Present Participle: Adjectives and Nouns

Participe présent comme adjectif et nom

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The French present participle may be used as an adjective, noun, verb, or gerund.

Present participle = adjective

When used as an adjective, the present participle follows the same gender and number agreement rules as other adjectives, and typically follows the noun.

Par exemple…

un cadeau surprenant		a surprising gift
un travail ennuyant		boring job
une idée fascinante		fascinating idea
des paquets pesants		weighty packages
des mariées rougissantes		blushing brides

Present participle = noun

Likewise, when used as a noun, the present participle follows the same gender and number agreement rules as other nouns.

Par exemple…

un contenant	des contenants		container(s)
un identifiant	des identifiants		user name(s)
un étudiant des étudiants	une étudiante des étudiantes		student students
un sympathisant des sympathisants	une sympathisante des sympathisantes		sympathizer sympathizers

Present Participle Pairs

Many verbs whose present participles are commonly used as nouns and/or adjectives have two different spellings: the one conjugated the normal way serves as the verb or gerund, while a second form is required when it’s used as a noun or adjective.

1) When present participles end in –guant, the noun/adjective form loses the u.

Par exemple…

verb	present participle	adjective/noun
déléguer	déléguant	délégant
extravaguer	extravaguant	extravagant
fatiguer	fatiguant	fatigant
intriguer	intriguant	intrigant
naviguer	naviguant	navigant

2) For present participles that end in –quant, the noun/adjective form usually ends in –cant.

Par exemple…

verb	present participle	adjective/noun
communiquer	communiquant	communicant
convaincre	convainquant	convaincant
fabriquer	fabriquant	fabricant
provoquer	provoquant	provocant
suffoquer	suffoquant	suffocant

3) A number of present participles commonly used as nouns or adjectives end in –ent instead of –ant:

Par exemple…

verb	present participle	adjective/noun
adhérer	adhérant	adhérent
converger	convergeant	convergent
exceller	excellant	excellent
négliger	négligeant	négligent
urger	urgeant	urgent
violer	violant	violent

4) The verb savoir is just the opposite: it has an irregular present participle when it’s used as a verb or gerund, but follows the normal conjugation rules when it’s used as a noun or adjective.

verb	present participle	adjective/noun
savoir	sachant	savant

	Quiz: Present participles

 Related lessons

• Present participle conjugations
• Present participle as verb or gerund
• Adjectives
• Nouns
• Past participle

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