Understanding French Simple Present
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ScribdTranslationsUnderstanding French Simple Present
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ScribdTranslationsThe Simple Present in French
The present is the most important verb tense, you
we explain how it is formed:
1Use of the simple present
2Conjugation of the simple present
o2.1First conjugation. Verbs ending in '-er'
o2.2Second conjugation. Verbs ending in '-ir'
3Verbs of the third conjugation
o3.1Auxiliary verb 'to be' (to be or to exist)
o3.2Auxiliary verb 'to have' (to have or to hold)
Use of the simple present
The present in French is used the same way as in Spanish in the
following situations:
Events that are happening in the present
I live across from the train station.
I live in front of the station
Physical laws or realities that are always valid
Events in the future that are sure to happen
Conjugation of the simple present
In French, there are 3 conjugations:
Conjugate Verbs Example
finishes
ion o
in
First-er to sing
(to sing
)
Second-ir to finish
(term
ar)
Third irregular tear
es) (break
many r)
-re
Each conjugation builds the simple present in a slightly
different. We are going to see it:
First conjugation. Verbs ending in "-er"
All verbs ending in "-er" except for "to go(ir) belong to
this conjugation. It is the most frequent conjugation 85% of the
verbs belong to this conjugation. And they are always regular.
As an example, we see the verb 'chanter' (to sing):
Conjugation Meaning
I sing I sing
you sing you sing
he sings he sings
we sing
s we sing
you sing you
you (plural) sing
they sing they sing
Second conjugation. Verbs ending in '-ir'
Many verbs ending in "-ir" belong to the second
conjugation. The classic example is the verb 'finir' (to finish):
Conjugation Meaning
I finish I finish
you finish you finish
he finishes he finishes
we finish we
s we finished
you finish you all
you finish
they finish they finish
Verbs of the third conjugation
The third conjugation contains all the irregular verbs. There are
about 200, we put the 2 most important irregular verbs:
Auxiliary verb 'to be' (to be or to be)
The verb "to beIt is totally irregular and does not follow any rules.
to conjugate the present:
Conjugation Meaning
I am I am
Tuesday you are
he is he is
we are
you are you are
they are they are
Auxiliary verb "avoir" (to have or to possess)
The verb "to haveas the verb 'to be' is very irregular in the present:
Conjugation Meaning
I have I have
you have you have
he has he has
we have we have
