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The present tense and depuisIrregular verbs in the present tense – formation

The present tense describes what's happening now. Depuis is used with the present tense to say how long something has been happening. Learn how to form sentences using the present tense.

Part of FrenchVerbs and tenses

Irregular verbs in the present tense – formation

Common irregular verbs in the present tense

Many common verbs in French are irregular, especially in the present tense. However they are extremely useful.

The three most irregular are avoir (to have), êٰ (to be) and aller (to go) and are perhaps the most crucial to know, since they are used to form other tenses.

EnglishSubject pronounAvoir – to have
Ij'*ai
you (informal)tuas
he/she/it (we)il/elle/ona
wenousavons
you (formal, plural)vousavez
theyils/ellesont
EnglishI
Subject pronounj'*
Avoir – to haveai
Englishyou (informal)
Subject pronountu
Avoir – to haveas
Englishhe/she/it (we)
Subject pronounil/elle/on
Avoir – to havea
Englishwe
Subject pronounnous
Avoir – to haveavons
Englishyou (formal, plural)
Subject pronounvous
Avoir – to haveavez
Englishthey
Subject pronounils/elles
Avoir – to haveont
EnglishSubject pronounÊtre – to beAller – to go
Ijesuisvais
you (informal)tuesvas
he/she/it (we)il/elle/onestva
wenoussommesallons
you (formal, plural)vousêٱallez
theyils/ellessontvont
EnglishI
Subject pronounje
Être – to besuis
Aller – to govais
Englishyou (informal)
Subject pronountu
Être – to bees
Aller – to govas
Englishhe/she/it (we)
Subject pronounil/elle/on
Être – to beest
Aller – to gova
Englishwe
Subject pronounnous
Être – to besommes
Aller – to goallons
Englishyou (formal, plural)
Subject pronounvous
Être – to beêٱ
Aller – to goallez
Englishthey
Subject pronounils/elles
Être – to besont
Aller – to govont
  • I go, I’m going → je vais
  • we are → nous sommes or on est
  • you have, you’re having → tu as or if plural, vous avez

Other common irregular verbs in the present tense

EnglishSubject pronounboire – to drinkfaire – to do/makepouvoir – to be able tovenir – to come
Ijeboisfaispeuxviens
you (informal)tuboisfaispeuxviens
he/she/it (we)il/elle/onboitfaitpeutvient
wenousbuvonsfaisonspouvonsvenons
you (formal, plural)vousbuvezfaitespouvezvenez
theyils/ellesboiventfontpeuventviennent
EnglishI
Subject pronounje
boire – to drinkbois
faire – to do/makefais
pouvoir – to be able topeux
venir – to comeviens
Englishyou (informal)
Subject pronountu
boire – to drinkbois
faire – to do/makefais
pouvoir – to be able topeux
venir – to comeviens
Englishhe/she/it (we)
Subject pronounil/elle/on
boire – to drinkboit
faire – to do/makefait
pouvoir – to be able topeut
venir – to comevient
Englishwe
Subject pronounnous
boire – to drinkbuvons
faire – to do/makefaisons
pouvoir – to be able topouvons
venir – to comevenons
Englishyou (formal, plural)
Subject pronounvous
boire – to drinkbuvez
faire – to do/makefaites
pouvoir – to be able topouvez
venir – to comevenez
Englishthey
Subject pronounils/elles
boire – to drinkboivent
faire – to do/makefont
pouvoir – to be able topeuvent
venir – to comeviennent

There are many others, which follow similar patterns, eg:

  • we drink → nous buvons
  • he does → il fait
  • they can → ils peuvent
  • we are coming → nous venons or on vient

Verb practice in the present tense

Choose the correct present form of the following verbs:

Question

1. Salut, je m'appelle Émilie. J'___ (as, ai, a) seize ans et j'___ (habite, habites, habitez) à Taunton dans le sud-ouest de l'Angleterre.

Question

2. C'est une ville de taille moyenne. Il y a pas mal de choses à faire pour les jeunes. Le week-end, avec mes copines, nous ___ (aimez, aiment, aimons) bien aller au centre-ville pour faire les magasins.

Question

3. Toutes les semaines, je ___ (va, vais, vas) au centre sportif parce que je ___ (sont, es, suis) dans une équipe de basket. C'est mon sport préféré. Et toi, qu'est-ce que tu ___ (fait, faites, fais) le week-end ?

Translation

Hi, my name's Émilie. I'm 16 years old and I live in Taunton in the south west of England. It's a medium size town. There are quite a few things for young people to do. At the weekend, my friends and I like to go shopping in town. Every week, I go to the sports centre because I'm in a basketball team. That's my favourite sport. What about you? What do you do at the weekend?

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Depuis with the present tense
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Regular verbs in the present tense – formation

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