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The Present Participle after en

HigherHigher tier onlyAQA

Learn The Present Participle after en for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Higher tier exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). The present participle after en means while or by doing something.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

This is a Higher tier only topic, so there's no Foundation paper — only the Higher worksheet and mark scheme below.

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

The present participle ends in -ant and, used after en, means while doing or by doing. This is a Higher-only topic.

It is formed from the nous form of the present tense, replacing -ons with -ant. Nous parlons gives parlant, nous finissons gives finissant, nous prenons gives prenant. Three verbs are irregular: être gives étant, avoir gives ayant, and savoir gives sachant.

After en it has two meanings. En mangeant can mean while eating or by eating, and context decides. Il a appris le français en regardant des films means he learned French by watching films. Note that this is the one place French uses an -ant form where English uses -ing.

Revision notes

Forming the present participle

Take the nous form of the present tense and replace -ons with -ant.

Nous parlons gives parlant. Nous finissons gives finissant. Nous prenons gives prenant. The stem is the same as the imperfect stem.

The three irregulars

Être gives étant. Avoir gives ayant. Savoir gives sachant.

These three do not follow the nous rule and must be memorised. Every other verb in the language is regular in this form.

Meaning after en

En mangeant can mean while eating or by eating.

Context decides which. Il a appris le français en regardant des films — he learned French by watching films. Elle chante en travaillant — she sings while working.

Key points

  • The present participle ends in -ant.
  • It is formed from the nous form of the present.
  • Replace -ons with -ant.
  • Être, avoir and savoir are irregular.
  • After en it means while or by doing.
  • Context decides which meaning applies.

Worked examples

Example 1

Form the present participle of parler. [2 marks]

Working

Take nous parlons and replace -ons with -antuse the nous form
parlantgive the present participle

Example 2

Translate: he learned French by watching films. [2 marks]

Working

Il a appris le français en regardant des filmsuse en with the present participle
En regardant means by watching in this contextexplain the meaning

Example 3

Give the present participles of être and avoir. [2 marks]

Working

être gives étantgive the first
avoir gives ayantgive the second

Common mistakes

  • Using the infinitive stem.

    The participle comes from the nous form.

  • Using -ant where an infinitive is needed.

    Only en takes the present participle; other prepositions take the infinitive.

  • Forgetting the three irregulars.

    Étant, ayant and sachant must be memorised.

  • Translating every English -ing as -ant.

    Most -ing forms need the infinitive in French.

Exam tips

  • Start from the nous form of the present.
  • Use -ant only after en.
  • Memorise étant, ayant and sachant.
  • Remember this is a Higher-only topic.

Key terms

Present participle
The -ant form of a verb.
En
The one preposition taking the present participle.
Étant
The irregular present participle of être.
Gerund
The en plus -ant structure.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.