Participe présent: être, avoir, savoir + spelling tweaks

The Participe Présent — The Exceptions

Most verbs form the participe présent by taking nous form –ons + -ant, but there are three exceptions you need to memorize.

The Trio of Exceptions

1. Être → Étant

   • Example: Étant fatigué, il est resté chez lui → Being tired, he stayed home

2. Avoir → Ayant

   • Example: Ayant fini ses devoirs, elle est sortie → Having finished her homework, she went out

3. Savoir → Sachant

   • Example: Sachant la vérité, il a décidé de parler → Knowing the truth, he decided to speak

Note: Even tricky verbs like faire → faisant still follow the regular rule from the first lesson.

Orthographic Adjustments — The “Facelift”

Objective: Learn how to adjust spelling in the participe présent to preserve pronunciation.

Some verbs require small tweaks even though the radical stays the same. These adjustments are common and active in French.

Verbs in -GER

• Keep the e to maintain the soft “g” sound.

Example:

• Manger → nous mangons → mangeant (not mangant)

Verbs in -CER

• Add a ç to keep the soft “c” sound.

Example:

• Placer → nous plaçons → plaçant

Verbs in -GUER and -QUER

• Keep the u in the radical.

Examples:

• Naviguer → naviguant
• Communiquer → communiquant

👉 These small orthographic changes ensure that pronunciation stays consistent.