What the participe présent does
The participe présent is the verb form ending in -ant: parlant, finissant, ayant. It behaves like a shortened clause: it keeps objects, adverbs and negation, but drops person and tense. It never changes – no -e, no -s. With en in front it becomes a gérondif, which does different jobs.
Two uses matter: it replaces a relative clause with qui, or it gives a reason.
The form
nous form, minus -ons, plus -ant
| Infinitive | nous form | Participe présent |
|---|---|---|
| parler | nous parlons | parlant |
| finir | nous finissons | finissant |
| prendre | nous prenons | prenant |
| manger | nous mangeons | mangeant |
| commencer | nous commençons | commençant |
| être | irregular | étant |
| avoir | irregular | ayant |
| savoir | irregular | sachant |
Stem changes and spelling come along from the nous form.
Only être, avoir and savoir do not take their stem from the nous form. Negation wraps around the participle just as it does around a finite verb: ne sachant pas, n'ayant plus d'argent, ne comprenant rien.
What you use it for
Instead of a relative clause with qui
When qui is the subject of the relative clause, you can replace qui + verb with the participle. It sits straight after the noun – exactly where English puts the man driving the bus.
Le train partant à midi est complet.
The train leaving at noon is full.
= le train qui part à midi
Recherchons une personne parlant couramment l'anglais.
Seeking someone who speaks fluent English.
= une personne qui parle couramment l'anglais
Toute personne n'ayant pas réservé sera refusée.
Anyone who has not booked will be turned away.
= toute personne qui n'a pas réservé
Giving a reason
At the start of a sentence, followed by a comma, the participle states a cause – like a clause with comme or parce que. Its subject is the subject of the main clause. English does the same: Being tired, she went to bed.
Ne trouvant pas de place, nous sommes repartis.
Not finding a seat, we left again.
Étant fatiguée, elle est allée se coucher tôt.
Being tired, she went to bed early.
Ayant perdu mes clés, j'ai dû appeler le propriétaire.
Having lost my keys, I had to call the landlord.
Ayant perdu is the compound form ayant / étant + past participle. It shows that the action was already over – the equivalent of English having lost.
Participle or verbal adjective?
Some -ant words have stopped being verbs and become plain adjectives: un film intéressant, une histoire touchante. French calls them adjectif verbal. They look identical to the participle and behave in the opposite way.
Participle - never changes
It is still a verb: an object, a complement or a negation follows, and it never agrees.
des enfants souriant à leur mère
children smiling at their mother
des élèves obéissant à leur professeur
pupils obeying their teacher
Verbal adjective - it agrees
It names a quality, stands alone next to the noun, and agrees in gender and number. You can swap in another adjective (gentil, beau).
des enfants souriants
smiling children
des élèves obéissants
obedient pupils
Not the English -ing
English -ing does several jobs. French -ant shares only the last one in the table.
What English -ing becomes in French
| English | Example | French |
|---|---|---|
| progressive | I am eating | je mange / je suis en train de manger |
| gerund as noun | swimming is good for you | nager est bon pour la santé |
| after a preposition | before leaving | avant de partir |
| participle on a noun | the man driving the bus | l'homme conduisant le bus |
