Travailler in the Present Tense in French

Introduction

Travailler means “to work”, and this page covers exactly one thing: travailler 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 travailler, 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 travailler in the present. For example: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.” Everything on this page uses the forms of travailler exactly as they are conjugated in the present, so you can trust every form you see here.

Travailler in the Present Tense — full table

Person Form
je travaille
tu travailles
il/elle travaille
nous travaillons
vous travaillez
ils/elles travaillent

Gerund: travaillant · Past participle: travaillé

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

How the present of travailler is formed

The present of travailler follows the regular -er pattern: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je travaille, tu travailles, il/elle travaille, nous travaillons, vous travaillez, ils/elles travaillent. 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 travaillant and the participle travaillé belong to the same family of forms — learn them together with the present table and you will recognise travailler in every tense.

When to use the present of travailler

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

1. Working in Paris every day — the everyday use

Travailler is the verb for working in Paris every day. It covers the ordinary, everyday situations where this verb appears, at home and outside. Example: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.”

2. Working in an office in the city centre — a second everyday use

Travailler also covers working in an office in the city centre. This use is very common in everyday speech, and it is the one learners meet next after the first. Example: “Tu travailles dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “You work in an office in the city centre every day.”

3. Working in the evening after class — a third everyday use

In a third everyday situation, you use travailler for working in the evening after class. 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 travaille le soir après les cours tous les jours.” — “He works in the evening after class 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 travailler is no exception. Use time expressions such as tous les jours, toujours or chaque semaine to make the routine explicit. Example: “Nous travaillons à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “We work in Paris every day 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 travailler 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 travaillez dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “You work in an office in the city centre 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 travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Je travaillais à Paris tous les jours autrefois.” — “I used to work in Paris every day 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 travailles dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “You work in an office in the city centre every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu travaillais dans un bureau au centre-ville autrefois.” — “You used to work in an office in the city centre 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 travaillons le soir après les cours tous les jours.” — “We work in the evening after class every day.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous travaillions le soir après les cours autrefois.” — “We used to work in the evening after class 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: travailler 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 travaille dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “I work in an office in the city centre every day.”

  2. “Tu travailles le soir après les cours tous les jours.” — “You work in the evening after class every day.”

  3. “Il travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “He works in Paris every day every day.”

  4. “Nous travaillons dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “We work in an office in the city centre every day.”

  5. “Vous travaillez le soir après les cours tous les jours.” — “You work in the evening after class every day.”

  6. “Ils travaillent à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “They work in Paris every day every day.”

  7. “Je travaille dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “I work in an office in the city centre every day.”

  8. “Tu travailles le soir après les cours tous les jours.” — “You work in the evening after class every day.”

Common mistakes with travailler 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 travaillent à Paris tous les jours.” Right: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours.” Why: The je form is travaille, not travaillent. Travaillent belongs with ils/elles. Mixing the two groups is the most common error with this verb.

  • Wrong: “Nous travaillent à Paris tous les jours.” Right: “Nous travaillons à Paris tous les jours.” Why: Nous keeps its own form: travaillons, not travaillent. Learn nous and vous as a separate pair from the singular forms.

  • Wrong: “À paris tous les jours” with the infinitive: “Je travailler à Paris tous les jours.” Right: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours.” Why: The infinitive travailler never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form travaille.

  • Wrong: “Il est important que je travaille à Paris tous les jours.” Right: “Il est important que je travaille à Paris tous les jours.” Why: After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use travaille here, not the indicative travaille.

Quiz: travailler 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 ______ dans un bureau au centre-ville.”

  • (A) travaille
  • (B) travailles
  • (C) travaillons
  • (D) travaillez

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ le soir après les cours.”

  • (A) travaillez
  • (B) travailles
  • (C) travaille
  • (D) travaillons

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ à Paris tous les jours.”

  • (A) travaille
  • (B) travailles
  • (C) travaillons
  • (D) travaillez

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ dans un bureau au centre-ville.”

  • (A) travaillez
  • (B) travaillons
  • (C) travaille
  • (D) travailles

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ le soir après les cours.”

  • (A) travailles
  • (B) travaillons
  • (C) travaillez
  • (D) travaille

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ à Paris tous les jours.”

  • (A) travailles
  • (B) travaillons
  • (C) travaillent
  • (D) travaille

7. What does travailler mean in English?

  • (A) to wait
  • (B) to eat
  • (C) to work
  • (D) to listen to

8. What is the past participle of travailler?

  • (A) travaillé
  • (B) écouté
  • (C) attendu
  • (D) mangé

Answer key

  1. A) travaille — The je form is travaille.
  2. B) travailles — The tu form is travailles.
  3. A) travaille — The il/elle form is travaille.
  4. B) travaillons — The nous form is travaillons.
  5. C) travaillez — The vous form is travaillez.
  6. C) travaillent — The ils/elles form is travaillent.
  7. C) to work — travailler means “to work”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. A) travaillé — The past participle of travailler is travaillé; the present is formed with avoir + travaillé.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present of travailler formed?

The present of travailler is regular: take the stem and add the present endings, giving je travaille, tu travailles, il travaille, nous travaillons, vous travaillez, ils travaillent.

When do I use the present of travailler?

Use the present for habits, general truths and what is happening now — for example, “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.” For a finished past action, use the passé composé instead.

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

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 travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” with “Je travaillais à Paris tous les jours 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 travailler, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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