This module is about saying what is happening now and what is true in general: routines, likes, plans for today and facts about people. It covers present-tense verbs, negative sentences and questions, which are the tools you use in almost every speaking and writing task.
It follows sentence foundations and agreement in the French learning guide. The French pathway on this site is Foreign Language 0520, so check the current syllabus on the Cambridge page for how each skill is assessed.
Why does the present tense matter so much?
Almost every conversation starts in the present. When you introduce yourself, describe your school day or ask a stranger for help, you use present-tense verbs. Errors here are noticed quickly, because the listener hears them early and often.
A secure present tense also supports the next module, past and future meaning, where you will meet the same verbs in new forms.
What should you know before you start?
You need subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles) and agreement basics from the previous module. You should be able to read a short French sentence and find the subject and the verb.
An orienting example
Take the sentence: Je ne vais pas au club le samedi parce que je fais mes devoirs. Et toi, où vas-tu ?
In two short sentences, you meet an irregular verb (vais, from aller), a negative (ne … pas), another irregular verb (fais, from faire) and a question with inversion (où vas-tu ?).
A regular verb would join them easily: Elle joue au tennis. Each lesson below takes one of these moves apart.
In what order should you study the lessons?
- Use a regular verb to express an everyday action: start here, because three endings cover most verbs you meet.
- Distinguish common irregular present forms in context: add the seven irregular verbs that appear in almost every conversation.
- Build a negative statement without losing its meaning: learn to say what does not happen, and why pas de replaces du and des.
- Ask a clear question for a specific purpose: finish with the three question forms and the question words.
Then use the integrated practice set, which mixes all four skills.
Which traps catch most learners?
- Writing a singular ending after a plural subject, because the sounds match.
- Adding regular endings to irregular verbs, as in vous faisez.
- Keeping du, des or un after a negative instead of changing to de.
- Combining est-ce que with inversion in the same question.
How should you use the practice set?
Cover the answers, write each one in full French, then check. If a mistake repeats, the “If you got these wrong” section sends you to the right lesson. Return a few days later and redo the questions you missed.
If you want a teacher to hear and read your French as you build these sentences, our online one-to-one French tuition is built around that kind of feedback.