enseigner Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of enseigner — teach — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. enseigner is the verb for talking about a teacher's job: it comes up whenever you talk about describing school subjects or explaining a lesson. This page gives you the complete present table for enseigner, 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'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.”

Present conjugation of enseigner

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

Person Form
je enseigne
tu enseignes
il/elle enseigne
nous enseignons
vous enseignez
ils/elles enseignent

The gerund of enseigner is en enseignant and the past participle is enseigné. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of enseigner is formed

The present of enseigner is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are enseigne, enseignes, enseigne, enseignons, enseignez and enseignent. 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 enseigne — so always write it exactly as shown.

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

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “J'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il enseigne les mathématiques.” — “He teaches mathematics.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous enseignons à l'école.” — “We teach at school.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “J'enseigne l'histoire.” — “I teach history.”

Present vs passé composé: enseigner finished, enseigner in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with enseigner. 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'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai enseigné le français cette semaine.” — “I have taught French this week.”

  • Present: “Il enseigne les mathématiques.” — “He teaches mathematics.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a enseigné les mathématiques cette semaine.” — “He has taught mathematics this week.”

  • Present: “Nous enseignons à l'école.” — “We teach at school.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons enseigné à l'école cette semaine.” — “We have taught at school this week.”

Example sentences: enseigner in the present

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

  • “J'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.”
  • “Tu enseignes les mathématiques.” — “You teach mathematics.”
  • “Il enseigne à l'école.” — “He teaches at school.”
  • “Nous enseignons l'histoire.” — “We teach history.”
  • “Vous enseignez le français.” — “You teach French.”
  • “Ils enseignent les mathématiques.” — “They teach mathematics.”

Common mistakes in the present of enseigner

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je enseignons le français.”

✓ Right: “Je enseigne le français.”

enseignons is the nous form. With je the present form is enseigne.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je enseigner les mathématiques.”

✓ Right: “Je enseigne les mathématiques.”

The infinitive enseigner never takes a subject. After je you need enseigne.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai enseigné à l'école.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je enseigne à l'école.”

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

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je enseigne l'histoire tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je enseignais l'histoire tous les jours.”

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

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu enseigne le français.”

✓ Right: “Tu enseignes le français.”

With tu the present form is enseignes, not enseigne. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of enseigner

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

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

    • A) enseignes
    • B) enseignez
    • C) enseignons
    • D) enseigne

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

    • A) enseignes
    • B) enseignez
    • C) enseignons
    • D) enseignent

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

    • A) enseignez
    • B) enseignes
    • C) enseignons
    • D) enseigne

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

    • A) enseignons
    • B) enseignent
    • C) enseigne
    • D) enseignez

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

    • A) enseignes
    • B) enseignent
    • C) enseignons
    • D) enseignez

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

    • A) enseignons
    • B) enseignez
    • C) enseignent
    • D) enseigne

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of enseigner?

    • A) enseignant
    • B) buvant
    • C) dormant

  9. What is the past participle of enseigner?

    • A) dormi
    • B) enseigné
    • C) bu

  10. What does enseigner mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. D) enseigne — The je form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseigne.
  2. A) enseignes — The tu form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseignes.
  3. D) enseigne — The il/elle form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseigne.
  4. A) enseignons — The nous form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseignons.
  5. D) enseignez — The vous form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseignez.
  6. C) enseignent — The ils/elles form of enseigner in the present indicative is enseignent.
  7. B) ai enseigné — The je form of enseigner in the present perfect is ai enseigné.
  8. A) enseignant — The gerund of enseigner is en enseignant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) enseigné — The past participle of enseigner is enseigné; perfect tenses use avoir + enseigné.
  10. A) teach — enseigner means “teach” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of enseigner?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For enseigner that covers talking about a teacher's job, describing school subjects and explaining a lesson.

Is the present of enseigner regular?

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

What is the past participle of enseigner?

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

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

Say “J'enseigne le français.” — “I teach French.” The je form is enseigne.

Pronunciation

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

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