Forming the present participle is easy for regular verbs and for most irregular verbs.. Table 6-1 forms the present participle for some regular and irregular verbs.. Table 6-1 continuedI
Trang 1Chapter 6
Forming the Present Participle
and the Gerund
In This Chapter
Explaining the present participle
Practicing gerunds
Figuring out the past present participle
How do you do your daily chores? Do you work or drive to work while singing, talking, listening to the radio, or keeping quiet? Well, you can describe how you do things as well as why and under which circumstances with the present participle and the gerund
In this chapter I cover the present participle, show you how to form a gerund, and then show you how to use them
Introducing the Present Participle
The present participle is used to express the way things are done, as well as why and how they’re done It expresses manner, cause, and circumstances The present participle
answers the questions “why” and “how.” In English, it always ends in -ing — examples include singing, walking, and so on In French, the present participle ends in -ant — examples
include chantant and marchant Forming the present participle is easy for regular verbs and for most irregular verbs Simply take the first person plural (the nous form) of any present tense verb, drop the -ons ending, and add -ant.
(Nous) allons (We go/are going) becomes allant (going) when you drop the -ons and add
-ant to the verb.
The subject pronoun nous isn’t part of the present participle Table 6-1 forms the present
participle for some regular and irregular verbs
Table 6-1 Forming the Present Participle
Infinitive Nous Form Present Participle aller allons allant (going)
appeler appelons appelant (calling)
commencer commençons commençant (beginning)
(continued)
Trang 2Table 6-1 (continued)
Infinitive Nous Form Present Participle faire faisons faisant (doing)
finir finissons finissant (finishing)
manger mangeons mangeant (eating)
parler parlons parlant (speaking)
partir partons partant (leaving)
préférer préférons préférant (preferring)
prendre prenons prenant (taking)
vendre vendons vendant (selling)
venir venons venant (coming)
Only three verbs have an irregular present participle They are
avoir (to have), which becomes ayant (having)
être (to be), which becomes étant (being)
savoir (to know), which becomes sachant (knowing)
Using the Present Participle
The present participle has many functions In fact, you can use the present participle
in the following three ways:
To indicate cause or circumstances When you use the present participle to
indi-cate cause or circumstances, it’s always in the same form and doesn’t have to
agree with anything (such as a pronoun) For example, Comprenant le français,
j’ai regardé le film en version originale means Understanding French, I watched
the film in its original version Ayant de l’argent, elle a pu voyager means Having
some money, she was able to travel.
As an adjective When you use the present participle as an adjective, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies For example, C’est une histoire
intéressante means It is an interesting story.
As a noun Some nouns in French are derived from the present participle For
example, L’assistante du cadre est très efficace means The manager’s assistant is
very efficient Du café Dôme, on regarde les passants means From the café
Dôme, we watch the passersby.
Now it’s your turn Put the following verbs in the present participle I provide the translations in the Answer Key
Q.Rire _
A.Riant (laughing)
Trang 31 Boire _
2 Mettre _
3 Savoir _
4 Tenir _
5 Ecrire _
6 Vouloir _
7 Craindre _
8 Faire _
9 Avoir _
10 Nager _
Forming the Gerund
A gerund is a verb-noun It looks like a verb, but actually works as a noun For exam-ple, in the sentence walking to the store is fun, walking looks like a verb, but it’s in fact
a noun In this phrase, walking is a gerund.
In French, to form the gerund, just add the preposition en in front of the present
par-ticiple The gerund in English translates to while, by, upon, or in doing something.
Remember that the gerund often indicates a simultaneous action
La fille chante en marchant (The girl is singing while walking.) Les étudiants écoutent de la musique en faisant leurs devoirs (The students
listen to music while doing their homework.)
In this section I show you how to form the gerund as well as how you use it in French
I then provide you with some practice problems to ensure that you understand gerunds
Using the gerund
In addition to indicating a simultaneous action, you can use the gerund to express manner or circumstances
En entrant dans le bâtiment, j’ai vu Paul (Upon/In entering the building, I saw
Paul.)
J’ai compris la situation politique en lisant les journaux (I understood the
politi-cal situation upon/in/by reading the newspapers.)
You can add tout in front of the gerund in order to make the simultaneous actions stronger, generally to stress a contradiction For example, Elle lit le journal tout en
regardant la télévision means She is reading the newspaper while watching television.
The gerund is also used in many famous proverbs in French For example, C’est en
forgeant que l’on devient forgeron means It is by blacksmithing that one becomes a
blacksmith.Or as you say in English, practice makes perfect
Trang 4Now take the time to make your own proverbs by putting the verbs in parentheses in the gerund form I provide the translations in the Answer Key
Q.C’est _ (faire) la cuisine que l’on devient cuisinier
A.C’est en faisant la cuisine que l’on devient cuisinier (It’s by cooking that one becomes a
cook.)
11 C’est _ (nager) que l’on devient nageur.
12 C’est _ (jardiner) que l’on devient jardinier.
13 C’est _ (peindre) que l’on devient peintre.
14 C’est _ (écrire) que l’on devient écrivain.
15 C’est _ (chanter) que l’on devient chanteur.
16 C’est _ (danser) que l’on devient danseur.
17 C’est _ (sculpter) que l’on devient sculpteur.
18 C’est _ (composer) que l’on devient compositeur.
19 C’est _ (juger) que l’on devient juge.
20 C’est _ (parler) beaucoup de langues que l’on devient interprète.
Pronominal verbs: Corresponding to the subject With pronominal verbs, the pronominal pronoun corresponds to the subject See Chapter 5 for more information on reflexive verbs
En nous promenant, nous avons trouvé dix euros (While strolling/taking a walk,
we found ten euros.)
Jean s’est coupé en se rasant (Jean cut himself while shaving.) J’étais toujours fatiqué en me réveillant (I was still tired in waking up.)
One general difference between the present participle and the gerund is that the pres-ent participle is linked to the noun, whereas the gerund is linked to the verb For
example, J’ai vu Olivier sortant du café means I saw Olivier leaving the café The
present participle is associated with Olivier, who is the noun (Olivier was leaving the
café.) Whereas in the sentence J’ai vu Olivier en sortant du café (I saw Olivier while
[I was] leaving the café), the use of the gerund, which is linked to the verb, says that I saw Olivier while I was leaving the café
In the following exercises, choose between the present participle and the gerund and fill in the blanks I provide the translations in the Answer Key
Q.La petite fille chante _ (jouer) du piano
A.La petite fille chante en jouant du piano (The little girl is singing while playing the piano.)
21 C’est une idée _ (encourager).
Trang 522 Il parle à sa femme _ (conduire).
23 Vous demandez pardon _ (savoir) que vous avez tort.
24 On maigrit _ (manger) moins.
25 Elle fait des gestes _ (raconter) des histoires.
26 Je me sens mieux _ (faire) de l’exercice.
27 Les enfants _ (sourire) ouvrent leurs cadeaux.
28 Le bébé se calme _ (entendre) la voix de sa mère.
29 _ (vouloir) apprendre l’italien, nous allons en Italie.
30 Ce sont des chiens _ (obéir).
Forming and Using the Past Present Participle
The present participle also has a past form To create this form, you need an auxiliary
verb (avoir or être), which is a verb that’s used to help form all the compound past
tenses of verbs In English, this form is called the perfect participle and is indicated
by adding a past participle to the present participle of the auxiliary, as in the phrases
having eaten, having left, and so on In French, simply put the auxiliaries avoir and être
in the present participle (ayant and étant) and add the past participle of the verb you
want — for example, ayant mangé (having eaten) and étant parti (having left) (Check
out Chapter 12 for more on the passé composé if you need help with the translations.) How do you use this past form of the present participle? Use it when its action comes before the action of the main verb
Ayant lu l’article, il a découvert la vérité (Having read the article, he discovered the
truth.)
Étant arrivé en retard, il a manqué le début du film (Having arrived late, he
missed the beginning of the movie.)
Now try something challenging Transform these sentences by changing the
auxil-iaries avoir and être into the present participle form and getting rid of the subject
pronoun and the conjunction, like in the example Then translate the sentences I give you the past participles to help you get started
Q.J’ai écouté la musique classique et je me suis calmé (I listened to classical music and I
calmed down.)
A.Ayant écouté la musique classique, je me suis calmé.
Having listened to classical music, I calmed down.
31 Il avait trop mangé et il s’est endormi dans le sofa (He had eaten too much and he fell
asleep on the sofa.)
Trang 6
32 Nous étions en retard et nous avons couru (We were late and we ran.)
33 Ils avaient raté le train et ils sont rentrés en retard (They had missed the train and they
came home late.)
34 Elle avait réussi à l’examen et elle était très heureuse (She had passed the exam and she
was very happy.)
35 Tu étais rentré tard et tu es monté tout de suite dans ta chambre (You had come home
late and you went to your room right away.)
36 J’étais resté dans la maison tout le weekend et je me suis ennuyé (I had stayed home all
weekend and I was bored.)
37 Vous aviez pris une douche et vous vous êtes habillé (You had taken a shower and you
got dressed.)
38 Il avait suivi un régime et il a maigri (He had gone on a diet and he lost weight.)
39 J’étais tombé de l’escalier et je me suis cassé la jambe (I had fallen from the staircase
and I broke my leg.)
40 Ils avaient fait leurs devoirs et ils sont sortis (They had done their homework and they
went out.)
Trang 7
Answer Key
In this section I give you the answers to all the problems in this chapter I also provide translations to help you know what you’ve just conjugated How did you do?
a buvant (drinking)
b mettant (putting)
c sachant (knowing)
d tenant (holding)
e écrivant (writing)
f voulant (wanting)
g craignant (fearing)
h faisant (doing)
i ayant (having)
j nageant (swimming)
k C’est en nageant que l’on devient nageur (It’s by swimming that one becomes a swimmer.)
l C’est en jardinant que l’on devient jardinier (It’s by gardening that one becomes a gardener.)
m C’est en peignant que l’on devient peintre (It’s by painting that one becomes a painter.)
n C’est en écrivant que l’on devient écrivain (It’s by writing that one becomes a writer.)
o C’est en chantant que l’on devient chanteur (It’s by singing that one becomes a singer.)
p C’est en dansant que l’on devient danseur (It’s by dancing that one becomes a dancer.)
q C’est en sculptant que l’on devient sculpteur (It’s by sculpting that one becomes a sculptor.)
r C’est en composant que l’on devient compositeur (It’s by composing that one becomes a
composer.)
s C’est en jugeant que l’on devient juge (It’s by judging that one becomes a judge.)
t C’est en parlant beaucoup de langues que l’on devient interprète (It’s by speaking many
languages that one becomes an interpreter.)
u C’est une idée encourageante (It’s an encouraging idea.)
v Il parle à sa femme en conduisant (He speaks to his wife while driving.)
w Vous demandez pardon sachant que vous avez tort (You ask for forgiveness knowing that you
are wrong.)
x On maigrit en mangeant moins (One loses weight by eating less.)
Trang 8y Elle fait des gestes en racontant des histoires (She makes gestures while telling stories.)
A Je me sens mieux en faisant de l’exercice (I feel better by exercising.)
B Les enfants souriants ouvrent leurs cadeaux (The smiling children open their presents.)
C Le bébé se calme en entendant la voix de sa mère (The baby calms himself by hearing his
mother’s voice.)
D Voulant apprendre l’italien, nous allons en Italie (Wanting to learn Italian, we are going to Italy.)
E Ce sont des chiens obéissants (They are obedient dogs.)
F Ayant trop mangé, il s’est endormi dans le sofa.
Having eaten too much, he fell asleep on the sofa.
G Ayant été en retard, nous avons couru.
Having been late, we ran.
H Ayant raté le train, ils sont rentrés en retard.
Having missed the train, they came home late.
I Ayant réussi à l’examen, elle était très heureuse.
Having passed the exam, she was very happy.
J Etant rentré tard, tu es monté tout de suite dans ta chambre.
Having come home late, you went to your room right away.
K Etant resté dans la maison tout le weekend, je me suis ennuyé.
Having stayed home all weekend, I was bored.
L Ayant pris une douche, vous vous êtes habillé.
Having taken a shower, you got dressed.
M Ayant suivi un régime, il a maigri.
Having gone on a diet, he lost weight.
N Etant tombé de l’escalier, je me suis cassé la jambe.
Having fallen from the staircase, I broke my leg.
O Ayant fait leurs devoirs, ils sont sortis.
Having done their homework, they went out.