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The present tense indicates an action that is either actually occurring at the time of speaking, or a general truth, a so-called 'eternal verity.'
The French present may be translated in three different ways in English depending on the intended meaning.
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Tex is drinking coffee. (right now, progressive action) |
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OR |
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Tex boit du café. |
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Tex drinks coffee (in general, habitual action) |
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OR |
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Tex does drink coffee. (emphatic or contrastive) |
While a French present tense utterance may be translated by three different English sentences, the specific meaning is recoverable from context.
In fact, French indicates the different nuances of the English progressive, habitual, or emphatic forms by adding elements to clarify the context.
Note the following examples:
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| Tex oublie toujours de prendre un bon petit déjeuner. |
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Tex always forgets to have a good breakfast. (habit) |
| Tammy: Tex, il faut manger au petit déjeuner. C'est le repas le plus important de la journée. |
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Tammy: Tex, you have to eat breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. |
| Tex: Oh, ma chérie, tu t'inquiètes trop. Regarde, je mange un beignet. |
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Tex, Oh, my darling, you worry too much. Look, I'm eating a doughnut. (right now, progressive action) |
| Tammy: Un beignet!? Tu rigoles? Mais, ça ne compte pas! |
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Tammy: Un doughnut!? Are you joking? That doesn't count! |
| Tex: Mais si, ça compte. Du sucre et du beurre me font du bien le matin ... et ensuite une cigarette. |
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Tex: But yes, it does count. (emphatic) Sugar and butter do me good in the morning ... and then a cigarette. |
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In addition, the present tense is sometimes used in place of the past or future in informal narration:
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| La vie de Tex est toute une histoire ... En 1975, alors bébé, Tex se perd à l'aéroport Bush International à Houston. On le met par erreur avec les bagages dans un avion à destination de la France. A Paris, il rencontre des nonnes qui viennent de faire un voyage aux Etats-Unis. Elles ont pitié de ce pauvre tatou égaré et elles l'amènent au couvent à Lyon. Tex passe son enfance en France. Un jour, on découvre que Tex n'a pas de papiers--pas de passeport, pas de visa. Alors, il retourne au Texas. Malheureusement, il ne se sent pas chez lui au Texas. La vie américaine n'est pas facile pour un tatou francisé. |
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Tex's life is quite a story ... In 1975, just a baby, Tex gets lost at Bush International Airport in Houston. He is put by accident with the baggage in a plane headed for France. In Paris he meets some nuns who have just taken a trip to the United States. They take pity on this poor, lost armadillo and they take him to their convent in Lyon. Tex spends his childhood in France. One day, it is discovered that Tex has no papers--no passport, no visa. So he returns to Texas. Unfortunately, he doesn't feel at home in Texas. American life is not easy for a Frenchified armadillo! |
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