Attendre in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Attendre means “to wait”, and this page covers exactly one thing: attendre 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 attendre, 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 attendre in the present. For example: “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of attendre exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Attendre in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je attends
tu attends
il/elle attend
nous attendons
vous attendez
ils/elles attendent

Gerund: attendant · Past participle: attendu

The gerund is attendant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is attendu, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is ai attendu, 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 attendre is used.

How the present of attendre is formed

The present of attendre follows the regular -re pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je attends, tu attends, il/elle attend, nous attendons, vous attendez, ils/elles attendent. 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 attendant and the participle attendu belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise attendre in every tense.

When to use the present of attendre

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

1. Waiting for the bus every morning — the everyday use

Attendre is the verb for waiting for the bus every morning. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.”

2. Waiting for Marie in front of the house — a second everyday use

Attendre also covers waiting for Marie in front of the house. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu attends Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “You wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”

3. Waiting for an answer since yesterday — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use attendre for waiting for an answer since yesterday. 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 attend une réponse depuis hier tous les jours.” — “He waits for an answer since yesterday 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 attendre is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous attendons le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “We wait for the bus every morning 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 attendre 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 attendez Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “You wait for Marie in front of the house 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'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.”

  • Imperfect: “J'attendais le bus tous les matins autrefois.” — “I used to wait for the bus every 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: “Tu attends Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “You wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu attendais Marie devant la maison autrefois.” — “You used to wait for Marie in front of the house 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 attendons une réponse depuis hier tous les jours.” — “We wait for an answer since yesterday every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous attendions une réponse depuis hier autrefois.” — “We used to wait for an answer since yesterday 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: attendre 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'attends Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”

  2. “Tu attends une réponse depuis hier tous les jours.” — “You wait for an answer since yesterday every day.”

  3. “Il attend le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “He waits for the bus every morning every day.”

  4. “Nous attendons Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “We wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”

  5. “Vous attendez une réponse depuis hier tous les jours.” — “You wait for an answer since yesterday every day.”

  6. “Ils attendent le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “They wait for the bus every morning every day.”

  7. “J'attends Marie devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I wait for Marie in front of the house every day.”

  8. “Tu attends une réponse depuis hier tous les jours.” — “You wait for an answer since yesterday every day.”

Common mistakes with attendre 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 attendent le bus tous les matins.” Right: “Je attends le bus tous les matins.” Why: The je form is attends, not attendent. Attendent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous attendent le bus tous les matins.” Right: “Nous attendons le bus tous les matins.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: attendons, not attendent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Le bus tous les matins” with the infinitive: “Je attendre le bus tous les matins.” Right: “Je attends le bus tous les matins.” Why: The infinitive attendre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form attends.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je attends le bus tous les matins.” Right: “Il est important que je attende le bus tous les matins.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use attende here, not the indicative attends.

Quiz: attendre 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 ______ Marie devant la maison.”

  • (A) attendez
  • (B) attends
  • (C) attend
  • (D) attendons

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ une réponse depuis hier.”

  • (A) attendez
  • (B) attends
  • (C) attend
  • (D) attendons

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ le bus tous les matins.”

  • (A) attend
  • (B) attends
  • (C) attendons
  • (D) attendez

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ Marie devant la maison.”

  • (A) attendons
  • (B) attends
  • (C) attend
  • (D) attendez

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ une réponse depuis hier.”

  • (A) attendons
  • (B) attendez
  • (C) attends
  • (D) attend

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ le bus tous les matins.”

  • (A) attendons
  • (B) attendent
  • (C) attends
  • (D) attend

7. What does attendre mean in English?

  • (A) to wait
  • (B) to eat
  • (C) to be
  • (D) to have

8. What is the past participle of attendre?

  • (A) mangé
  • (B) été
  • (C) eu
  • (D) attendu

Answer key

  1. B) attends — The je form is attends.
  2. B) attends — The tu form is attends.
  3. A) attend — The il/elle form is attend.
  4. A) attendons — The nous form is attendons.
  5. B) attendez — The vous form is attendez.
  6. B) attendent — The ils/elles form is attendent.
  7. A) to wait — attendre means “to wait”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. D) attendu — The past participle of attendre is attendu; the present is formed with avoir + attendu.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of attendre formed?

The present of attendre is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je attends, tu attends, il attend, nous attendons, vous attendez, ils attendent.

When do I use the present of attendre?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “J'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” — “I wait for the bus every morning every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

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

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'attends le bus tous les matins tous les jours.” with “J'attendais le bus tous les matins 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 attendre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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