The gérondif (en + -ant)
One form, three jobs, and it is built from a stem you already know.
Formation: the nous form of the present minus -ons, plus -ant, with en in front. That is the same stem as the imperfect, so if you can form one you can form the other.
| infinitif | nous form | gérondif |
|---|---|---|
| parler | nous parlons | en parlant |
| finir | nous finissons | en finissant |
| faire | nous faisons | en faisant |
| prendre | nous prenons | en prenant |
Three irregulars, all frequent: être → en étant, avoir → en ayant, savoir → en sachant.
What it does
| at the same time | Il travaille en écoutant la radio. |
|---|---|
| how | On apprend en lisant. |
| on condition that | En travaillant un peu chaque jour, vous réussirez. |
The one hard rule: the subject must be the same for both verbs. En sortant, j'ai vu Marie means I went out and I saw her. If the two subjects differ, French uses pendant que instead — pendant que je sortais, Marie est arrivée.
Do not use it where English uses -ing. This is the trap, and it is a wide one:
| English | French |
|---|---|
| I like reading | j'aime lire (infinitive) |
| I am working | je travaille (simple present) |
| before leaving | avant de partir (infinitive) |
French has no continuous tense. The -ant form is only for two things happening at once or for the means by which something is done — everywhere else English's -ing is a French infinitive.
Knowing the rule is not the same as producing it.
This page explains the pattern. The track drills it: the point arrives inside a mini-dialogue, then production marked against a CEFR descriptor, then a module test that returns you to your two weakest sessions if you miss it.