1. Grammar
  2. French
  3. Verbe (Verb)
  4. Mode indicatif (Indicative Mood)
  5. Indicatif présent (Present Indicative)
Indicatif présent (Present Indicative)
Use of the Indicatif Présent in French

  1. The indicatif présent describes an action happening at the moment of speaking. In English, the present continuous is used in such expressions.

    Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? – J’écris une lettre à mon ami. – What are you doing? – I am writing a letter to my friend.

  2. The indicatif présent describes a general fact existing beyond any time boundaries or being a universal truth. In such expressions, it corresponds to the present simple in English.

    L’herbe est verte. – The grass is green.

  3. The indicatif présent can be used to denote an action to take place in the near future. In this case, the indicatif présent plays the role of the futur simple. In English, the present simple or the present continuous can be used in such expressions.

    Notre train part dans deux heures. – Our train leaves in two hours.
    Jérôme vient dans dix minutes. – Jérôme is coming in ten minutes.

  4. The indicatif présent can describe an action which has just occurred (often with the verbs arriver, sortir, venir, apporter, etc.). In English, the present perfect is used in such expressions.

    Je t’apporte un gâteau. – I have brought you a cake.

  5. The indicatif présent can be used to describe an action which occurred in the distant past. In this meaning, it is used in written language in books or stories (présent de narration, narrative present), historical chronicles (présent historique, historic present), playing the role of the passé simple.

    Le ciel était claire. Tout d’un coup, le tonnerre éclate. – The sky was clear. Suddenly it begins to thunder.
    En 1789, le peuple de Paris prend la Bastille. – In 1789, the people of Paris take the Bastille.
Formation of the Indicatif Présent

  1. 1st group (verbs ending in -er, except for aller). The verbs of the first group are conjugated following the general rule: the infinitive ending -er is removed, and appropriate endings are added for particular persons.

    je parler +e parle
    tu +es parles
    il/elle/on +e parle
    nous +ons parlons
    vous +ez parlez
    ils/elles +ent parlent
    If the infinitive’s penultimate syllable has the letter e (the sound [ə]), in the singular and the 3rd person plural of the indicatif présent the sound [ə] changes into the open sound [ɛ] (due to the silent e in the ultimate syllable) in one of the following ways:

    1. by adding a grave accent (accent grave) to the letter e in the penultimate syllable (mener, acheter, promener, lever, geler, etc.):

      mener: je mène, tu mènes, il mène, nous menons, vous menez, ils mènent

    2. by doubling the consonant preceding the infinitive ending (appeler, jeter, projeter, feuilleter, etc.):

      appeler: j'appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, nous appelons, vous appelez, ils appellent

    If the infinitive’s penultimate syllable has the letter é (the closed sound [e]), in the singular and the 3rd person plural of the indicatif présent the letter é is changed into the letter è (the open sound [ɛ]), due to the silent e in the ultimate syllable:

    répéter: je répète, tu répètes, il répète, nous répétons, vous répétez, ils répètent

    If the infinitive ending is preceded by the letter g, for preserving the sound [ʒ] instead of [ɡ], the letter e is added before the ending -ons in the 1st person plural:

    manger: je mange, tu manges, il mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils mangent

    If the infinitive ending is preceded by the letter c, for preserving the sound [s] instead of [k], a cedilla (cédille) is added to the letter c before the ending -ons in the 1st person plural:

    commencer: je commence, tu commences, il commence, nous commençons, vous commencez, ils commencent

  2. 2nd group (verbs ending in -ir, with the suffix -iss in the plural in the indicatif présent). The verbs of the second group are conjugated following the general rule: the infinitive ending -ir is removed, and appropriate endings are added for particular persons.

    je finir +is finis
    tu +is finis
    il/elle/on +it finit
    nous +issons finissons
    vous +issez finissez
    ils/elles +issent finissent

  3. 3rd group (verbs ending in -ir (without the suffix -iss in the plural in the indicatif présent), -oir or -re). There are no general rules for the formation of the indicatif présent for the verbs of the third group. So, typical endings in the indicatif présent can by systematised for such verbs:

    • Most verbs of the third group have the endings -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent:

      courir: je cours, tu cours, il court, nous courons, vous courez, ils courent

    • The verbs ending in -dre, -cre or -tre in the infinitive (except for the verbs ending in -indre or -soudre) have the endings -s, -s, -d/c/t, -ons, -ez, -ent:

      prendre: je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent
      convaincre: je convaincs, tu convaincs, il convainc, nous convainquons, vous convainquez, ils convainquent
      mettre: je mets, tu mets, il met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils mettent

    • The verbs pouvoir, vouloir, valoir, the impersonal verb falloir (conjugated only in the 3rd person singular) and their derivatives have the endings -x, -x, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent:

      vouloir: je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent

    • The verbs of the third group with a double l or a group of consonants preceding the infinitive ending have the endings -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent:

      cueillir: je cueille, tu cueilles, il cueille, nous cueillons, vous cueillez, ils cueillent
      ouvrir: j'ouvre, tu ouvres, il ouvre, nous ouvrons, vous ouvrez, ils ouvrent

    • The following verbs have nonstandard endings: avoir (ai in the 1st pers. sing., as in the 2nd pers. sing., ont – in the 3rd pers. pl.), être (the ending -es in the 1st and 2nd pers. pl., -ont – in the 3rd pers. sing.), aller (the ending -a in the 3rd pers. sing., -ont – in the 3rd pers. pl.), faire (the ending -es in the 2nd pers. pl., -ont – in the 3rd pers. pl.), dire (the ending -es in the 2nd pers. pl.), and their derivatives.