French Present Tense
Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2023-03-24
Le Présent is the present tense of the indicative mood. It's used to express current actions and states of being.
French's single present tense is equivalent to both English present tenses: Simple Present and Present Progressive.
For example
Je regarde la télé.I'm watching telly.
Les enfants jouent dans le jardin.The children play in the garden.
To stress the continuous nature of an action in French, you can use the expression être en train de + infinitive.
For example
Tu étais en train de parler et Paul t'a interrompu.You were speaking and Paul interrupted you.
See also: French Présent and All French tenses
