31.1 The Present Participle
In the last lesson, we saw that French does not use an ‑ing form to create progressive tenses. However, French does have a present participle, a verb form that often corresponds to English words ending in ‑ing:
- parlant—speaking
- finissant—finishing
- vendant—selling
The present participle does not tell us by itself when an action happens. Instead, it is usually used alongside another verb to provide more information about an action or the person performing it.
To form the present participle of most verbs, start with the nous form of the present tense, remove ‑ons, and add ‑ant:
| Infinitive | Present nous form | Present Participle |
|---|---|---|
| parler (to speak) | nous parlons → parl- | parlant |
| finir (to finish) | nous finissons → finiss- | finissant |
| vendre (to sell) | nous vendons → vend- | vendant |
There are only three irregular present participles to learn:
| Infinitive | Present Participle |
|---|---|
| avoir (to have) | ayant |
| être (to be) | étant |
| savoir (to know) | sachant |
The present participle is invariable, meaning its form does not change for gender or number.
31.2 Modifying a Noun or Pronoun
The present participle can introduce an additional action performed by the same person or thing as the main verb. In English, we often do the same thing with an ‑ing phrase.
Vendant leurs vêtements au marché, les filles ont rencontré une styliste célèbre.
Selling their clothes at the market, the girls met a famous stylist.
The girls are doing both actions: selling their clothes and meeting the stylist. Vendant leurs vêtements au marché gives us additional information about what they were doing when the main event occurred.
Voulant quitter son école, il a refusé d'écouter son prof.
Wanting to leave his school, he refused to listen to his teacher.
Here, il is both the person who wanted to leave and the person who refused to listen.
Sachant défaire des nœuds, la sirène aidait les poissons à s'échapper.
Knowing how to undo knots, the mermaid helped the fish escape.
In each of these examples, the understood subject of the participle matches the subject it describes.
31.3 The Gerund: En + Present Participle
French can also place en before the present participle:
en + present participle
This construction is called the gerund, or gérondif.
The gerund connects one action to another. It often tells us that the two actions happen at the same time, similar to English "while…" or "by…" depending on the context.
En rangeant sa chambre, elle a trouvé sa poupée.
While cleaning her room, she found her doll.
En me réveillant ce matin, j'ai découvert un chat qui était entré par la fenêtre.
Upon waking up this morning, I discovered a cat that had come in through the window.
The gerund can also describe how something is accomplished:
Il apprend le français en regardant des films.
He learns French by watching movies.
The same ‑ant form appears in both constructions:
parlant → present participle
en parlant → gerund
The present participle describes an additional action or state involving the subject, while the gerund uses en + present participle to express ideas such as “while doing” or “by doing.”
Practice Time!
Master these verb conjugations from Lesson 31