French/Grammar/Tenses/Present indicative

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Usage of the Present

When you want to talk about something that's happening now.

Formation of the Present

To form the present tense, there are seven categories of verbs that you need to know about, sorted by their endings, and if they are regular (follow the rules) or irregular (have their own rules).

They are:

• -er verbs
• -ir verbs
• -re verbs

and

• irregular -er verbs
• irregular -ir verbs
• irregular -re verbs
• really really irregular verbs

Regular Verbs

Regular -er Verbs

• For non stem-changing regular -er verbs, the stem is determined by removing the final -er.
• After determining the stem, conjugate by adding the appropriate endings.

Subject	Ending
je	-e
tu	-es
il	-e
nous	-ons
vous	-ez
ils	-ent

Conjugation of Regular -ir Verbs

• For regular -ir verbs, the stem is determined by removing the final -ir.
• After determining the stem, conjugate by adding the appropriate endings.

Subject	Ending
je	-is
tu	-is
il	-it
nous	-issons
vous	-issez
ils	-issent

Conjugation of Regular -re Verbs

• For regular -re verbs, the stem is determined by removing the final -re.
• After determining the stem, conjugate by adding the appropriate endings.

Subject	Ending
je	-s
tu	-s
il	-
nous	-ons
vous	-ez
ils	-ent

Irregular Conjugations

• Several verbs are irregularly conjugated in the present.
• Some verbs can be categorized by the general pattern they follow, while others are completely irregular.
• Irregular verbs are too numerous to be entirely provided here. Only some common irregular verbs will be shown.

Stem Changing -er Verbs

• Several French verbs are stem-changing; the endings for conjugation basically remain the same, but slight changes occur with the stem.
• One may divide the category of stem-changing verbs into two subcategories: verbs whose stems change only in the nous form and verbs whose stems change only in the je, tu, il, and ils forms.

-cer Verbs

• To conjugate a -cer verb in the nous form, change the c to a ç.
• Conjugations in the je, tu, il, vous, and ils forms remain unaffected.

-ger Verbs

• To conjugate a -ger verb in the nous form, add an e between the final g and the ending ons.
• Conjugations in the je, tu, il, vous, and ils forms remain unaffected.

-ayer, -oyer, and -uyer Verbs

• To conjugate an -ayer, -oyer, or -uyer verb in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the y to i.
• Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected.

-eler Verbs

• To conjugate an -eler verb in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the l to ll.
• Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected.

-eter Verbs

• To conjugate an -eter verb in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the t to tt.
• Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected.

Verbs with e in the second to last syllable

• To conjugate a verb with an e in the second to last syllable in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the e to è.
• Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected.

Verbs with é in the second to last syllable

• To conjugate a verb with an é in the second to last syllable in the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the é to è.
• Conjugations in the nous and vous forms remain unaffected.

Irregular -ir Verb Patterns

Couvrir

• The verbs couvrir, cueillir, offrir, ouvrir, and souffrir, follow this pattern.
• The stem is determined by removing the final -ir.
• Although the verbs are -ir verbs, they are treated like regular -er verbs for the purpose of conjugation. Thus, they utilize the regular endings for -er verbs.

Dormir

• The verbs dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, and sortir follow this pattern.
• For conjugating the plural forms (nous, vous, ils), the stem is determined by removing the final -ir.
• For conjugating the singular forms (je, tu, il), the stem is the same as the plural stem, except that the last letter of the plural stem is removed in addition to the -ir.
• The verb ending pattern for these verbs is as follows:

Subject	Ending
je	-s
tu	-s
il	-t
nous	-ons
vous	-ez
ils	-ent

Irregular -re Verb Patterns

-aindre, -eindre, and -oindre Verbs

• Verbs ending with -aindre, -eindre, and -oindre follow this pattern.
• For conjugating the singular forms (je, tu, il), the stem is determined by removing the final -dre.
• For conjugating the plural forms (nous, vous, ils), the stem is the same as the singular stem, except that a g is immediately after the final i and before the final n.
• The verb ending pattern for these verbs is as follows:

Subject	Ending
je	-s
tu	-s
il	-t
nous	-ons
vous	-ez
ils	-ent

Completely Irregular Verbs

Aller - To Go

Subject	Conjugation
je	vais
tu	vas
il	va
nous	allons
vous	allez
ils	vont

S'asseoir - To Sit

Subject	Conjugation
je m'	assieds
tu t'	assieds
il s'	assied
nous nous	asseyons
vous vous	asseyez
ils s'	asseyent

Avoir - To Have

Subject	Conjugation
j'	ai
tu	as
il	a
nous	avons
vous	avez
ils	ont

Boire - To Drink

Subject	Conjugation
je	bois
tu	bois
il	boit
nous	buvons
vous	buvez
ils	boivent

Conduire - To Drive

Subject	Conjugation
je	conduis
tu	conduis
il	conduit
nous	conduisons
vous	conduisez
ils	conduisent

Connaître - To Know (A person)

Subject	Conjugation
je	connais
tu	connais
il	connaît
nous	connaissons
vous	connaissez
ils	connaissent

Croire - To Believe

Subject	Conjugation
je	crois
tu	crois
il	croit
nous	croyons
vous	croyez
ils	croient

Devoir - To Have To

Subject	Conjugation
je	dois
tu	dois
il	doit
nous	devons
vous	devez
ils	doivent

Dire - To Say/To Tell

Subject	Conjugation
je	dis
tu	dis
il	dit
nous	disons
vous	dites
ils	disent

Écrire - TO Write

Subject	Conjugation
j'	écris
tu	écris
il	écrit
nous	écrivons
vous	écrivez
ils	écrivent

Être - To Be

Subject	Conjugation
je	suis
tu	es
il	est
nous	sommes
vous	êtes
ils	sont

Faillir - To Almost Do

Subject	Conjugation
je	faillis / faux
tu	faillis / faux
il	faillit / faut
nous	faillissons / faillons
vous	faillissez / faillez
ils	faillissent / faillent

Faire - To Do/To Make

Subject	Conjugation
je	fais
tu	fais
il	fait
nous	faisons
vous	faites
ils	font

Falloir - To Have To/To Need (This verb can only be used in the impersonnal form)

Subject	Conjugation
il	faut

Lire - To Read

Subject	Conjugation
je	lis
tu	lis
il	lit
nous	lisons
vous	lisez
ils	lisent

Mettre - To Put/To Place

Subject	Conjugation
je	mets
tu	mets
il	met
nous	mettons
vous	mettez
ils	mettent

Mourir - To Die

Subject	Conjugation
je	meure
tu	meures
il	meurt
nous	mourons
vous	mourez
ils	meurent

Naître - To Be Born

Subject	Conjugation
je	nais
tu	nais
il	naît
nous	naissons
vous	naissez
ils	naissent

Prendre - To Take

Subject	Conjugation
je	prends
tu	prends
il	prend
nous	prenons
vous	prenez
ils	prennent

Rire - To Laugh

Subject	Conjugation
je	ris
tu	ris
il	rit
nous	rions
vous	riez
ils	rient

Savoir - To Know (a fact)

Subject	Conjugation
je	sais
tu	sais
il	sait
nous	savons
vous	savez
ils	savent

Sortir - To Go Out

Subject	Conjugation
je	sors
tu	sors
il	sort
nous	sortons
vous	sortez
ils	sortent

Venir - To Come

Subject	Conjugation
je	viens
tu	viens
il	vient
nous	venons
vous	venez
ils	viennent

Vivre - To Live

Subject	Conjugation
je	vis
tu	vis
il	vit
nous	vivons
vous	vivez
ils	vivent

Voir - To See

Subject	Conjugation
je	vois
tu	vois
il	voit
nous	voyons
vous	voyez
ils	voient

Vouloir - To Want

Subject	Conjugation
je	veux
tu	veux
il	veut
nous	voulons
vous	voulez
ils	veulent

Tenses and moods

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