GCSE French (Pearson IGCSE)

Topic Summaries

Grammar III: Verbs

Present participle mood

  • Form:
    • nous form of the present tense, remove -ons, and add -ant (e.g. parlerparlonsparlant; finirfinissonsfinissant).
    • Irregular: ayant (avoir), étant (être), sachant (savoir).
  • Use:
    • As an adjective describing a noun (e.g. une chanson touchante)
    • To express simultaneous actions, often after en or avec.
    • Less common in spoken French, often replaced by en + present participle (gérondif).
  • Examples:
    • Sachant la vérité, elle a décidé de partir. (Knowing the truth, she decided to leave.)
    • En parlant, il gesticulait beaucoup. (While speaking, he gesticulated a lot.)
    • Un enfant souriant (A smiling child)

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