Le présent Present tense The present tense describes what is happening now.
Infinitive The form of the verb we find in the dictionary is called the infinitive. This is expressed in English by to… e.g. to play.
Jouer Play [ple ɪ ] transitive verb 1. [games, cards] jouer à eg: to play tennis jouer au tennis.
This expresses an action which is happening at the present time. Je joue = I am playing / I play.
To form the present tense We need: Subject pronoun + the stem + the appropriate ending
Pronouns je = I tu = you il = he/it elle = she/it on = one nous = we vous = you ils = they elles = they
Pronouns SINGULAR je = I tu = you (sing.) il = he/it elle = she/it on = one PLURAL nous = we vous = you (pl./sing polite) ils = they (m,m+f) elles = they (f)
The stem Stem = infinitive minus last two letters. In –er verbs the stem is formed by removing the –er. jou + er = jouer
The endings Présent je joue tu joues il, elle joue On joue nous jouons vous jouez ils, elles jouent
Another example : aimer Find: 1)the pronouns 2)The stem 3)The endings
1)The stem of aimer is aim aimer = aim + er 2) The pronouns are : Je / tu / il / elle/ on / nous / vous / ils / elles 3) The endings are: e – es – e – e – e – ons – ez – ent – ent Another example : aimer
jaim____ tu aim___ il aim___ elle aim___ on aim___ nous aim___ vous aim___ ils aim___ elles aim___
Another example : aimer jaime tu aimes il aime elle aime on aime nous aimons vous aimez ils aiment elles aiment
Le présent- present tense je joue tu joues il joue elle joue on joue nous jouons vous jouez ils, elles jouent I play, I am playing you play, you are playing he plays, he is playing she plays, she is playing one plays, one is playing you play, you are playing we play, we are playing they play, they are playing