Present Tense - French

Core facts

• Conveys facts and actions going on in the present

• Historic Present

• Present can be used as a narrative/descriptive tense to give more immediate impact to the story

• Future

• Aller + infinitive

• French uses a simple present for the English progressive

• Je fait mes devoirs = i am doing my homework

• Immediate past

• Venir de + infinitive

• Je viens de le voir = i have just seen him

• Depuis + present

• Expresses an action that started in the past but is continuing in the present

• J’habite dans cette maison depuis quatre ans = i have been living in this house for four years

• Simple present – can be used to refer to the future

• Demain, c’est promis, j’arrive à l’heure

• Spoken French – present is used instead of imperative

• Tu arrêtes de crier ! = Arrête de crier

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