Learn to conjugate -IR verbs in the present tense of the indicative
Le présent de l'indicatif
When to use
The indicative present tense in French is used to express actions that are happening at time of discussion or of story-telling. Its two English equivalents are as follows:
Present tense
The regular present tense.
Eg. I go to the shop.
Present progressive tense
The tense that is composed as to be plus the '-ing' ending. Read Notable points for more on this.
Eg. I am going to the shop.
Examples of use
Eg. 1)
la voie.
the path.
Eg. 2)
une nouvelle université.
a new university.
Eg. 3)
le travail.
the job.
How to conjugate
Drop the final 'ir' of the infinitive of the verb and add the following endings. The infinitive of the verb is the plain form of the verb that is found in a dictionary.
Je
-is
I
Tu
-is
you (s.)
Il
-it
he, she, it
Nous
-issons
we
Vous
-issez
you (pl., pol.)
Ils
-issent
they
Examples of conjugation
chois
Je
chois
Tu
chois
Il
chois
Nous
chois
Vous
chois
Ils
chois
établ
J'
établ
Tu
établ
Il
établ
Nous
établ
Vous
établ
Ils
établ
fin
Je
fin
Tu
fin
Il
fin
Nous
fin
Vous
fin
Ils
fin
Notable points
Present progressive tenseThe present progressive tense exists in French. It is conjugated as être en train de plus the infinitive of the verb. Its usage differs to English in that you only use this in French to emphasize that something is happening right now. Using it in general story-telling would be strange.