danser Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of danser — dance — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. danser is the verb for talking about a party: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a dance class or celebrating with friends. This page gives you the complete present table for danser, 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: “Je danse le tango.” — “I dance the tango.”

Present conjugation of danser

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

Person Form
je danse
tu danses
il/elle danse
nous dansons
vous dansez
ils/elles dansent

The gerund of danser is en dansant and the past participle is dansé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of danser is formed

The present of danser is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are danse, danses, danse, dansons, dansez and dansent. 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 danse — so always write it exactly as shown.

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

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “Je danse le tango.” — “I dance the tango.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il danse toute la nuit.” — “He dances all night.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous dansons avec Marie.” — “We dance with Marie.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “Je danse très bien.” — “I dance very well.”

Present vs passé composé: danser finished, danser in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with danser. 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: “Je danse le tango.” — “I dance the tango.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai dansé le tango cette semaine.” — “I have danced the tango this week.”

  • Present: “Il danse toute la nuit.” — “He dances all night.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a dansé toute la nuit cette semaine.” — “He has danced all night this week.”

  • Present: “Nous dansons avec Marie.” — “We dance with Marie.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons dansé avec Marie cette semaine.” — “We have danced with Marie this week.”

Example sentences: danser in the present

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

  • “Je danse le tango.” — “I dance the tango.”
  • “Tu danses toute la nuit.” — “You dance all night.”
  • “Il danse avec Marie.” — “He dances with Marie.”
  • “Nous dansons très bien.” — “We dance very well.”
  • “Vous dansez le tango.” — “You dance the tango.”
  • “Ils dansent toute la nuit.” — “They dance all night.”

Common mistakes in the present of danser

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je dansons le tango.”

✓ Right: “Je danse le tango.”

dansons is the nous form. With je the present form is danse.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je danser toute la nuit.”

✓ Right: “Je danse toute la nuit.”

The infinitive danser never takes a subject. After je you need danse.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai dansé avec Marie.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je danse avec Marie.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je danse très bien tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je dansais très bien tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu danse le tango.”

✓ Right: “Tu danses le tango.”

With tu the present form is danses, not danse. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of danser

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

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

    • A) dansons
    • B) dansent
    • C) danse
    • D) danses

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

    • A) danses
    • B) danse
    • C) dansons
    • D) dansez

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

    • A) dansent
    • B) danse
    • C) dansez
    • D) dansons

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

    • A) dansent
    • B) dansons
    • C) danse
    • D) dansez

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

    • A) dansez
    • B) dansons
    • C) dansent
    • D) danses

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

    • A) dansons
    • B) danse
    • C) dansent
    • D) dansez

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

    • A) as dansé
    • B) ont dansé
    • C) ai dansé
    • D) a dansé

  8. What is the gerund of danser?

    • A) dormant
    • B) dansant
    • C) buvant

  9. What is the past participle of danser?

    • A) dormi
    • B) bu
    • C) dansé

  10. What does danser mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. C) danse — The je form of danser in the present indicative is danse.
  2. A) danses — The tu form of danser in the present indicative is danses.
  3. B) danse — The il/elle form of danser in the present indicative is danse.
  4. B) dansons — The nous form of danser in the present indicative is dansons.
  5. A) dansez — The vous form of danser in the present indicative is dansez.
  6. C) dansent — The ils/elles form of danser in the present indicative is dansent.
  7. C) ai dansé — The je form of danser in the present perfect is ai dansé.
  8. B) dansant — The gerund of danser is en dansant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. C) dansé — The past participle of danser is dansé; perfect tenses use avoir + dansé.
  10. C) dance — danser means “dance” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of danser?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For danser that covers talking about a party, describing a dance class and celebrating with friends.

Is the present of danser regular?

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

What is the past participle of danser?

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

How do I say “I dance” in the present?

Say “Je danse le tango.” — “I dance the tango.” The je form is danse.

Pronunciation

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

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