Le passé composé
| Verb | P.P. | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| suivre | suivi | to follow | J’ai suivi ses conseils. (I followed his advice.) |
| voir | vu | to see | Nous avons vu un beau coucher de soleil. (We saw a beautiful sunset.) |
| venir | venu | to come | Elle est venue à la fête hier soir. (She came to the party last night.) |
| avoir | eu | to have | Ils ont eu beaucoup de chance. (They had a lot of luck.) |
| être | été | to be | J’ai été surpris par les résultats. (I was surprised by the results.) |
| faire | fait | to do/make | Nous avons fait un gâteau pour son anniversaire. (We made a cake for his birthday.) |
| prendre | pris | to take | As-tu pris tes médicaments ? (Have you taken your medication?) |
| mettre | mis | to put | Il a mis son manteau avant de sortir. (He put on his coat before going out.) |
| dire | dit | to say | Qu’est-ce qu’elle a dit ? (What did she say?) |
| lire | lu | to read | J’ai lu ce livre en une journée. (I read this book in one day.) |
| écrire | écrit | to write | Elle a écrit une lettre à sa grand-mère. (She wrote a letter to her grandmother.) |
| boire | bu | to drink | Nous avons bu du vin avec le dîner. (We drank wine with dinner.) |
Le participe présent
The present participle in French is formed by taking the first-person plural (nous) form of the present tense, removing the -ons ending, and adding -ant.
| Group | Verb | Infinitive | Present Participle | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | parler | to speak | parlant | speaking | En parlant français, il a amélioré sa prononciation. (By speaking French, he improved his pronunciation.) |
| 1 | danser | to dance | dansant | dancing | Elle est entrée dans la salle en dansant. (She entered the room dancing.) |
| 1 | chanter | to sing | chantant | singing | Chantant sous la douche, il a réveillé tout le monde. (Singing in the shower, he woke everyone up.) |
| 2 | finir | to finish | finissant | finishing | En finissant son travail, il a poussé un soupir de soulagement. (Finishing his work, he breathed a sigh of relief.) |
| 2 | choisir | to choose | choisissant | choosing | Choisissant avec soin, elle a trouvé le cadeau parfait. (Choosing carefully, she found the perfect gift.) |
| 2 | réfléchir | to reflect | réfléchissant | reflecting | Réfléchissant à sa décision, il est resté silencieux. (Reflecting on his decision, he remained silent.) |
| 3 | prendre | to take | prenant | taking | En prenant le bus, il évite les embouteillages. (By taking the bus, he avoids traffic jams.) |
| 3 | voir | to see | voyant | seeing | Voyant la situation, elle a décidé d’intervenir. (Seeing the situation, she decided to intervene.) |
| 3 | venir | to come | venant | coming | Venant de loin, ils étaient fatigués à leur arrivée. (Coming from far away, they were tired upon arrival.) |
Note that for Group 1 verbs, the present participle is very regular and easy to form. For Group 2 verbs, you’ll notice that the stem used is the same as in other conjugations (e.g., nous finissons). Group 3 verbs, being irregular, may have more unexpected forms, but they still follow the general rule of using the “nous” form as a base.
The present participle in French is used less frequently than in English and often corresponds to the English “-ing” form when it’s used as a gerund or in adverbial phrases.
As adjectives
| Verb | Present Participle | As Adjective | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| fasciner | fascinant | fascinating | C’est un livre fascinant. (It’s a fascinating book.) |
| fatiguer | fatiguant | tiring | Son travail est très fatiguant. (His work is very tiring.) |
| intéresser | intéressant | interesting | Elle a fait une présentation intéressante. (She gave an interesting presentation.) |
| surprendre | surprenant | surprising | Nous avons eu des résultats surprenants. (We had surprising results.) |
| charmer | charmant | charming | Il habite dans une charmante petite maison. (He lives in a charming little house.) |
| rafraîchir | rafraîchissant | refreshing | J’ai bu une boisson rafraîchissante. (I drank a refreshing beverage.) |
| vivre | vivant | living | C’est une langue vivante qui évolue constamment. (It’s a living language that constantly evolves.) |
| courir | courant | current | Les affaires courantes sont gérées par le directeur. (Current affairs are managed by the director.) |
| brûler | brûlant | burning | Attention, le plat est brûlant ! (Careful, the dish is burning hot!) |
Usage of le participe présent
Unlike the past participle, which is primarily used to form compound tenses like le passé composé, the present participle has several distinct uses:
Gerund (Le gérondif):
- Formed by adding “en” before the present participle.
- Expresses simultaneity or means.
- Example: En mangeant, il regarde la télé. (While eating, he watches TV.)
Adverbial Clause:
- Replaces a subordinate clause, often to show cause or time.
- Example: Ayant fini ses devoirs, elle est allée se coucher. (Having finished her homework, she went to bed.)
Adjective:
- Describes a noun, agreeing in number but not gender.
- Example: C’est une histoire passionnante. (It’s an exciting story.)
Noun:
- Some present participles are used as nouns.
- Example: un étudiant (a student), un commerçant (a shopkeeper)
After certain prepositions:
- Used after prepositions like “en” or “tout en”.
- Example: Tout en sachant la vérité, il n’a rien dit. (While knowing the truth, he said nothing.)
In certain fixed expressions:
- Example: séance tenante (immediately), chemin faisant (on the way)
To form the compound tense “passé récent”:
- Used with “aller” in present tense + infinitive.
- Example: Je viens de manger. (I have just eaten.)
While not as commonly used as in English, the present participle is still an important part of French grammar, offering concise ways to express simultaneous actions, causes, or descriptions. It’s less frequently used than in English, where “-ing” forms are very common.
Vocabulaire
| mots | explications |
|---|---|
| malgré | in spite of |
| diffusion | broadcast la diffusion vidéo streaming la baladodiffusion podcasting |
| un metteur en scène | a film director, a stage director |
| la mise en scène | direction |
| apprécier | to appreciate / P.P. apprécié |
| policier | ADJ. un roman policier a detective novel |
| le policier / la policière | police officer |
| le dessin | drawing un dessin animé (film) a cartoon |
| les salles obscures | (the dark rooms, always plural) cinemas |
| sombre | dark |
| doublé | dubbed un film doublé a dubbed film |
| un rendez-vous | appointment, figuratively referring to an event attracting large numbers of people (plural) des rendez-vous |
| cinéphile | film buff |
| -phile | lover un bibliophile a book-lover |
| -phobe | fear un aquaphobe someone who is scared of water |
| suivre | to follow |
| attribuer | to award attribuer qch à qn to award sth to sb |
| décontracté | relaxed |
| étonné | surprised |
| tourner | to turn, to shoot (cinema) tourner un film to make a film |
| la récompense | reward |
| récompenser | to reward |