French Reference Grammar - Verb forms
The present tense
Some English tenses have various forms to represent the single French tense. One of the most striking is the present tense, which can have three different forms in English, but always only one form in French.
Affirmative
| Je regarde la télévision | I watch the television
I am watching the television |
| Oui, je regarde la télévision tous les soirs. | Yes, I do watch television every evening. |
Negative
| Je ne regarde pas la télévision. | I’m not watching television.
I don’t watch television |
Interrogative
| Est-ce que tu regardes la télévision? | Are you watching television?
Do you watch television? |
Form of the present tense of verbs ending in -er
The present tense form of verbs whose infinitive ends in -er is given below. (The infinitive form of a verb is the one which appears in a dictionary, and which is indicated in English by the use of the word to in front. Thus, 'to look' is an infinitive in English. The French form is 'regarder'. Infinitives in French end in -er, -ir or -re.)
Structurally and analytically, to form the present tense of an -er verb:
- take the infinitive
- remove the ending -er
- add the first, second and third person endings, singular and plural.
These endings are:
| Je | e | nous | ons |
| Tu | es | vous | ez |
| il/elle/on | e | ils/elles | ent |
So, the full present tense of the verb 'regarder' is:
| je regarde | nous regardons |
| tu regardes | vous regardez |
| il/elle/on regarde | ils/elles regardent |
This is called the paradigm of the present tense.
- Note: the endings -e, -es, -e and -ent are silent. The only endings in the present tense of -er verbs which can be heard are the first and second persons plural (-ons and -ez).
Form of the present tense verbs ending in -ir
The present tense form of verbs whose infinitive ends in -ir is given below. (The infinitive form of a verb is the one which appears in a dictionary, and which is indicated in English by the use of the word to in front. Thus, 'to finish' is an infinitive in English. The French form is 'finir'. Infinitives in French end in -er, -ir or -re.)
Structurally and analytically, to form the present tense of an -ir verb:
- take the infinitive
- remove the ending -ir
- add the first, second and third person endings, singular and plural.
These endings are:
| je | is | nous | issons |
| tu | is | vous | issez |
| il/elle/on | it | ils/elles | issent |
So, the full present tense of the verb 'finir' is:
| je finis | nous finissons |
| tu finis | vous finissez |
| il/elle/on finit | ils/elles finissent |
- Note: the endings -is, -is, -it are all pronounced without sounding the final consonant. Their pronunciation is like that of the English letter E. As in -er verbs, the ending -ent is silent, and the third person plural ending sounds like 'eece' in English (like fleece without the first two letters).
Form of the present tense of verbs ending in -re
The present tense form of verbs whose infinitive ends in -re is given below. (The infinitive form of a verb is the one which appears in a dictionary, and which is indicated in English by the use of the word to in front. Thus, to sell is an infinitive in English. The French form is vendre. Infinitives in French end in -er, -ir or -re.)
Structurally and analytically, to form the present tense of an -re verb:
- take the infinitive
- remove the ending -re
- add the first, second and third person endings, singular and plural.
These endings are:
| je | s | nous | ons |
| tu | s | vous | ez |
| il/elle/on | - | ils/elles | ent |
So, the full present tense of the verb 'vendre' is:
| je vends | nous vendons |
| tu vends | vous vendez |
| il/elle/on vend | ils/elles vendent |
- Note: the endings -s, -s, and -ent are silent. The only endings in the present tense of -re verbs which can be heard are the first and second persons plural (-ons and -ez).