values of the present

06 oct. 2017 12:22 - language-swap

Niveau intermédiaire plus

The present tense in French has a lot of different values.
It is one of the most used tense in French so it is important to know its values.
Let's see them :

1. The present of enunciation (which corresponds to the moment we're talking).
Ex: Je n'entends pas ce que tu dis.

2. The narration present.
Ex: Je ne savais pas de quoi il s'agisssait. Je cours pour la retrouver, je la vois puis la serre dans mes bras.

3. The general truth present. It is used to talk about things.
Ex: La Terre est ronde.

4. The repetitive present, which is used to talk about your habits.
Ex: Elle visite sa grand-mère chaque dimanche.

5. The present of duration which started in the past but still go on in the present.
Ex: Il ne fait pas beau depuis plus d'une semaine.

6. The description present which is used to describe
Ex: Ses cheveux sont longs et noirs.

7. Close future which is used to talk about things that are not accomplished yet.
Ex: L'école se termine la semaine prochaine.

8. Hypothesis
Ex: Si tu viens ce soir, tu rencontreras ma meilleure amie.