Regarder in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Regarder means “to look at”, and this page covers exactly one thing: regarder 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 regarder, 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 regarder in the present. For example: “Je regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of regarder exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Regarder in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je regarde
tu regardes
il/elle regarde
nous regardons
vous regardez
ils/elles regardent

Gerund: regardant · Past participle: regardé

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

How the present of regarder is formed

The present of regarder follows the regular -er pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je regarde, tu regardes, il/elle regarde, nous regardons, vous regardez, ils/elles regardent. 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 regardant and the participle regardé belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise regarder in every tense.

When to use the present of regarder

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

1. Looking at a film this evening — the everyday use

Regarder is the verb for looking at a film this evening. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Je regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.”

2. Looking at television in the evening — a second everyday use

Regarder also covers looking at television in the evening. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu regardes la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “You look at television in the evening every day.”

3. Looking at out of the window every morning — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use regarder for looking at out of the window every morning. 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 regarde par la fenêtre tous les matins tous les jours.” — “He looks at out of the window every morning 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 regarder is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous regardons un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “We look at a film this evening 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 regarder 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 regardez la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “You look at television in the evening 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 regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Je regardais un film ce soir autrefois.” — “I used to look at a film this evening 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 regardes la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “You look at television in the evening every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu regardais la télévision le soir autrefois.” — “You used to look at television in the evening 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 regardons par la fenêtre tous les matins tous les jours.” — “We look at out of the window every morning every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous regardions par la fenêtre tous les matins autrefois.” — “We used to look at out of the window 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.

Example sentences: regarder 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 regarde la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “I look at television in the evening every day.”

  2. “Tu regardes par la fenêtre tous les matins tous les jours.” — “You look at out of the window every morning every day.”

  3. “Il regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “He looks at a film this evening every day.”

  4. “Nous regardons la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “We look at television in the evening every day.”

  5. “Vous regardez par la fenêtre tous les matins tous les jours.” — “You look at out of the window every morning every day.”

  6. “Ils regardent un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “They look at a film this evening every day.”

  7. “Je regarde la télévision le soir tous les jours.” — “I look at television in the evening every day.”

  8. “Tu regardes par la fenêtre tous les matins tous les jours.” — “You look at out of the window every morning every day.”

Common mistakes with regarder 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 regardent un film ce soir.” Right: “Je regarde un film ce soir.” Why: The je form is regarde, not regardent. Regardent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous regardent un film ce soir.” Right: “Nous regardons un film ce soir.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: regardons, not regardent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “Un film ce soir” with the infinitive: “Je regarder un film ce soir.” Right: “Je regarde un film ce soir.” Why: The infinitive regarder never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form regarde.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je regarde un film ce soir.” Right: “Il est important que je regarde un film ce soir.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use regarde here, not the indicative regarde.

Quiz: regarder 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 ______ la télévision le soir.”

  • (A) regardons
  • (B) regardez
  • (C) regarde
  • (D) regardes

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ par la fenêtre tous les matins.”

  • (A) regarde
  • (B) regardons
  • (C) regardez
  • (D) regardes

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ un film ce soir.”

  • (A) regardons
  • (B) regardez
  • (C) regarde
  • (D) regardes

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ la télévision le soir.”

  • (A) regarde
  • (B) regardes
  • (C) regardez
  • (D) regardons

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ par la fenêtre tous les matins.”

  • (A) regardez
  • (B) regarde
  • (C) regardes
  • (D) regardons

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ un film ce soir.”

  • (A) regardent
  • (B) regarde
  • (C) regardes
  • (D) regardons

7. What does regarder mean in English?

  • (A) to look for
  • (B) to answer
  • (C) to work
  • (D) to look at

8. What is the past participle of regarder?

  • (A) répondu
  • (B) travaillé
  • (C) regardé
  • (D) cherché

Answer key

  1. C) regarde — The je form is regarde.
  2. D) regardes — The tu form is regardes.
  3. C) regarde — The il/elle form is regarde.
  4. D) regardons — The nous form is regardons.
  5. A) regardez — The vous form is regardez.
  6. A) regardent — The ils/elles form is regardent.
  7. D) to look at — regarder means “to look at”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. C) regardé — The past participle of regarder is regardé; the present is formed with avoir + regardé.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of regarder formed?

The present of regarder is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je regarde, tu regardes, il regarde, nous regardons, vous regardez, ils regardent.

When do I use the present of regarder?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Je regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” — “I look at a film this evening every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

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

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 regarde un film ce soir tous les jours.” with “Je regardais un film ce soir 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 regarder, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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