Learn to conjugate -RE 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)
mes amis.
my friends.
Eg. 2)
à un courriel.
to an e-mail.
Eg. 3)
des bananes et fraises.
bananas and strawberries.
How to conjugate
Drop the final 're' 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
-s
I
Tu
-s
you (s.)
Il
-
he, she, it
Nous
-ons
we
Vous
-ez
you (pl., pol.)
Ils
-ent
they
Examples of conjugation
attend
J'
attend
Tu
attend
Il
attend
Nous
attend
Vous
attend
Ils
attend
répond
Je
répond
Tu
répond
Il
répond
Nous
répond
Vous
répond
Ils
répond
vend
Je
vend
Tu
vend
Il
vend
Nous
vend
Vous
vend
Ils
vend
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.