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Lesson 4 of 5Structures précises: Relatives, Adverbs and Participles
Unit 4 · Lesson 4 of 5

Participe Présent and Gérondif

The French -ant form: how to build it from the nous form (plus ayant, étant, sachant), the gérondif en + -ant for doing two things at once, for saying how something is done and for conditions, tout en for contrast, the participe présent as a written replacement for qui + verb, the verbal adjective that agrees (des enfants obéissants), and how to hear finissent versus finissant.

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Key things to remember

  1. 1Participe présent = nous stem + -ant: finissons → finissant. Irregulars: ayant, étant, sachant.
  2. 2Gérondif = en + participe présent, invariable, sharing the subject of the main verb: while (simultaneity), by (means), if (condition).
  3. 3Tout en + participe adds contrast or stresses simultaneity: Tout en étant d'accord, je…
  4. 4Participe présent alone (often in writing) replaces qui + verb or gives a reason, and does not agree: les personnes souhaitant participer.
  5. 5Adjectif verbal describes a quality and agrees: des enfants obéissants, des routes glissantes.
  6. 6Most English -ing forms are not the participe présent: I like reading = j'aime lire; after eating = après avoir mangé; I'm eating = je mange.

English puts -ing on almost everything: I'm reading, I love reading, after reading, by reading, while reading. French has an -ing look-alike, the participe présent ending in -ant (lisant), but it does far fewer jobs. Its most useful job is the gérondif, en + -ant, which mainly answers three questions about an action: when? (while), how? (by) and under what condition? (if). Je lis en mangeant (I read while eating). On apprend une langue en la parlant (You learn a language by speaking it). En partant maintenant, tu arriveras à temps (If you leave now, you'll arrive on time). It is compact, it sounds polished, and it lets you merge two short sentences into one, which is exactly what ads, instructions and essays do: En choisissant un sujet personnel, vous captiverez votre public (By choosing a personal topic, you will captivate your audience). This lesson shows how to build the form, what it can and cannot translate, and how to tell it apart from the verbal adjective, which looks the same but agrees like an adjective.

Building the participe présent

Infinitivenous form (présent)StemParticipe présentEnglish
parlernous parlonsparl-parlantspeaking
finirnous finissonsfiniss-finissantfinishing
vendrenous vendonsvend-vendantselling
fairenous faisonsfais-faisantdoing, making
prendrenous prenonspren-prenanttaking
voirnous voyonsvoy-voyantseeing
mangernous mangeonsmange-mangeanteating
commencernous commençonscommenç-commençantbeginning
avoirnous avons(irregular)ayanthaving
êtrenous sommes(irregular)étantbeing
savoirnous savons(irregular)sachantknowing
Take the nous form of the present, drop ons, add ant. Spelling changes in the nous form carry over (mangeant, commençant). Only avoir, être and savoir are irregular.
The gérondif: en + participe présentenfixed word+finiss-nous finiss(ons)+-antinvariable ending=en finissantirregular: ayant, étant, sachantSame subject as the main verb. Its most common jobs:When? whileIl chante en conduisant.He sings while driving.How? byC'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron.Practice makes perfect (literally: by forging…).If? ifEn partant tôt, tu éviteras le trafic.If you leave early, you'll avoid the traffic.Contrast tout en = while, althoughTout en comprenant, je refuse.While I understand, I refuse.Without en: does the -ant word agree?Participe présent = a verbhas a complement; = qui + verbdes enfants obéissant à leurs parentschildren obeying their parentsno agreementAdjectif verbal = an adjectivedescribes a quality; can take trèsdes enfants obéissantsobedient childrenagrees: -ante, -ants, -antes
Fig 1The gérondif is built from en plus the nous stem plus ant; it answers when, how or under what condition, tout en adds contrast, and the bare participe présent is invariable while the verbal adjective agrees.

The gérondif: en + participe présent

JobEnglishExampleTranslation
Simultaneity (when?)while, as, whenElle écoute des balados en faisant son jogging.She listens to podcasts while jogging. (Balado is the usual Canadian word for podcast.)
Means or manner (how?)byC'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron.Practice makes perfect. (Literally: it's by forging that one becomes a blacksmith.)
Condition (if?)ifEn prenant l'autobus de 7 h, tu seras à l'heure.If you take the 7 o'clock bus, you'll be on time.
Cause (why?)because, sinceIl s'est blessé en tombant de son vélo.He hurt himself falling off his bike.
The gérondif never changes form: no agreement, no endings. It also has no subject of its own; in standard French it shares the subject of the main verb.
The gérondif borrows the main subject
En sortant du métro, j'ai vu Karim means As I was coming out of the subway, I saw Karim, because the gérondif takes the subject of the main verb (je). If it was Karim who was coming out, you need a full clause: J'ai vu Karim qui sortait du métro or J'ai vu Karim au moment où il sortait du métro. Some fixed expressions bend this rule (L'appétit vient en mangeant, appetite grows with eating), but in your own writing keep the two subjects the same.
Tout en: contrast or two things at once
Putting tout in front of the gérondif strengthens it. It can stress that two actions really happen together: Il fait ses devoirs tout en regardant le match (He does his homework while watching the game). Very often it signals a contrast, like while or although: Tout en comprenant ton point de vue, je ne suis pas d'accord (While I understand your point of view, I don't agree). This is a polished way to concede a point before arguing against it.
Pronouns and negation inside the gérondif
Object pronouns go between en and the participle: en le lisant (by reading it), en y pensant (when thinking about it). Reflexive verbs keep a pronoun that matches the subject: en me levant (when I get up), en nous levant, en se levant. Negation wraps the participle: en ne disant rien (by saying nothing), en n'ayant pas de voiture (by not having a car).

The participe présent without en

On its own, the participe présent is mostly a written structure. It can replace a relative clause with qui: Les personnes souhaitant participer doivent s'inscrire avant vendredi = Les personnes qui souhaitent participer… (People wishing to take part must register before Friday). You will see this constantly in notices, forms and news. It can also give a reason: Étant malade, Zoé est restée chez elle (Being sick, Zoé stayed home). Ayant fini, il est parti (Having finished, he left). In both uses the participe présent is invariable: Les candidates ayant réussi l'examen… (The candidates having passed the exam…), never ayantes.

AParticipe présent: a verb, invariable
  • des enfants obéissant à leurs parents — children obeying their parents (has a complement)
  • des mains tremblant de froid — hands trembling with cold (has a complement)
  • Ces vidéos, intéressant surtout les jeunes, … — These videos, which interest young people above all, …
BAdjectif verbal: an adjective, agrees
  • des enfants obéissants — obedient children (describes a quality)
  • des mains tremblantes — shaky hands
  • des vidéos très intéressantes — very interesting videos
How to tell them apart
If the -ant word is followed by an object or a complement and you can replace it with qui + verb, it is the participe présent and does not agree. If it describes a lasting quality, could take très in front, and could be replaced by another adjective, it is the adjectif verbal and agrees like any adjective. A few verbal adjectives are also spelled differently: fatiguant (participle) / fatigant (tiring), différant / différent, précédant / précédent: une journée fatigante (a tiring day), but en se fatiguant (by getting tired).
English -ingFrenchExample
I am reading (in progress)plain présent, or être en train deJe lis. / Je suis en train de lire. (I'm reading.)
I like reading / Reading is funinfinitiveJ'aime lire. Lire, c'est amusant.
before / without + -ingavant de / sans + infinitiveavant de partir (before leaving), sans dire un mot (without saying a word)
after + -ingaprès + past infinitiveaprès avoir mangé (after eating), après être arrivée (after arriving)
by / while + -inggérondifen lisant (by reading, while reading)
The gérondif is the only structure in this table that uses the ant form. With every other preposition French uses an infinitive.
Listening: finissent or finissant?
Ils finissent and finissant look alike but sound different. In ils finissent the -ent is silent, so the word ends on the s sound: [finis]. In finissant the word ends in the nasal vowel [ɑ̃], as in dans or temps: [finisɑ̃]. Listen to the end of the word: a nasal vowel means the participle; a clipped consonant after ils or elles means the verb. In the same way, ils parlent ends on an l sound, while parlant ends on [ɑ̃].

Worked examples

Reveal one step at a time and try to beat it to the next line.

Example 1
Form the gérondif of choisir, lire and être.
Example 2
Combine into one sentence using a gérondif: Tu économiseras de l'argent. Tu prends ton vélo pour aller au travail.
Example 3
Decide whether to make the -ant word agree: (a) des histoires (passionnant) (b) les élèves (souhaitant) participer au tournoi.
Example 4
Translate: After watching the ad, I understood that it was trying to sell a lifestyle, while presenting itself as information.

Where marks get lost

  • Using the participe présent for an English progressive: Je suis mangeant. French uses the plain présent (Je mange) or être en train de (Je suis en train de manger).
  • Putting -ant after prepositions other than en: après mangeant, avant partant, sans disant. Use an infinitive: après avoir mangé, avant de partir, sans dire.
  • Giving the gérondif a different subject from the main verb: En arrivant à la gare, le train était parti. That says the train was arriving. Write Quand je suis arrivé(e) à la gare, le train était parti.
  • Making the participe présent agree: les personnes souhaitantes participer. With a complement it is a verb form and stays souhaitant.
  • Regularising the three irregulars: avant is the preposition before and savant means learned or scholar. The participles of avoir and savoir are ayant and sachant, and être gives étant.

Flashcards 8

How to form the participe présent
avoir, être, savoir → participe présent
gérondif
three meanings of the gérondif
+ 4 more

Practice

1
Write the participe présent of savoir.
2
Write the gérondif (with en) of finir.
3
Write the participe présent of manger.
4
What does the gérondif express in En lisant chaque jour, tu amélioreras ton vocabulaire?
5
Translate after finishing my homework.
6
Which sentence is correct?
7
Match each sentence to what the gérondif or participle expresses.
Il chante en conduisant.
C'est en pratiquant qu'on progresse.
En partant tôt, tu éviteras le trafic.
Tout en l'aimant bien, je le trouve têtu.
Étant fatiguée, elle s'est couchée tôt.
8
Put the steps for forming the gérondif of any verb in order.
  1. 1Remove the ending ons to get the stem
  2. 2Put en in front
  3. 3Add ant (unless the verb is avoir, être or savoir)
  4. 4Conjugate the verb in the présent with nous
9
You hear: [elfinis]. Which did the speaker say?
10
Combine with a gérondif (same subject): Je me brosse les dents. J'écoute la radio. Write: Je me brosse les dents ___ la radio. (only the missing words)

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