French Grammar: Participles: Present Participles -LanguageGuide

Participles

Present Participles
Past Participles
- Regular
- Irregular

The Present Participle

The French present participle is formed by replacing the -ons ending of the first person plural present with the ending -ant.

	first person plural present	participle
aimer	aimons	aimant
finir	finissons	finissant
vendre	vendons	vendant

The present can be used

as a verbal form...

C'est une jolie bague valant plus de mille dollars.
It's a pretty ring worth more than a thousand dollars.

Un secrétaire parlant plusieurs langages vaut son poids en or.
A secretary speaking several languages is worth his weight in gold.

Connaissant le problème, il a hésité.
Knowing the problem, he hesitated.

as an an adjective...

Nous allons à une fête dansante samedi prochain.
We're going to a dancing party next Saturday.

Ils ont l'eau courante dans leur maison.
They have running water in their house.

When the present participle follows en, it is a gerund, equivalent to English -ing verbal nouns following while, by, or on.

Il faisait une grimace en mangeant ses escargots.
He was making a face while eating his snails.

En attendant, elle est très malheureuse.
While waiting she is very unhappy.

Elle est arrivée en sifflant légèrement.
She arrived whistling lightly.

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