The present tense in French
Unlike
English, which has two forms of the present indicative tense, the
present simple and the present progressive, French just has one, the Present Tense. French needs more than a tense change in order to distinguish between different types of present action.
Thus the hypothetical English sentence: "I drink wine, but I'm not drinking wine" , which is understandable if unlikely, would become in French: "Je bois du vin mais je ne bois pas de vin," which is confusing to say the least.
1. The present tense - le temps présent
This is used for expressing all forms of action taking place in present time. ► It is the only tense for expressing present time. ► In order to distinguish between momentary and progressive aspects of a present action, French uses other devices. See below. ► Being the most common tense in everyday language, the present tense is also the tense where there are most irregularities. Sample verbs:
♦ être: je suis, tu es, il/elle/c' est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont,
♦ avoir: j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont
♦ pouvoir: je peux (or je puis), tu peux il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent
♦ devoir: je dois, tu dois, il doit, nous devons, vous devez ils doivent,
♦ porter (model for regular verbs in -er):
jeporte, tu portes, il porte, nous portons, vous portez, ils portent
♦ finir (model for regular verbs in -ir):
je finis, tu finis, il finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent. ♦ vendre (model for regular verbs in -re):
je vends, tu vends, il vend, nous vendons, vous vendez ils vendent.
And some irregular verbs:
♦ aller: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. ♦ boire: je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent.
♦ savoir: je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils savent. ♦ venir: je viens, tu viens, il vient, nous venons, vous venez, ils viennent.
♦ voir: je vois, tu vois, il voit, nous voyons, vous voyez, ils voient
Examples:
He likes wine but doesn't drink champagne.
- Il aime le vin mais ne boit pas de champagne.
The car is making a strange noise.
La voiture fait un bruit étrange.
When I'm eating snails, I think of France
Quand je mange des escargots, je pense à la France 2. Distinguishing the "progressive" aspect In order to stress that an action is progressive (i.e. ongoing), not instantaneous, French uses expressions rather than a specific verb tense. The most common way of stressing progressive aspect is to use the verb phrase " être en train de" (litterally " to be in the process of"). So to stress the progressive aspect that is conveyed through tense usage in the English expression " He's swimming against the current", a French speaker will say : "Il est en train de nager contre le courant". Another alternative is to add an adverb of duration, such as " actuellement" (meaning " currently"), which will give: "Il nage actuellement contre le courant".
However, there is often no need to
stress the progressive aspect of a statement; most often, the context
will be sufficiently explicit, so the aspect of the verb does not need
to be indicated. Besides, some verbs such as vivre and savoir are by definition progressive. Even in English, we do not need to say "I am knowing".
More examples:
I live in Paris - Je vis à Paris
At present I'm living in Paris - Actuellement je vis à Paris
I'm writing a rather long paper - Je suis en train d'écrire une dissertation assez longue.
Right now I'm drinking cider - Actuellement je suis en train de boire du cidre.
It's breaking up on the rocks - Il est en train de se briser sur les rochers.
We're having dinner - Nous sommes en train de déjeuner / Nous déjeunons en ce moment 3. Other uses of the present tense One instance in which French uses a present tense where English does not is in time clauses using " depuis" (or synonyms) in the sense of " for" or " since". While English uses a present perfect: I've been here for two hours / He's been driving here since breakfast French uses "depuis" and a present tense Je suis ici depuis deux heures / Il conduit depuis le petit déjeuner. More examples:
We've been here for a week - Nous sommes ici depuis une semaine.
I've lived in New York since 1980 - Je vis à New York depuis 1980.
There haven't been any mice since we bought a cat -
Il n'y a plus de souris depuis que nous avons acheté un chat.
I haven't felt well since I ate that sausage -
Je ne me sens pas bien depuis que j'ai mangé cette saucisse.
(Note that it is the verb in the main clause that is in the present tense, not the verb in the subordinate clause.)
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