Present tense verbs

The present tense in French is used to express both ‘I (do)’ and ‘I am (doing)’ in English. It can also be used with time adverbs to express the future.

Irregular verbs do not follow a set pattern. Some irregular verbs are key verbs in French, such as 'avoir', 'être', 'aller' and 'faire'.

Reflexive verbs describe an action that you do to yourself or that reflects back to you. The infinitives of reflexive verbs in French are always preceded by 'se' or 's’'.

Depuis' is used to say ‘since’ and ‘for’ in present tense sentences. 'Depuis' is usually accompanied by a reference to time.

The present participle translates as '-ing' in English, and can be used as a verb or an adjective. It is usually used with the preposition 'en'.