Pratiquer Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of pratiquer — “to practise” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for pratiquer, 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 pratique le piano chaque soir.” — “I practise the piano every evening.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pratiquer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Present Tense conjugation of pratiquer
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pratiquer. pratiquer is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — pratiquer
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | pratique |
| tu | pratiques |
| il/elle | pratique |
| nous | pratiquons |
| vous | pratiquez |
| ils/elles | pratiquent |
The gerund of pratiquer is en pratiquant and the past participle is pratiqué. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of pratiquer is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem pratiqu- (the infinitive pratiquer without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → pratique, tu → pratiques, il/elle → pratique, nous → pratiquons, vous → pratiquez, ils/elles → pratiquent. So pratiquer gives pratique, pratiques, pratique, pratiquons, pratiquez, pratiquent.
When to use the present tense of pratiquer
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with pratiquer: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir tous les jours.” — “I practise the piano every evening.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with pratiquer: “Tu pratiques le piano chaque soir en général.” — “You practise the piano every evening.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with pratiquer: “Il pratique le piano chaque soir maintenant.” — “He practises the piano every evening.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with pratiquer: “Nous pratiquons le piano chaque soir demain.” — “We practise the piano every evening.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with pratiquer: “Ils pratiquent le piano chaque soir souvent.” — “They practise the piano every evening.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: pratiquer now, pratiquer later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir tous les jours.” — “I practise the piano every evening.”
Future: “Je pratiquerai le piano chaque soir demain.” — “I will practise the piano every evening tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu pratiques le piano chaque soir maintenant.” — “You practise the piano every evening.”
Future: “Tu pratiqueras le piano chaque soir demain.” — “You will practise the piano every evening tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous pratiquons le piano chaque soir en classe.” — “We practise the piano every evening.”
Future: “Nous pratiquerons le piano chaque soir demain.” — “We will practise the piano every evening tomorrow.”
Example sentences: pratiquer in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of pratiquer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je pratique le piano chaque soir tous les jours.” — “I practise the piano every evening.”
- “Tu pratiques le piano chaque soir chaque matin.” — “You practise the piano every evening.”
- “Il pratique le piano chaque soir souvent.” — “He practises the piano every evening.”
- “Nous pratiquons le piano chaque soir maintenant.” — “We practise the piano every evening.”
- “Vous pratiquez le piano chaque soir en général.” — “You practise the piano every evening.”
- “Ils pratiquent le piano chaque soir le week-end.” — “They practise the piano every evening.”
Common mistakes with pratiquer in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je pratiquer le piano chaque soir.”
Right: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form pratique.
Mistake 2: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu pratique le piano chaque soir.”
Right: “Tu pratiques le piano chaque soir.”
After tu you need pratiques, not the je form pratique. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je pratiquerai le piano chaque soir.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (pratiquerai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai pratiqué le piano chaque soir tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “Je pratique le piano chaque soir tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: pratiquer in the present tense
What is the je form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiquons
- B) pratiquent
- C) pratiquez
- D) pratique
What is the tu form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiquez
- B) pratiquent
- C) pratiques
- D) pratiquons
What is the il/elle form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiquent
- B) pratiquons
- C) pratiquez
- D) pratique
What is the nous form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiques
- B) pratiquez
- C) pratique
- D) pratiquons
What is the vous form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratiquons
- B) pratiquez
- C) pratiquent
- D) pratiques
What is the ils/elles form of pratiquer in the Present indicative?
- A) pratique
- B) pratiquez
- C) pratiquons
- D) pratiquent
What is the gerund of pratiquer?
- A) pratiquerai
- B) en pratiquant
- C) pratiqué
- D) pratique
What does pratiquer mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to practise
- C) to have
- D) to go
Answer key
- D) pratique — the je form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratique.
- C) pratiques — the tu form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratiques.
- D) pratique — the il/elle form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratique.
- D) pratiquons — the nous form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratiquons.
- B) pratiquez — the vous form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratiquez.
- D) pratiquent — the ils/elles form of pratiquer in the present indicative is pratiquent.
- B) en pratiquant — the gerund of pratiquer is en pratiquant.
- B) to practise — pratiquer means “to practise” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of pratiquer formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is pratique and the ils form is pratiquent.
When do I use the present tense of pratiquer?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (pratique), while the future is for what will happen (pratiquerai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of pratiquer?
On the full conjugation page for pratiquer, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of pratiquer in order, without looking: pratique, pratiques, pratique, pratiquons, pratiquez, pratiquent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using pratique, ai pratiqué and pratiquerai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- pratiquer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- pratiquer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Sentrainer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise pratiquer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise pratiquer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.