Ils se
Elles se
eg: SE LEVER (to get up)
Je me lève
Tu te lèves
Il se lève
Elle se lève
On se lève
Nous nous levons
Vous vous levez
Ils se lèvent
Elles se lèvent






Maintenant
En ce moment
Aujourd’hui
Ce matin
Cet après-midi
Ce soir
Now
At the moment
Today
This morning
This afternoon
This evening