apporter Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of apporter — bring (something) — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. apporter is the verb for bringing something to dinner: it comes up whenever you talk about carrying a present or bringing a book to class. This page gives you the complete present table for apporter, 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'apporte un gâteau.” — “I bring (something) a cake.”

Present conjugation of apporter

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for apporter. apporter 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 — apporter

Person Form
je apporte
tu apportes
il/elle apporte
nous apportons
vous apportez
ils/elles apportent

The gerund of apporter is en apportant and the past participle is apporté. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of apporter is formed

The present of apporter is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are apporte, apportes, apporte, apportons, apportez and apportent. 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 apporte — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for apporter: 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 apporter

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “J'apporte un gâteau.” — “I bring (something) a cake.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il apporte des fleurs.” — “He brings (something) some flowers.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous apportons le livre.” — “We bring (something) the book.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “J'apporte du vin.” — “I bring (something) some wine.”

Present vs passé composé: apporter finished, apporter in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with apporter. 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'apporte un gâteau.” — “I bring (something) a cake.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai apporté un gâteau cette semaine.” — “I have brought a cake this week.”

  • Present: “Il apporte des fleurs.” — “He brings (something) some flowers.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a apporté des fleurs cette semaine.” — “He has brought some flowers this week.”

  • Present: “Nous apportons le livre.” — “We bring (something) the book.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons apporté le livre cette semaine.” — “We have brought the book this week.”

Example sentences: apporter in the present

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

  • “J'apporte un gâteau.” — “I bring (something) a cake.”
  • “Tu apportes des fleurs.” — “You bring (something) some flowers.”
  • “Il apporte le livre.” — “He brings (something) the book.”
  • “Nous apportons du vin.” — “We bring (something) some wine.”
  • “Vous apportez un gâteau.” — “You bring (something) a cake.”
  • “Ils apportent des fleurs.” — “They bring (something) some flowers.”

Common mistakes in the present of apporter

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je apportons un gâteau.”

✓ Right: “Je apporte un gâteau.”

apportons is the nous form. With je the present form is apporte.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je apporter des fleurs.”

✓ Right: “Je apporte des fleurs.”

The infinitive apporter never takes a subject. After je you need apporte.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai apporté le livre.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je apporte le livre.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je apporte du vin tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je apportais du vin tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu apporte un gâteau.”

✓ Right: “Tu apportes un gâteau.”

With tu the present form is apportes, not apporte. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of apporter

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

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

    • A) apportes
    • B) apportons
    • C) apportent
    • D) apporte

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

    • A) apportent
    • B) apportes
    • C) apportons
    • D) apportez

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

    • A) apportes
    • B) apporte
    • C) apportez
    • D) apportons

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

    • A) apportons
    • B) apportez
    • C) apporte
    • D) apportes

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

    • A) apportent
    • B) apporte
    • C) apportez
    • D) apportes

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

    • A) apportes
    • B) apporte
    • C) apportons
    • D) apportent

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

    • A) ai apporté
    • B) avons apporté
    • C) a apporté
    • D) avez apporté

  8. What is the gerund of apporter?

    • A) apportant
    • B) dormant
    • C) buvant

  9. What is the past participle of apporter?

    • A) apporté
    • B) dormi
    • C) bu

  10. What does apporter mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) sleep
  • C) bring (something)
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. D) apporte — The je form of apporter in the present indicative is apporte.
  2. B) apportes — The tu form of apporter in the present indicative is apportes.
  3. B) apporte — The il/elle form of apporter in the present indicative is apporte.
  4. A) apportons — The nous form of apporter in the present indicative is apportons.
  5. C) apportez — The vous form of apporter in the present indicative is apportez.
  6. D) apportent — The ils/elles form of apporter in the present indicative is apportent.
  7. A) ai apporté — The je form of apporter in the present perfect is ai apporté.
  8. A) apportant — The gerund of apporter is en apportant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. A) apporté — The past participle of apporter is apporté; perfect tenses use avoir + apporté.
  10. C) bring (something) — apporter means “bring (something)” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of apporter?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For apporter that covers bringing something to dinner, carrying a present and bringing a book to class.

Is the present of apporter regular?

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

What is the past participle of apporter?

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

How do I say “I bring (something)” in the present?

Say “J'apporte un gâteau.” — “I bring (something) a cake.” The je form is apporte.

Pronunciation

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

Related pages