Arriver in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Arriver means “to arrive”, and this page covers exactly one thing: arriver in the present tense. The present is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about what happens regularly, what is true in general, and what is happening right now. On this page you will find the full present table for arriver, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about arriver in the present. For example: “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of arriver exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Arriver in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je arrive
tu arrives
il/elle arrive
nous arrivons
vous arrivez
ils/elles arrivent

Gerund: arrivant · Past participle: arrivé

The gerund is arrivant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is arrivé, which you use with être in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is suis arrivé, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how arriver is used.

How the present of arriver is formed

The present of arriver follows the regular -er pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je arrive, tu arrives, il/elle arrive, nous arrivons, vous arrivez, ils/elles arrivent. The nous and vous forms are the ones learners most often get wrong, because they expect a change that is not there — learn the six forms as two groups, the singular forms and the plural forms, and the pattern becomes automatic. The stem never changes in the present for this verb, so the only work is the endings.

The present stem also feeds other tenses: the imperfect is built from the present nous form, and the present subjunctive is built from the present ils form, so learning the present properly makes the rest of the conjugation easier. The gerund arrivant and the participle arrivé belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise arriver in every tense.

When to use the present of arriver

The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use arriver in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Arriving in Paris at eight o'clock — the everyday use

Arriver is the verb for arriving in Paris at eight o'clock. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”

2. Arriving late this morning — a second everyday use

Arriver also covers arriving late this morning. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu arrives en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “You arrive late this morning every day.”

3. Arriving tomorrow with Marie — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use arriver for arriving tomorrow with Marie. The same verb, the same present forms, a different situation — that is why the present is worth learning as a whole table rather than one form at a time. Example: “Il arrive demain avec Marie tous les jours.” — “He arrives tomorrow with Marie every day.”

4. Habits and routines

The present tense is the tense of routine. When something happens every day, every week or every morning, the present is the natural choice, and arriver is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous arrivons à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “We arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”

5. What is happening right now

The present also describes an action in progress at this very moment. French often prefers the simple present where English would use the continuous form, so a sentence with arriver in the present can mean both “I do this” and “I am doing this now”. Context tells the listener which one you mean. Example: “Vous arrivez en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “You arrive late this morning every day.”

Present Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the present is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the present describes habits and facts that are true now. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the present sentences use words such as tous les jours or hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Present: “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”

  • Imperfect: “J'arrivais à Paris à huit heures autrefois.” — “I used to arrive in Paris at eight o'clock in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Tu arrives en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “You arrive late this morning every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu arrivais en retard ce matin autrefois.” — “You used to arrive late this morning in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Present: “Nous arrivons demain avec Marie tous les jours.” — “We arrive tomorrow with Marie every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous arrivions demain avec Marie autrefois.” — “We used to arrive tomorrow with Marie in the past.”

  • The present sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: arriver in the present

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “J'arrive en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “I arrive late this morning every day.”

  2. “Tu arrives demain avec Marie tous les jours.” — “You arrive tomorrow with Marie every day.”

  3. “Il arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “He arrives in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”

  4. “Nous arrivons en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “We arrive late this morning every day.”

  5. “Vous arrivez demain avec Marie tous les jours.” — “You arrive tomorrow with Marie every day.”

  6. “Ils arrivent à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “They arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.”

  7. “J'arrive en retard ce matin tous les jours.” — “I arrive late this morning every day.”

  8. “Tu arrives demain avec Marie tous les jours.” — “You arrive tomorrow with Marie every day.”

Common mistakes with arriver in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je arrivent à Paris à huit heures.” Right: “Je arrive à Paris à huit heures.” Why: The je form is arrive, not arrivent. Arrivent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous arrivent à Paris à huit heures.” Right: “Nous arrivons à Paris à huit heures.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: arrivons, not arrivent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “À paris à huit heures” with the infinitive: “Je arriver à Paris à huit heures.” Right: “Je arrive à Paris à huit heures.” Why: The infinitive arriver never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form arrive.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je arrive à Paris à huit heures.” Right: “Il est important que je arrive à Paris à huit heures.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use arrive here, not the indicative arrive.

Quiz: arriver in the present

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

1. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ en retard ce matin.”

  • (A) arrives
  • (B) arrivons
  • (C) arrivez
  • (D) arrive

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ demain avec Marie.”

  • (A) arrives
  • (B) arrive
  • (C) arrivons
  • (D) arrivez

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ à Paris à huit heures.”

  • (A) arrives
  • (B) arrivons
  • (C) arrivez
  • (D) arrive

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ en retard ce matin.”

  • (A) arrivons
  • (B) arrive
  • (C) arrives
  • (D) arrivez

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ demain avec Marie.”

  • (A) arrivons
  • (B) arrivez
  • (C) arrive
  • (D) arrives

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ à Paris à huit heures.”

  • (A) arrivons
  • (B) arrivent
  • (C) arrive
  • (D) arrives

7. What does arriver mean in English?

  • (A) to arrive
  • (B) to hear
  • (C) to go out
  • (D) to leave

8. What is the past participle of arriver?

  • (A) entendu
  • (B) sorti
  • (C) parti
  • (D) arrivé

Answer key

  1. D) arrive — The je form is arrive.
  2. A) arrives — The tu form is arrives.
  3. D) arrive — The il/elle form is arrive.
  4. A) arrivons — The nous form is arrivons.
  5. B) arrivez — The vous form is arrivez.
  6. B) arrivent — The ils/elles form is arrivent.
  7. A) to arrive — arriver means “to arrive”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. D) arrivé — The past participle of arriver is arrivé; the present is formed with être + arrivé.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of arriver formed?

The present of arriver is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je arrive, tu arrives, il arrive, nous arrivons, vous arrivez, ils arrivent.

When do I use the present of arriver?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” — “I arrive in Paris at eight o'clock every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

What is the difference between the present and the imperfect of arriver?

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the imperfect describes what used to happen or was happening in the past. Compare “J'arrive à Paris à huit heures tous les jours.” with “J'arrivais à Paris à huit heures autrefois.” — the first is now, the second is the past as it used to be.

Pronunciation

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

Related pages