Present (Présent)

Formation of the Present

The present of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending (-er, -ir, -re) and adding the following endings:

1st Conjugation (-er)

Notes:

Verbs ending in -cer change c to ç before o and a to keep the soft c sound:

Le professeur prononce bien.
(The professor pronounces clearly.)

Nous ne prononçons pas bien.
(We do not pronounce well.)

See also Use of the Present Tense in Conditional Clauses

Meanings of the Present

The present tense is used to indicate:

1. that an action is occurring at this precise moment:

   Il parle au téléphone.
   (He is speaking on the telephone.)

2. that an action has been occurring for a while and is likely to continue for some time to come:

   Mon père travaille trop.
   (My father works too much.)

3. eagerness or anticipation:

   Je commence mon nouvel emploi.
   (I am starting my new job.)

4. a veiled order:

   Tu manges ta soupe tout de suite!
   (You are eating your soup right away!)

5. emphasis of an action which would normally be expressed in the perfect tense:

   L'hélicoptère tournait dans le ciel. Tout a coup, il tombe...
   (The helicopter was going around in the sky. Suddenly, it falls...)

6. an action that will take place in the immediate future:

   Nous revenons dans dix minutes.
   (We will be back in ten minutes.)

The present tense + depuis + an expression of time expresses an action or event that began in the past and continues in the present, in answer to the question formed with Depuis combien de temps?/Depuis quand? (Since when?):

Depuis combien de temps/Depuis quand vivez-vous ici?
(Since when have you been living here?)

J'habite ici depuis six mois.
(I have been living here for six months.)

See Also:

• Verbs
• Verb Tenses
• 1st Conjugation
• 2nd Conjugation
• 3rd Conjugation
• Appendix of Irregular Verbs