Indicatif: Présent Flashcards
What English verb tense does the French indicatif présent correspond to?
Simple present
Use the indicatif présent to describe a current action or state of being:
- Je travaille.
- Il est en retard.
Use 1 of 5 (not counting the historical account usage)
I’m working.
He is late.
Use the indicatif présent to describe a habitual action or state of being:
- Oui, je m’entraîne le lundi.
- Elle est toujours en avance.
Use 2 of 5 (not counting the historical account usage)
Yes, I do practice on Mondays.
She’s always early.
Use the indicatif présent to describe actions which are about to occur:
* Je pars demain.
* Il arrive sur-le-champ.
Use 3 of 5 (not counting the historical account usage)
I’m leaving tomorrow.
He’ll be right here.
Use the indicatif présent to describe absolute or general truths:
* Le soleil se lève à l’est.
* Les roses sentent bon.
Use 4 of 5 (not counting the historical account usage)
The sun rises in the east.
The roses smell beautiful.
Use the indicatif présent to describe conditions in likely situations (“si” clauses):
* Si tu veux, on peut aller se promener ensemble
* S’il pleut, nous resterons à l’intérieur.
Use 5 of 5 (not counting the historical account usage)
If you want, we can go for a walk together.
If it rains, we’ll stay indoors.
What are the three possible English equivalents of this French simple present verb?
Je parle
- I speak
- I am speaking
- I do speak
Apart from the using le présent (most common method), in what two ways can the English present progressive “I am speaking” be expressed?
- Je parle maintenant [I am speaking right now]
- Je suis en train de parler [I’m in the middle of speaking]
French does not have a present emphatic as in English (“Yes, I do speak French”).
Apart from using le présent alone (which is acceptable), what two adverbs can be combined with this tense for added emphasis?
- En effet
- Effectivement
[Oui, en effet, je parle français]
For actions that began in the past and continue into the present, English uses “since” with the present perfect. How is this expressed in French?
- I’ve lived here for a year
depuis + simple present
- J’habite ici depuis un an
Je compte partir début mai.
compter: to count; to include; to charge for; to have; to allow; to reckon; to matter; to rely on/count on; to intend
I intend to leave at the beginning of May.
Tu appelles ma mère ?
appeler: to call; to send for; to demand; to call out
You’re (in.) calling my mother?
appeler: to call; to send for; to demand; to call out
Il occupe cette maison depuis trente ans.
occuper: to occupy; to live in; to take up (space); to hold (a job); to employ; to keep occupied (/distract)
He has lived in this house for thirty years. (occuper)
occuper: to occupy; to live in; to take up (space); to hold (a job); to employ; to keep occupied (/distract)
Nous décidons quelle boisson commander.
décider: to decide; to persuade
We are deciding what drink to order. (décider)
Tâchez d’être sage pendant mon absence.
tâcher: to try to do something.
Try to behave while I’m gone. (tâcher)
tâcher: to try to do something.
(se tacher: to stain one’s clothes; to become marked (fruits))
note: “tâcher” is more commonly used as a direct instruction or request rather than a measurement of effort (e.g. “you didn’t try enough” would sound unnatural”)
note: “tâcher” is often used in a slightly authoritative context, like a teacher speaking to students or a parent to children. It has a tone similar to “make sure to…” or “see to it that…”. It is a bit formal.
note: in Quebec French, it is more common to hear “Essayez de…”, ““Faites votre possible pour…”, “Arrangez-vous pour…”
Ils déplacent actuellement les boites hors de l’entrepôt.
déplacer: to move; to put off; to displace; to shift
(se déplacer: to travel around; to get around)
They’re moving all the boxes out of the warehouse right now.
J’adoucis un peu la recette.
adoucir: to make milder (temperature); to sweeten (with sugar); to soften; to mellow (personality); to allay (grief, pain)
I’m sweetening the recipe a bit.
Quel formulaire remplis-tu maintenant ?
Which form are you (in.) filling out now?
remplir = “to fill”; “to fill up”; “to fill out” (a form); to fulfill
Ma mère vieillit et elle bouge plus lentement maintenant.
My mother is getting older and she moves more slowly now.
(vieillir, bouger)
vieillir: to age; to grow old
Nous finissons notre sous-sol.
We are finally finishing our basement. (finir)
finir: to finish; to end
Vous agissez comme des singes.
You (pl.) are acting like monkeys.
agir: to act
Ils choisissent un hôtel pour la nuit.
They’re choosing a hotel for the night.
choisir: to choose
Je me dédis de ce que j’ai dit; je n’irai pas s’il s’en va.
- “se dédire” takes the preposition “de” when followed by what one is retracting
- “ce que” means “that which” (or more casually, “what”: “que” alone is not sufficient here)
I take back what I said; I won’t go if he’s going. (se dédire)
se dédire: to go back on one’s word; to retract a statement
note: in Quebec French, it might be more common to express this sentence as “Je retire ce que j’ai dit” or “Je reviens sur ce que j’ai dit”
Ton problème est que tu crains le changement.
Your problem is that you fear change.
craindre: to fear; to be afraid of
On le confond souvent avec son frère.
People (s.) often mistake him for his brother. (confondre)
confondre: “to confuse” in the sense of “to mix up” or “mistake for”
Nous vendons des savons faits maison.
We are selling handmade soaps. (vendre)
vendre: to sell
Entendez-vous les cloches?
Do you hear the bells?
entendre: to hear; to mean; to understand; to expect somebody to do something; to intend to do something
Ces étudiants en philosophie défendent bien leurs idées.
These philosophy students defend their ideas well. (défendre)
défendre = “to defend”; “to forbid”
