Download 9.2 The present participle

9.2
The present participle
Sachant que son travail l’oblige à
discriminer, Malik a du mal à se
regarder dans une glace.
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9.2
The present participle
• To form the present participle, drop the -ons ending from
the nous form of the present tense of a verb and replace it
with -ant.
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9.2
The present participle
Present participles of some common verbs
Infinitive
Nous form
Present participle
aller
allons
allant
boire
buvons
buvant
choisir
choisissons
choisissant
dire
disons
disant
écrire
écrivons
écrivant
faire
faisons
faisant
lire
lisons
lisant
parler
parlons
parlant
prendre
prenons
prenant
vendre
vendons
vendant
venir
venons
venant
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9.2
The present participle
• There are only three irregular present participles in French.
They are considered irregular because they are not based
upon the nous forms of the present tense.
Infinitive
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Present participle
être
étant
avoir
ayant
savoir
sachant
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9.2
The present participle
Étant très sociable, elle a présenté
son cousin à son petit ami.
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9.2
The present participle
• Present participles are usually the equivalent of English
verbs ending in -ing. They are typically preceded by the
preposition en, meaning while or by.
Il lui a indiqué le chemin en regardant le plan du quartier.
He gave her directions while looking at the map of the neighborhood.
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9.2
The present participle
• Use the present participle to say what caused something
or how something occurred.
Gérard s’est cassé le bras en tombant du toit.
Gérard broke his arm by falling off of the roof.
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9.2
The present participle
ATTENTION!
The present participle does not correspond to all -ing forms
of English verbs. Remember, the present tense in French can
have several meanings.
Je parle.
I speak. / I do speak. /
I am speaking.
To say that something is happening in the present time, use
the present tense, not a present participle.
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9.2
The present participle
• En + [present participle] can also mean that something is
done as soon as something else happens. In this case, it
is often the equivalent of the English expression upon +
the -ing form of a verb.
Il va téléphoner en arrivant à la gare.
He’s going to call upon arriving at the station.
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9.2
The present participle
• Use the expression tout en to emphasize that two
unrelated actions are taking place simultaneously.
Il conduit tout en mangeant un sandwich.
He’s driving while eating a sandwich.
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9.2
The present participle
• When a present participle is used as an adjective, it agrees
in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
Nous n’avons pas d’eau courante!
We don’t have any running water!
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Ces filles sont charmantes.
These girls are charming.
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9.2
The present participle
• Present participles used as adjectives usually correspond
to English words ending in -ing. Depending on the
interpretation of the adjective, however, this is not always
the case.
Nous avons vu un film amusant.
We saw a funny (amusing) movie.
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9.2
The present participle
• Present participles can sometimes be used as nouns.
These nouns are often professions or other words that
refer to a person who engages in a particular activity.
consulter (to consult)
un(e) consultant(e) (consultant)
gérer (to manage)
un(e) gérant(e) (manager)
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