Describing Someone's Actions in French - Exercises

Practice describing actions in progress in the present

Lesson Transcript

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Je suis en train de (pause with a tap of the finger) un livre passionnant.

lire

Je suis en train de lire un livre passionnant.

"I'm reading an exciting book."

We use lire, the infinitive form of the verb "to read," because the structure être en train de must be followed by an infinitive verb. Lit and lisons are conjugated forms, so they don't fit here.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Je suis en train d'(pause with a tap of the finger) un e-mail important.

écrire

Je suis en train d'écrire un e-mail important.

"I'm writing an important email."

We use écrire, the infinitive meaning "to write," because this is the standard form used after en train de. Note also how "de" becomes "d'" before a vowel. Forms like écris or écrit are conjugated and wouldn't fit grammatically here.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

On est en train de (pause with a tap of the finger) un exposé.

préparer

On est en train de préparer un exposé.

"We're preparing a presentation."

Here we use préparer, the infinitive of "to prepare," because it follows the same construction rule: être en train de + infinitive. Conjugated forms like prépare or préparons would be incorrect.

Unscramble the words to make a sentence.

Ready?

Je suis

Je suis en

Je suis en train

Je suis en train de

Je suis en train de compléter

Je suis en train de compléter cet

Je suis en train de compléter cet exercice.

"I'm completing this exercise."

Je suis en train de compléter cet exercice.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Ils sont souvent en train de (discutez or discuter) après les cours.

discuter

Ils sont souvent en train de discuter après les cours.

"They are often chatting after class."

We use discuter, the infinitive form of the verb "to chat." Discutez is a conjugated verb form (vous form), so it doesn't fit in this structure.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Le professeur est en train d'(explique or expliquer) la leçon.

expliquer

Le professeur est en train d'expliquer la leçon.

"The teacher is explaining the lesson."

We use expliquer, the infinitive form of the verb "to explain." Explique is a conjugated form (il/elle form), so it would be grammatically incorrect here.

Let's translate some sentences into French.

Translate "We often do grammar exercises." into French.

Nous, the subject pronoun, meaning "we,"

followed by

faisons, the present tense of faire, meaning "do,"

souvent, the adverb of frequency, meaning "often,"

followed by

des exercices de grammaire, meaning "grammar exercises."

Souvent is used here as an adverb of frequency to tell us how regularly the action happens. In French, adverbs like souvent usually come right after the verb, not before it. We don't say Nous souvent faisons des exercices de grammaire. It should be:

Nous faisons souvent des exercices de grammaire.

"We often do grammar exercises."

Translate "I almost always have a coffee in the morning." into French.

Je, the subject pronoun, meaning "I,"

followed by

prends, the present tense of prendre, meaning "have" or "take,"

presque toujours, the compound adverb of frequency, meaning "almost always,"

followed by

un café, meaning "a coffee,"

and

le matin, meaning "in the morning."

Presque toujours is a compound adverb of frequency. It's made up of presque, "almost," and toujours, "always," and it adds nuance to describe how frequently something is done. Like other adverbs, it is placed after the main verb—in this case, after prends.

Je prends presque toujours un café le matin.

"I almost always have a coffee in the morning."

Translate "My brother rarely watches TV." into French.

Mon frère, the subject noun phrase, meaning "my brother,"

followed by

regarde, the present tense of regarder, meaning "watches,"

rarement, the adverb of frequency, meaning "rarely,"

followed by

la télévision, meaning "television."

Rarement is another adverb of frequency that tells us how often the action happens. It also comes directly after the verb, as we see here with regarde. This word helps you describe occasional or infrequent habits.

Mon frère regarde rarement la télévision.

"My brother rarely watches TV."

Listen to me as I speak. Which word do you hear in the sentences?

Je suis en train de lire un livre passionnant.

Let's listen one more time.

Je suis en train de lire un livre passionnant.

Did you hear, lire?

Lire, meaning "to read," is the infinitive verb here.

It comes after en train de to show an action that's happening right now.

How about...?

Le professeur est en train d'expliquer la leçon.

Let's listen one more time.

Le professeur est en train d'expliquer la leçon.

Did you hear, expliquer?

Expliquer, meaning "to explain." The de becomes d' here because expliquer begins with a vowel.

So: en train d'expliquer means "in the middle of explaining."

Next…

Je suis en train de compléter cet exercice.

One more time.

Je suis en train de compléter cet exercice.

Did you hear, compléter?

Compléter, meaning "to complete," is another infinitive verb after en train de.

And...

Mon frère regarde rarement la télévision.

One more time.

Mon frère regarde rarement la télévision.

Did you hear, rarement?

Rarement is an adverb of frequency — it means "rarely."

In French, adverbs like this usually come after the verb — in this case, after regarde — to show how often something happens.

Thank you for watching.

Now you know how to talk about what someone is doing in French.

...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway.

Au revoir !

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