Demander in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Demander means “to ask”, and this page covers exactly one thing: demander 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 demander, 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 demander in the present. For example: “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of demander exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Demander in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je demande
tu demandes
il/elle demande
nous demandons
vous demandez
ils/elles demandent

Gerund: demandant · Past participle: demandé

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

How the present of demander is formed

The present of demander follows the regular -er pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je demande, tu demandes, il/elle demande, nous demandons, vous demandez, ils/elles demandent. 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 demandant and the participle demandé belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise demander in every tense.

When to use the present of demander

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

1. Asking a question to the teacher — the everyday use

Demander is the verb for asking a question to the teacher. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.”

2. Asking some help from my brother — a second everyday use

Demander also covers asking some help from my brother. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu demandes de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You ask some help from my brother every day.”

3. Asking the time from Marie — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use demander for asking the time from 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 demande l'heure à Marie tous les jours.” — “He asks the time from 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 demander is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous demandons une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “We ask a question to the teacher 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 demander 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 demandez de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You ask some help from my brother 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: “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Je demandais une question au professeur autrefois.” — “I used to ask a question to the teacher 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 demandes de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “You ask some help from my brother every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu demandais de l'aide à mon frère autrefois.” — “You used to ask some help from my brother 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 demandons l'heure à Marie tous les jours.” — “We ask the time from Marie every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous demandions l'heure à Marie autrefois.” — “We used to ask the time from 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: demander 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. “Je demande de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “I ask some help from my brother every day.”

  2. “Tu demandes l'heure à Marie tous les jours.” — “You ask the time from Marie every day.”

  3. “Il demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “He asks a question to the teacher every day.”

  4. “Nous demandons de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “We ask some help from my brother every day.”

  5. “Vous demandez l'heure à Marie tous les jours.” — “You ask the time from Marie every day.”

  6. “Ils demandent une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “They ask a question to the teacher every day.”

  7. “Je demande de l'aide à mon frère tous les jours.” — “I ask some help from my brother every day.”

  8. “Tu demandes l'heure à Marie tous les jours.” — “You ask the time from Marie every day.”

Common mistakes with demander 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 demandent une question au professeur.” Right: “Je demande une question au professeur.” Why: The je form is demande, not demandent. Demandent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous demandent une question au professeur.” Right: “Nous demandons une question au professeur.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: demandons, not demandent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Une question au professeur” with the infinitive: “Je demander une question au professeur.” Right: “Je demande une question au professeur.” Why: The infinitive demander never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form demande.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je demande une question au professeur.” Right: “Il est important que je demande une question au professeur.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use demande here, not the indicative demande.

Quiz: demander 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 ______ de l'aide à mon frère.”

  • (A) demandons
  • (B) demandez
  • (C) demande
  • (D) demandes

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ l'heure à Marie.”

  • (A) demande
  • (B) demandons
  • (C) demandez
  • (D) demandes

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ une question au professeur.”

  • (A) demandons
  • (B) demandez
  • (C) demande
  • (D) demandes

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ de l'aide à mon frère.”

  • (A) demande
  • (B) demandes
  • (C) demandez
  • (D) demandons

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ l'heure à Marie.”

  • (A) demandez
  • (B) demande
  • (C) demandes
  • (D) demandons

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ une question au professeur.”

  • (A) demandent
  • (B) demande
  • (C) demandes
  • (D) demandons

7. What does demander mean in English?

  • (A) to hold
  • (B) to carry, to wear
  • (C) to ask
  • (D) to pass, to spend

8. What is the past participle of demander?

  • (A) tenu
  • (B) porté
  • (C) demandé
  • (D) passé

Answer key

  1. C) demande — The je form is demande.
  2. D) demandes — The tu form is demandes.
  3. C) demande — The il/elle form is demande.
  4. D) demandons — The nous form is demandons.
  5. A) demandez — The vous form is demandez.
  6. A) demandent — The ils/elles form is demandent.
  7. C) to ask — demander means “to ask”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. C) demandé — The past participle of demander is demandé; the present is formed with avoir + demandé.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of demander formed?

The present of demander is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je demande, tu demandes, il demande, nous demandons, vous demandez, ils demandent.

When do I use the present of demander?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” — “I ask a question to the teacher every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

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

The present describes what is true now or happens regularly; the imperfect describes what used to happen or was happening in the past. Compare “Je demande une question au professeur tous les jours.” with “Je demandais une question au professeur 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 demander, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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