consécration = consecration, dedication, recognition

réalise = realizes, performs, carries out, makes, achieves

parcours = course, journey, route, path, career
sans faute = without fault, flawlessly
hors du commun = extraordinary, unusual, outstanding, out of the ordinary,
exceptional
procès = trial, process, case, lawsuit
chute = fall, drop
témoin = witness, control
malvoyant = visually impaired
ausculte = examines, auscultates, sounds out, scrutinizes
au sein = within (literally at the breast. In English, we’d say, “at the heart”)
le voilà = there it is (or there he is…or variants there of such as there she is
etc.)
propulsé = propelled
remis = given, presented, awarded, handed over, delivered, provided,
submitted
revanche = revenge
discours = speech, discourse, address
marchandisation= commodification, commercialization
jugé = considered, found, deemed, judged
le propos = purpose, point, subject, aim, topic, message
injuste = unfair, unjust
precisions = details, clarification, information
Le participe présent – the present participle in French

What is le participe présent ?

Le participe présent (the present participle) is the verb form that ends in -ant; it is an
impersonal form, so cannot be conjugated, and is similar to the English -ing form. We can
use the present participle as a verb, in which case its form does not change, or as an adjective
(adjectif verbal), in which case it agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes.

Read on to learn all about the French present participle and when to use it, then test yourself
in the exercises.

How to form le participe présent

To form the French present participle, we take the nous form of the verb in the present tense
and replace the ending -ons with -ant.

Examples:
aimer – nous aimons – aimant
finir – nous finissons – finissant
dormir – nous dormons – dormant
vendre – nous vendons – vendant

Irregular present participles

There are three verbs that have irregular present participles:

avoir – ayant
être – étant
savoir – sachant

When to use le participe présent

There are two main uses of the present participle; as an adjective and as a verb:

• As an adjective, the present participle expresses a state or quality. In this function, it is

known as an adjectif verbal and must agree in gender and number with the noun it
describes. This usage is common in both spoken and written French.

Examples:
C’est une équipe suprenante.
C’ést un match passionant.

• As a verb, the present participle is similar to the English -ing form; it expresses an
action that is in progress at the moment of speaking or an action that occurs parallel to
another. Its form is invariable (it does not change according to gender and number).
This usage of the present participle appears mostly in written language.
 Example:
Le joueur, suprenant ses adversaires, s’empare de la balle.

As a verb, the present participle is often used in place of different types of subordinate
clauses:

The participe présent instead of a relative clause

The present participle can replace a relative clause. In this function, the present participle
refers to a noun or a pronoun but does not agree in gender or number.

Examples:
Max, ayant le ballon devant lui, court vers l’autre bout du terrain.
= Max, qui a le ballon devant lui, court vers l’autre bout du terrain.
Les spectateurs criant dans les tribunes encouragent les joueurs.
= Les spectateurs qui crient dans les tribunes encouragent les joueurs.

This use of the present participle is usually seen in formal written contexts such as newspaper
articles or scientific journals.

The participe présent instead of an adverbial clause

The present participle can also replace an adverbial clause (proposition subordonnée
circonstancielle). These are subordinate clauses that express a reason, a purpose, a time, a
condition, etc. Again, the present participle is invariable.

We can use the present participle to replace the following types of adverbial clauses:

• time clauses

Example:
Apercevant une faille dans les défenses de l’adversaire, Max marque un but.
= Au moment où il aperçoit une faille dans les défenses de l’adversaire, Max marque
un but.

• clauses that express a reason or cause

Example:
Voulant marquer un but, Max s’est concentré sur le ballon.
= Comme il voulait marquer un but, Max s’est concentré sur le ballon.

• clauses that express a result or consequence

Example:
Max a marqué un but, assurant ainsi la victoire à son équipe.
= Max a marqué un but, de sorte qu’il a assuré la victoire à son équipe.

• conditional clauses (if-clauses)

Example:
 S’entraînant plus régulièrement, l’équipe adverse pourrait gagner le prochain match.
= Si elle s’entraînait plus régulièrement, l’équipe adverse pourrait gagner le prochain
match.

Le participe présent in participle clauses

The present participle also appears in the aptly named participle clauses. These are
subordinate clauses that express simultaneous or sequential events as well as cause and effect.
The subject of the participle clause is always different to the subject in the main clause.

Example:
Le temps n’étant pas trop mauvais, Max a pu jouer au foot.
subject in the participle clause = le temps
subject in the main clause = Max

Verbs with two participe présent forms

Some verbs have different forms depending on whether they are being used as a participe
présent or an adjectif verbal. In some cases (but not all), this difference also signifies a
change in meaning.

See the table below for more information.

Verb Participe présent Adjectif verbal English Equivalent

convaincre convainquant convaincant convincing – persuasive
converger convergeant convergent meeting – convergent
différer différant différent differing – different/other
diverger divergeant divergent diverging – divergent
èquivaloir équivalant équivalent equating to – equivalent/equal
exceller excellant excellent excelling – excellent
fatiguer fatiguant fatigant tiring – tiresome
influer influant influent influencing – influential
intriguer intriguant intrigant scheming – calculating
naviguer naviguant navigant sailing/navigating – flying
négliger négligeant négligent neglecting – careless
précéder précédant précédent arriving before – previous
provoquer provoquant provocant causing – provoking
suffoquer suffoquant suffocant suffocating – stifling/staggering

Links: https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/verbs/participe-
gerondif/participe-present
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/present-participle/
Le plus-que-parfait: the pluperfect in French

What is the le plus-que-parfait?

Le plus-que-parfait corresponds to the past perfect tense in English. We use it to talk about
an action or situation that took place before another past action. The plus-que-parfait is often
used when telling stories and anecdotes to provide background information on situations that
occurred prior to the main action of the story.

When to use the plus-que-parfait in French

We use the plus-que-parfait to talk about an action that occurred before another action in the
past.

This tense is usually used together with another past tense (such as the imparfait, the passé
composé or the passé simple) and establishes the order of events: the action expressed in the
plus-que-parfairt always occurred before the action expressed by the other past tenses.

Example:
Elle avait beaucoup travaillé avant de pouvoir jouer le morceau parfaitement.

How to conjugate the plus-que-parfait in French

To conjugate the plus-que-parfait we use the imperfect forms of avoir and être as auxiliary
verbs, followed by the participe passé (past participle) of the main verb.

Person avoir Participle être Participle

1st person singular (I) j’avais j’étais parti
2nd person singular (you) tu avais aimé tu étais
3rd person singular (he/she/it) il/elle/on avait il/elle/on était partie
1st person plural (we) nous avions fini nous étions
2nd person plural (you) vous aviez vous étiez partis
vendu
3rd person plural (they) ils/elles avaient ils/elles étaient parties

In negative sentences, the past participle comes after the second part of the negation (pas).

Example:
J’avais rigolé. → Je n’avais pas rigolé.
J’étais parti.→ Je n’étais pas parti.

For reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun comes after the first part of the negation (ne) and
before the auxiliary verb (avoir/être).

Example:
Je ne m’étais pas trompé dans mon calcul.

Avoir or être
Info

We use avoir when descendre, (r)entrer, (re)monter, retourner and sortir are followed by a
direct object. In this case, the meaning of the verb often changes.

Example:
À quelle heure étais-tu sorti ce matin-là ?
no direct object, sortir = leave
but: Avais-tu sorti les carottes du frigo hier soir ?
direct object: les carottes, sortir = take out

Participe passé: the past participle

For the regular -er/-ir/-re verbs, the participe passé is easy to construct:

• If the infinitive ends in -er, the participle ends in é

Example:
aimer – aimé

• If the infinitive ends in -ir, the participle ends in i

Example:
finir – fini

• If the infinitive ends in -re, the participle ends in u

Example:
vendre - vendu

For the irregular verbs, however, we have to look up the participle forms in the list of
irregular verbs or check the verb conjugator – or simply learn the correct forms by heart.

Agreement of the participe passé

For some verbs, the participe passé has to agree in gender and number with either the subject
or the object of the sentence. This agreement is necessary in the following cases:

• When a verb takes être as a help verb, the participle agrees in gender and number with
the subject.

Example:
Il était allé à l’école de musique.
Elle était allée à l’école de musique.
Ils étaient allés à l’école de musique.
Elles étaient allées à l’école de musique.

• For verbs that take avoir in the plus-que-parfait, the participle only agrees in gender
and number with a direct object that comes before the verb. This direct object can take
 three possible forms: a personal pronoun (me, te, la, nous, vous, les), the relative
pronoun que, or a noun placed before the verb (usually in questions and
exclamations).

Example:
Elle avait acheté un tambour. → Elle l’avait acheté.
Elle avait acheté une flûte. → Elle l’avait achetée.
Elle avait rencontré d’autres artistes. → Elle les avait rencontrés.
Son père avait acheté des places de concert. → Son père les avait achetées.

• In the case of reflexive verbs (which always take être as their auxiliary in the plus-
que-parfait), the participle generally agrees with the subject.

Example:
Nous nous étions levés très tôt.

The exception to this concerns direct objects: the participle does not agree if the
reflexive verb is followed by a direct object.

Example:
Elle s’était lavé les mains.
→ but: Elle s’était lavée.

Remember: the participe passé never agrees with an indirect object.

Example:
Marie et Laurent s’étaient téléphoné.
→ se = indirect object (téléphoné à qui? – who did they call?)

The participe passé does not agree with the subject of the following verbs: se
téléphoner, se parler, se mentir, se plaire (complaire/déplaire), se sourire, se rire, se
nuire, se succéder, se suffire, se ressembler, s’en vouloir. This is because the reflexive
pronoun is an indirect object. It is used in the sense of “each other” for these verbs.

se rendre compte

Although it is reflexive, the past participle of the verb se rendre compte (to realise) does not
agree with the subject of the sentence. This is because the word compte acts as a direct object
(se rendre quoi? → compte).

Example:
Elle s’était rendu compte de son erreur.

Links: https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/le-plus-que-parfait
https://www.thoughtco.com/french-past-perfect-1368900
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/past-perfect/