Le présent de l'indicatif

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The present indicative tense is perhaps the most commonly used tense in the French language. For most students, it is the first tense that is introduced to them. It is extremely easy to conjugate, with a few exceptions, of course. The present indicative tense has 3 different translations in English. First, it indicates that the subject "does" something, similar to the present simple tense. Second, it indicates that the subject "is doing" something, like the present progressive tense in English. Lastly, it indicates that the subject "does do" something. If this sounds confusing, just wait and observe the examples located at the bottom of this page.

To conjugate verb tenses in French, one adds endings to the root of the infinitive. For the present indicative with regular verbs ending in "er", the endings are as follows:

Pronoun		Ending		Pronoun		Ending
je tu il elle on		e es e e e		nous vous ils elles		ons ez ent ent

With the verb "parler", for example, the root of the infinitive is "parl". Therefore, when conjugating this verb, you add the endings after the root provided from the table above:

parler = to speak
je parle tu parles il parle elle parle on parle		nous parlons vous parlez ils parlent elles parlent

In this verb tense, as mentioned at the beginning, has 3 different translations in English. With the verb "parler", meaning "to speak", it can be translated into:

1. I speak.

2. I am speaking.

3. I do speak.

*Note: For verbs in which their roots end with a "g" or a "c", a special letter or accent must be added in the "nous" form in order to maintain their soft sound. Therefore, with verbs like "manger" (to eat), it would be "nous mangeons" and NOT "nous mangons". Verbs that have roots ending with a "c" must use the "cédille" accent. Therefore, with verbs like "commencer" (to start), it would be "nous commençons" and NOT "nous commencons".

Now that you are familiar with "er" verbs, let's take a look at "re" verbs. The endings of regular "re" verbs are very similar to those of "er" verbs. Observe the following table:

Pronoun		Ending		Pronoun		Ending
je tu il elle on		s s N/A N/A		nous vous ils elles		ons ez ent ent

With the verb "rendre", for example, the root of the infinitive is "rend". Therefore, when conjugating this verb, you add the endings after the root provided from the table above:

rendre = to give back
je rend tu rends il rend elle rend on rend		nous rendons vous rendez ils rendent elles rendent

Again, this can translate into 3 different things in English:

1. He gives back.

2. He is giving back.

3. He does give back.

Now that you're comfortable with both "er" and "re" verbs, let's proceed to "ir" verbs. The endings of "ir" verbs are a little different than "er" and "re" verbs. Observe the following table:

Pronoun		Ending		Pronoun		Ending
je tu il elle on		is is it it it		nous vous ils elles		issons issez issent issent

With the verb "finir", for example, the root of the infinitive is "fin". Therefore, when conjugating this verb, you add the endings after the root provided from the table above:

finir = to finish
je finis tu finis il finit elle finit on finit		nous finissons vous finissez ils finissent elles finissent

Once again, this has 3 different meanings in English:

1. We finish.

2. We are finishing.

3. We do finish.

There are a lot of exceptions to the above rules. The verbs that do not comply with them are considered irregular verbs. Click here to see some of the most common irregular verbs.

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