Learn more in the Cambridge English-French Dictionary. The present participle functions as an adjective describing the water. The French perfect participle or past gerund is used to describe either a condition existing in the past or an action that took place right before another action. Present participles indeed participate in conveying contributing actions and characteristics of the main ideas expressed in a sentence or clause. Forming the present participle is easy for most verbs, regular and irregular. Present participles are not as common in French as in English, because they are not used to form tenses. 2) as a gerund (like verbal nouns in English ending with -ing) following words "while" "by" "on." : Il est formé de l'auxiliaire emañ et du participe présent. Notify me of new comments via email. It's a pretty ring worth more than a thousand dollars. present participle adjective . It DOES NOT agree with the subject of the verb when it is used in this way. Well, this French tense construction is actually easy to explain, since it’s fairly regular. When used without en, the present participle may act as an adjective and is also used to express the ‐ ing form of the verb in English. It is equivalent to "having + past participle" in English, but as this construction can be somewhat awkward, it's often reworded. present participle translate: participe présent. *Some verbs have different forms for the present participle used as a verb and as a noun or adjective. In French, however, the present participle can never be used to express those simple “I am/was/will be doing ____” sentences. It can be used in a variety of functions including as adjectives, in verbal phrases, and in place of a relative clause. Free. It's French, from the present participle "foudroyer." EN. The present indicative is used instead. The Present Participle in French is used in several different ways: 1) as an adjective - Ils ont l'eau courante dans leur maison. We use the participe présent:. To say I am going., you would say Je vais. Look up the French to English translation of présent participle in the PONS online dictionary. The French present participle may be an adjective, gerund, noun, or verb. Elle allait au marché en sifflant. It is formed by dropping the -ons in the from the present tense form and adding -ant. sur ce bouton, on peut imprimer ses documents. To create a French gerund, you need the present participle. Over 100,000 French translations of English words and phrases. This page has lots of examples of present participles and an interactive exercise. The infinitive, the imperative, the present participle, the present subjunctive, the perfect infinitive and the passive voice are French verb forms. The main uses of the present participle in French are: as a verb, on its own, corresponding to the English -ing form. Translate texts with the world's best machine translation technology, developed by the creators of Linguee. A present participle is a word that (1) is formed from a verb, (2) ends '-ing,' and (3) can be used as an adjective or used to form verb tense. Express an action that is related to the main verb. Do not keep the subject pronoun nous. Le participe présent est une forme verbale qui se termine en -ant et peut fonctionner comme un adverbe ou comme un adjectif. Sometimes you can just use a noun; to translate "Reading is fun," you have two options: As a verb or gerund, the present participle is invariable, except in the case of, I saw Luc upon leaving the school (I saw him when I was leaving). The French past participle always needs to agree when it is used in the passive voice or as an adjective. Open menu . It is equivalent to "having + past participle" in English, but as this construction can be somewhat awkward, it's often reworded. Forming the present participle is easy for most verbs, regular and irregular. The French present participle of the verb is created by dropping the nous ending (-ons) of the present tense verb and adding –ant*. For example: nous chantons becomes: chantant. The T is silent. The present participle is a verb form that ends in -ant. It can be used in a variety of functions including as adjectives, in verbal phrases, and in place of a relative clause. It DOES NOT agree with the … Study: The Present Participle is the general equivalent of using [-ING] in English. When you SHOULDN'T use the French Present Participle To emphasize an ongoing action: The English present participle is far more common than its French counterpart because it is used to form continuous tense. participe présent French; Discuss this present participle English translation with the community: 0 Comments. 2. Le Participe Présent = the present participle The French present participle is difficult to explain to an English speaker. adjectif participial présent. The French –ant (present participle) ending is somewhat common, but its use is more restricted than that of the English -ing. Present Participle The French present participle is formed by replacing the - ons ending of the first person plural present with the ending - ant. In English, we use the present participle to explain what we are, were or will be doing all the time. le participe présent In addition to the past participle used in the passé composé, French also has present participle. For example: nous chantons becomes: chantant. This is just a brief overview of the present participle in French. Participle clauses are subordinate clauses where the main verb is in a participle form. près de Paris, je vais assez souvent en ville. Preview. The main uses of the present participle in French are: as a verb, on its own, corresponding to the English -ing form. Le participe présent est une forme verbale qui se termine en -ant et peut fonctionner comme un adverbe ou comme un adjectif. Here's how you say it. It is identical in form to the verbal noun and gerund (see below). : Il est formé de l'auxiliaire emañ et du participe présent. Write the infinitive or a conjugated form and the French Conjugator will provide you a list of all the verb tenses and persons: future, participle, present, subjunctive, auxiliary verb. This distinction is immediately apparent in the following examples: The French present participle is sometimes used as an adjective. stemming. *Savoir and a number of other verbs have two different spellings for the present participle, depending on how they are used - some examples: ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Related lessons. while / as listening). The pattern for this usage is verb + object + present participle. They can also be used as adjectives, in which case they agree with the noun they describe. Do not keep the subject pronoun nous. Present participles are often given minimal treatment in French classes until students get to more advanced levels. The formation of the French present participle is very simple. The term present participle is sometimes used to include the gerund; and the term "gerund–participle" is also used. Includes free vocabulary trainer, verb tables and pronunciation function. Using the past participle; Present participle; Introduction to verbs; Acute accent é Share / Tweet / Pin Me! present participle translate: participe présent. (She was whistling on her way to the market.) Take the nous form of the present tense, drop the -ons ending, and replace it with -ant. Before getting into specific uses of the present participle, there are four things that French students need to know in order to avoid common mistakes: 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. Participle clauses are subordinate clauses where the main verb is in a participle form. In French, this type of structure simply does not exist. I hope this helps. By getting dressed quickly, I saved 5 minutes. The French perfect participle or past gerund is used to describe either a condition existing in the past or an action that took place right before another action. The French present participle is formed by replacing the -ons ending of the first person plural present with the ending -ant. (grammar) A verb form that indicates an ongoing action or state in the present and which can function as an adjective. : Le participe présent en français est formé en attachant -ant au verbe (un homme marchant). 4.5 2 customer reviews. If you want to say "I'm doing", just use the present tense "je fais". The present participle in French can be used to modify a noun or pronoun, as in the following examples: Prenant son chapeau, il est parti. French Translation of “present participle” | The official Collins English-French Dictionary online. These participles have their own subject that is different to the main clause, meaning that we separate participle clauses from the main clause with a comma. Translation for 'present participle' in the free English-French dictionary and many other French translations. French Grammar: The Present Participle la grammaire française: le participe présent. However, we don’t use the present participle in French nearly as much as you use it in English. When used without en, the present participle may act as an adjective and is also used to express the -ing form of the verb in English. (Taking his hat, he left) - the present participle prenant modifies the pronoun il. Here's how you say it. The main uses of the present participle in French are: as a verb, on its own, corresponding to the English, as an adjective, like in English. Translate a French verb in context, with examples of use and see its definition. To form the present participle in French, you take the “nous” form of the présent tense, remove the “ons” ending and add “ant” to it. Publish × Close Report Comment. Present participles are not as common in French as in English, because they are not used to form tenses. This page provides all possible translations of the word present participle in the French language. In French the participle can be present, past or composé.. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Present Participle As an Adjective or Noun, How to Use the French Expression 'Être en Train de', Introduction to the French Past Infinitive, French Perfect Participle ~ Passé Composé du Participe Présent, Passé composé: French Compound Past Tense, How to Conjugate "Se Taire" (to Be Quiet) in French, French Indefinite Pronouns: Pronoms indéfinis. Well, this French tense construction is actually easy to explain, since it’s fairly regular. It's French, from the present participle" foudroyer. Most often, it is used as an adjective, and must agree in gender and number with the subject being modified, but can also be used as a verb or gerund. Take the nous form of the present tense, eg: nous faisons. The present participle in French can be used to modify a noun or pronoun, as in the following examples: Prenant son chapeau, il est parti. as a verbal form... C'est une jolie bague valant plus de mille dollars. A verb form that indicates an ongoing action or state in the present and which can function as an adjective. present participle adjective in French translation and definition "present participle adjective", English-French Dictionary online. The present participle is a verb form that ends in -ant. (Taking his hat, he left) - the present participle prenant modifies the pronoun il. C'est une jolie bague valant plus de mille dollars. b) Explain how or why something happens, usually translated by "by": The difference between A and B is that the present participle modifies a noun, whereas the gerund expresses something related to a verb. And of course, there are some irregular ones (only three… not too bad!) Ayant faim, il a mangé tout le fromage. A brief description of the present participle in French - its formation and its use. 1 Using the present participle. Present Participles In French, the present participle of a verb (the ‐ing form) may be used with the preposition en (while, on, upon, by, in, when) to form a gerund (a noun that, in English, ends in ‐ing). It's French, from the present participle" foudroyer. This is not a complete lesson - it is just an overview. first person plural present: participle : aimer: aimons: aimant: finir: finissons: finissant: vendre: vendons: vendant: The present can be used . When used without en, the present participle may act as an adjective, noun or verb. It's a pretty ring worth more than a thousand dollars. The French present participle is difficult to explain to an English speaker. le participe présent In addition to the past participle used in the passé composé, French also has present participle. The French present participle may be an adjective, gerund, noun, or verb. This is what we call a gerund or un gérondif. Ayant faim, il a mangé tout le fromage. The French present participle is formed by taking the present indicative nous form of a verb and switching the -ons ending to -ant.