aider Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of aider — help — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. aider is the verb for offering help at home: it comes up whenever you talk about helping a friend move house or helping children with homework. This page gives you the complete present table for aider, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”

Present conjugation of aider

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for aider. aider is regular (regular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — aider

Person Form
je aide
tu aides
il/elle aide
nous aidons
vous aidez
ils/elles aident

The gerund of aider is en aidant and the past participle is aidé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of aider is formed

The present of aider is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are aide, aides, aide, aidons, aidez and aident. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example aide — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for aider: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of aider

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il aide ma mère.” — “He helps my mother.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous aidons les enfants.” — “We help the children.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “J'aide mon voisin.” — “I help my neighbour.”

Present vs passé composé: aider finished, aider in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with aider. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai aidé mon ami cette semaine.” — “I have helped my friend this week.”

  • Present: “Il aide ma mère.” — “He helps my mother.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a aidé ma mère cette semaine.” — “He has helped my mother this week.”

  • Present: “Nous aidons les enfants.” — “We help the children.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons aidé les enfants cette semaine.” — “We have helped the children this week.”

Example sentences: aider in the present

Six sentences using only the present of aider, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.”
  • “Tu aides ma mère.” — “You help my mother.”
  • “Il aide les enfants.” — “He helps the children.”
  • “Nous aidons mon voisin.” — “We help my neighbour.”
  • “Vous aidez mon ami.” — “You help my friend.”
  • “Ils aident ma mère.” — “They help my mother.”

Common mistakes in the present of aider

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je aidons mon ami.”

✓ Right: “Je aide mon ami.”

aidons is the nous form. With je the present form is aide.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je aider ma mère.”

✓ Right: “Je aide ma mère.”

The infinitive aider never takes a subject. After je you need aide.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai aidé les enfants.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je aide les enfants.”

A habit needs the present aide, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je aide mon voisin tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je aidais mon voisin tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect aidais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu aide mon ami.”

✓ Right: “Tu aides mon ami.”

With tu the present form is aides, not aide. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of aider

Ten questions on aider. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aide
    • B) aides
    • C) aidez
    • D) aidons

  2. What is the tu form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aident
    • B) aidons
    • C) aide
    • D) aides

  3. What is the il/elle form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aident
    • B) aides
    • C) aidez
    • D) aide

  4. What is the nous form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aides
    • B) aide
    • C) aidez
    • D) aidons

  5. What is the vous form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aides
    • B) aidez
    • C) aident
    • D) aide

  6. What is the ils/elles form of aider in the Present indicative?

    • A) aide
    • B) aides
    • C) aidons
    • D) aident

  7. What is the je form of aider in the Present perfect?

    • A) avez aidé
    • B) ai aidé
    • C) as aidé
    • D) ont aidé

  8. What is the gerund of aider?

    • A) dormant
    • B) aidant
    • C) buvant

  9. What is the past participle of aider?

    • A) aidé
    • B) bu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does aider mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) help
  • C) sleep
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. A) aide — The je form of aider in the present indicative is aide.
  2. D) aides — The tu form of aider in the present indicative is aides.
  3. D) aide — The il/elle form of aider in the present indicative is aide.
  4. D) aidons — The nous form of aider in the present indicative is aidons.
  5. B) aidez — The vous form of aider in the present indicative is aidez.
  6. D) aident — The ils/elles form of aider in the present indicative is aident.
  7. B) ai aidé — The je form of aider in the present perfect is ai aidé.
  8. B) aidant — The gerund of aider is en aidant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) aidé — The past participle of aider is aidé; perfect tenses use avoir + aidé.
  10. B) help — aider means “help” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of aider?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For aider that covers offering help at home, helping a friend move house and helping children with homework.

Is the present of aider regular?

aider is regular. In the present it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of aider?

The past participle is aidé. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + aidé.

How do I say “I help” in the present?

Say “J'aide mon ami.” — “I help my friend.” The je form is aide.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for aider, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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