Present tense including irregulars: Grammar in context
The present tense (le present) describes actions happening now, habitual actions, and general truths in French. Regular verbs fall into three families by their infinitive ending, -er, -ir and -re, each with its own set of endings, while a small number of very high-frequency verbs (être, avoir, aller, faire, and others such as pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, prendre, venir) are irregular and must be learned as complete conjugations.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Identify the verb's infinitive and its family: -er (e.g. parler), -ir (e.g. finir), or -re (e.g. vendre); most French verbs are regular -er verbs.
- For regular -er verbs, remove -er and add -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent.
- For regular -ir verbs, remove -ir and add -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent: je finis, tu finis, il finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent.
- For regular -re verbs, remove -re and add -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent: je vends, tu vends, il vend, nous vendons, vous vendez, ils vendent.
- Learn the core irregulars by heart: être (je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont), avoir (j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont), aller (je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont), faire (je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font).
- Watch for spelling-change -er verbs: manger keeps an extra e in the nous form to soften the g (nous mangeons), acheter takes a grave accent in most persons (j'achète), and appeler doubles the consonant (j'appelle).
- Use the present tense for habits and routines with time expressions such as d'habitude, tous les jours and le week-end, and use depuis plus the present tense to mean 'have been doing', as in j'apprends le français depuis deux ans.
Worked example
Put the verb in brackets into the correct present-tense form: Le samedi, je (faire) mes devoirs, puis mes amis et moi (aller) au cinéma. Ensuite, mon frère (finir) son entraînement de foot et il (être) fatigué.
- 'faire' with je is irregular, so learn it as a whole form: je fais.
- 'aller' with the subject 'mes amis et moi' (= nous) needs the irregular nous form: nous allons.
- 'finir' is a regular -ir verb; for il, remove -ir from finir and add -it: il finit.
- 'être' with il is irregular: il est.
- Full sentence: Le samedi, je fais mes devoirs, puis mes amis et moi allons au cinéma. Ensuite, mon frère finit son entraînement de foot et il est fatigué.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Conjugate 'avoir' in the tu form.Show answer
Answer: tu as
Q2Give the nous form of 'faire'.Show answer
Answer: nous faisons
Q3Complete: Mes parents ______ (travailler) à Londres.Show answer
Answer: travaillent (Mes parents travaillent à Londres).
Q4Translate into French: 'We are going to the beach.'Show answer
Answer: Nous allons à la plage.
Q5Spot the error and correct it: 'Il fais ses devoirs tous les soirs.'Show answer
Answer: It should be 'il fait', not 'il fais': Il fait ses devoirs tous les soirs.
Q6Give the ils form of 'vendre'.Show answer
Answer: ils vendent
Q7Translate: 'I have been learning French for two years.'Show answer
Answer: J'apprends le français depuis deux ans.
Q8Which verb family does 'choisir' belong to, and what is its je form?Show answer
Answer: It is a regular -ir verb; its je form is je choisis.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: Le week-end, je me lève tard et je regarde la télévision avec ma soeur. Mes parents préfèrent faire du jardinage, mais moi, je n'aime pas ça. Le dimanche soir, nous mangeons tous ensemble en famille.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 8 available
Translate this passage into French: My brother is fourteen years old. He gets up at seven o'clock and he goes to school by bus. On Wednesdays, he plays football with his friends, but he does not like doing his homework.
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 7 available
See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the present tense including irregulars: grammar in context worksheet pack - 5 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on present tense including irregulars: grammar in context, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.