To create a French gerund, you need the present participle. Forming the present participle is easy for most verbs, regular and irregular. Take the nous form of the present tense, drop the -ons ending, and replace it with -ant. Do not keep the subject pronoun nous. You’re done!
The table shows how some common verbs form their present participle.
| Infinitive | Nous Form of Present | Present Participle |
|---|---|---|
| aller (to go) | nous allons (we go) | allant (going) |
| arriver (to arrive) | nous arrivons (we arrive) | arrivant (arriving) |
| commencer (to begin) | nous commençons (we begin) | commençant (beginning) |
| dire (to say) | nous disons (we say) | disant (saying) |
| dormir (to sleep) | nous dormons (we sleep) | dormant (sleeping) |
| faire (to do) | nous faisons (we do) | faisant (doing) |
| finir (to finish) | nous finissons (we finish) | finissant (finishing) |
| manger (to eat) | nous mangeons (we eat) | mangeant (eating) |
| ouvrir (to open) | nous ouvrons (we open) | ouvrant (opening) |
| parler (to talk) | nous parlons (we talk) | parlant (talking) |
| répéter (to repeat) | nous répétons (we repeat) | répétant (repeating) |
| tenir (to hold) | nous tenons (we hold) | tenant (holding) |
| travailler (to work) | nous travaillons (we work) | travaillant (working) |
| vendre (to sell) | nous vendons (we sell) | vendant (selling) |
| voir (to see) | nous voyons (we see) | voyant (seeing) |
You only have to worry about three irregular gerunds in French. They are:
avoir (to have), which becomes ayant (having)
être (to be), which becomes étant (being)
savoir (to know), which becomes sachant (knowing)
