Le gérondif Le participe présent

The French present participle can never be used to talk about what someone is doing. The construction "je suis mangeant" (the literal translation of "I am eating") simply does not exist in French - you must use the present tense: Je mange. Je mange. = I eat. I do eat. I am eating. To emphasize the ongoing nature of an activity, you can use the French expression être en train de: je suis en train de manger - "I'm eating (right now).

The French present participle cannot be used after another verb. "J'aime lisant" does not exist. To say "I like reading," you must use the infinitive: J'aime lire.

The present participle as a noun indicating an activity: "Seeing is believing," is another case in which the French translation requires the infinitive: Voir, c'est croire. Sometimes you can just use a noun; to translate "Reading is fun," you have two options: Lire est un plaisir, La lecture est un plaisir.

The three exceptions are avoir, être, and savoir*. Formation The French present participle is formed by dropping -ons from the nous form of the present tense and adding -ant. The three exceptions are avoir, être, and savoir*. *irregular: savoir -- sachant (verb) -- savant (adjective or noun) |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Remember that for pronominal verbs, you must keep the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the present participle: me coiffant (doing my hair), en nous levant (upon [us] getting up), etc. French present participles verb parler finir rendre voir avoir être savoir nous form parlons finissons rendons voyons avons sommes savons present  participle parlant finissant rendant voyant ayant étant sachant*

As a verb or gerund, the present participle is invariable. NO Agreement!!! Describes “what” is being done not describing the subject!!

the action of the main verb. When used as a verb, the French present participle expresses an action that is simultaneous with, but not necessarily related to, the action of the main verb. There are two possible uses for this in French: Modify a noun:    Sachant le danger, je n'y suis pas allé.    Knowing the danger, I didn't go. 2. Express an action that is related to the main verb. This present participle, called le gérondif, or "gerund," nearly always follows the preposition en or tout en. It can serve three purposes:   V E R B

V E R B a) Describe an action that is related to and simultaneous with the action of the main verb, usually translated as "while" , “`by" or "upon":     Elle lisait en mangeant.     She read while eating.   b) Explain how or why something happens, usually translated by "by": C'est en pratiquant que vous le faites bien.     It's by practicing that you do it well.  c) Replace a relative clause:     les étudiants venant de l'Afrique (qui viennent de l'Afrique)     students who come from Africa

V E R B Quel est la différence?     J'ai vu Lucie sortant de l'école.     I saw Lucy leaving the school (I saw her as she was leaving)     > The noun Lucy is modified NO agreement!!!     J'ai vu Lucie en sortant de l'école.     I saw Lucy upon leaving the school (I saw her when I was leaving)      > The verb saw is modified -- 2 actions happening simultaneously What was she doing versus who she is… V E R B

The French present participle is sometimes used as an adjective. Like other adjectives, the present participle used in this way usually follows the nouns it modifies and agrees with the noun in gender and number, following the normal rules of adjective agreement:    un film amusant    an amusing movie (ms)    de l'eau courante    running water (fs)    les numéros gagnants    the winning numbers (mp)    des maisons intéressantes    interesting houses (fp)

Adjectif, Nom, Verbe, ou Gérondif? 1. La fille, doucement, se promenait dans le parc. (chanter) 2. C'est que l'on réussit aux examens. (étudier) 3. Je ne connais aucun . (savoir) 4.  malade, elle n'est pas venue. (se sentir) 5. Les films sont assez rares. (fasciner) 6. Il ne faut pas manger . (courir) 7. Il n'y a pas de fleurs . (intéresser) 8. Les étudiants leurs livres peuvent commencer. (avoir) 9.  , je suis tombé. (s'asseoir) 10. Le est très sympa. (commercer)

Adjectif, Nom, Verbe, ou Gérondif? 1. La fille, chantant doucement, se promenait dans le parc. Verbe 2. C'est en étudiant que l'on réussit aux examens. Gérondif     3. Je ne connais aucun savant. Nom 4. Se sentant malade, elle n'est pas venue. Verbe 5. Les films fascinants sont assez rares. Adjectif 6. Il ne faut pas manger en courant. Gérondif 7. Il n'y a pas de fleurs intéressantes. Adjectif 8. Les étudiants ayant leurs livres peuvent commencer. Verbe 9. En m'asseyant, je suis tombé. Gérondif 10. Le commerçant est très sympa. Nom