French 1 Quiz: Choosing Present Tense Forms
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Choosing Present Tense FormsQuestion 1 of 10

Marie et son frère habitent à Paris. Chaque matin, ils   le métro pour aller au travail.

Which form correctly completes the sentence above?

prend
prenons
prennent
prenez
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French 1 Quiz

French 1 Quiz: Choosing Present Tense Forms

Practice Choosing Present Tense Forms in French 1 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Choosing Present Tense Forms, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for French 1.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Marie et son frère habitent à Paris. Chaque matin, ils   le métro pour aller au travail.

Which form correctly completes the sentence above?

  1. prend
  2. prenons
  3. prennent (correct answer)
  4. prenez
Explanation: When completing a French sentence, your first instinct should always be to identify the subject and match the verb to it. French verbs change form depending on who is performing the action — this is called subject-verb agreement. In this sentence, the subject is Marie et son frère — two people, which means the subject is third person plural (ils/elles). You're looking for the ils form of the verb prendre (to take). Prendre is an irregular verb, so it's worth memorizing its full conjugation: je prends, tu prends, il/elle prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent. The ils/elles form, prennent, is the correct choice — and that's option C. Now let's look at why the other options fail. A) prend is the third person singular (il/elle) form — it would work for Marie alone, but not for Marie and her brother together. B) prenons is the nous (we) form, which would only be correct if the speaker were including themselves in the group. D) prenez is the vous form, used either for formal address or for a group being spoken to directly — neither applies here since the sentence describes a third-party group. A handy study tip: whenever you see two subjects joined by et, treat them as plural and reach for the ils/elles verb form. Also, make sure you have prendre memorized — it appears constantly in French and its double-n in prennent is an easy detail to overlook under pressure.

Question 2

Read the following short exchange: Paul: « Qu'est-ce que tu   le week-end ? » Lucie: « Je lis et je fais du sport. » The verb to conjugate is 'faire.'

Which form of 'faire' correctly completes Paul's question?

  1. fais (correct answer)
  2. fait
  3. faites
  4. font
Explanation: When you see a verb conjugation question in French, your first instinct should be to identify the subject — because the verb ending must agree with whoever is performing the action. Here, Paul is asking Lucie what she does on weekends. The subject of the blank is "tu," the informal second-person singular pronoun used when speaking to one person you know well. The verb faire (to do/to make) is irregular, so it's worth memorizing its full present-tense conjugation: je fais, tu fais, il/elle fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils/elles font. For the subject "tu," the correct form is fais — making A the right answer. Now let's look at why the other options miss the mark. B) fait is the third-person singular form (il/elle fait), which would only work if Paul were asking about someone else, like "Qu'est-ce qu'elle fait?" — not "tu." C) faites is the second-person plural or formal form (vous faites), used when addressing a group or showing formality; since Paul uses "tu," this is the wrong register entirely. D) font is third-person plural (ils/elles font), referring to "they" — completely mismatched with the subject "tu." A great study habit for irregular French verbs like faire, être, and avoir is to memorize their conjugation charts as a whole unit rather than one form at a time. On French exams, distractors often use real forms of the verb — just for the wrong subject — so always check the subject before choosing.

Question 3

Complétez la phrase : 'Mes parents et moi   souvent des films le vendredi soir.' The verb is 'regarder.'

Which form of 'regarder' correctly fills the blank?

  1. regardent — because 'mes parents' is the dominant noun in the subject phrase
  2. regardez — because a group that includes the speaker uses the formal plural form
  3. regardons — because a compound subject including 'moi' (first person) takes the nous-form (correct answer)
  4. regarde — because 'moi' as the final element of the subject determines singular agreement
Explanation: When a French sentence has a compound subject — meaning multiple people or things joined together — you need to identify the "dominant" person to choose the right verb form. French follows a clear hierarchy: first person (je/moi) outranks everything else, and second person (tu/vous) outranks third person. In this sentence, the subject is "Mes parents et moi." Even though "mes parents" is third person plural, the presence of "moi" (first person) immediately elevates the entire subject to first person plural — in other words, nous. That means the correct verb form is regardons, making C the right answer. Here's why the other choices miss the mark. A is tempting because "mes parents" appears first and seems dominant, but French grammar doesn't award priority based on word order — it awards it based on grammatical person. Third person never wins when first or second person is present. B suggests using regardez (the vous-form) for groups including the speaker, but regardez corresponds to second person plural. You'd only use this if the subject were "vous" or a group being addressed directly, not a group that includes yourself. D proposes the singular regarde because "moi" is last, but verb agreement in French is never determined by position — and "moi" here contributes to a plural subject, not a singular one. A handy rule to memorize: whenever "moi" appears in a compound subject, the verb takes the nous-form (-ons ending), regardless of what other nouns share the subject. Watch for "X et moi" constructions on your exam — they almost always test exactly this rule.

Question 4

Un étudiant écrit : 'Est-ce que vous   français ici?' The verb to conjugate is 'parler.'

The student is unsure which form of 'parler' to use. Which answer is correct?

  1. parles — the -es ending is used for questions introduced by 'est-ce que'
  2. parlez — 'vous' takes the -ez ending for regular -er verbs in the present tense, regardless of question structure (correct answer)
  3. parlent — 'vous' in a question shifts to the third-person plural conjugation pattern
  4. parle — 'est-ce que' requires the base form of the verb, similar to the infinitive stem
Explanation: When conjugating French verbs, the most important rule to remember is this: question structure never changes verb conjugation. The subject pronoun alone determines which ending you use. For regular -er verbs like parler in the present tense, vous always takes the -ez ending — making parlez the correct form. The phrase est-ce que is simply a question marker that flips a statement into a question without altering anything about the verb itself. So "Vous parlez français ici" becomes "Est-ce que vous parlez français ici?" — the verb stays exactly the same. Here's why the distractors fail: A incorrectly suggests that est-ce que triggers the -es ending, which actually belongs to tu (the informal singular). Mixing up tu and vous endings is one of the most common mistakes in French 1, so be careful. C claims that vous in a question shifts to third-person plural conjugation (parlent), which is entirely fabricated — vous is always conjugated as vous, whether in a statement or a question. D suggests that est-ce que requires a base or infinitive-like form (parle), which is false; parle is actually the je/il/elle form, and est-ce que has no such grammatical effect. A helpful study tip: always identify your subject pronoun first, then conjugate — ignore everything else around the verb. On French exams, distractors frequently try to make you think question words or sentence structure change conjugation. They don't.

Question 5

A student writes: 'Tu et moi   amis depuis longtemps.' Which verb form correctly fills the blank, and why?

  1. 'sommes' — because 'tu et moi' is equivalent to 'nous,' requiring the first-person plural form (correct answer)
  2. 'êtes' — because 'tu' is the main subject and the verb must agree with the second-person pronoun
  3. 'sont' — because two separate people are mentioned, so the third-person plural applies here
  4. 'es' — because 'tu' appears first in the compound subject and governs verb agreement
Explanation: When you see a compound subject like "tu et moi," the key question to ask is: what combined person does this phrase represent? French grammar treats compound subjects as a unit, and certain combinations collapse into a simpler grammatical person with predictable verb agreement. "Tu et moi" means "you and I," which together equal "nous" (we). Because of this equivalence, the verb must take the first-person plural form. The correct form of être for "nous" is sommes, making A the right answer: Tu et moi sommes amis depuis longtemps. This is a firm grammatical rule — when "moi" appears in a compound subject, the first person wins, and you use the nous-form. B is tempting because "tu" appears in the sentence and your eye might jump to it as the subject, but verb agreement doesn't work by picking the "first" or "most visible" pronoun — it works by evaluating the whole subject. C applies third-person plural ("sont") as if "tu et moi" were two separate third-party people, like "Pierre et Marie." That logic would apply to "toi et lui" or "Paul et Sophie," not to combinations involving "moi." D makes the same error as B — assuming "tu" governs agreement just because it comes first. Word order does not determine grammatical person. Study tip: Memorize this hierarchy for compound subjects in French: if "moi" is part of the subject, use the nous-form; if "toi" is part of the subject (but not "moi"), use the vous-form. These combinations appear frequently on French grammar exams.

Question 6

Which sentence contains a correctly conjugated present-tense verb?

  1. Nous allons au marché tous les samedis. (correct answer)
  2. Ils va souvent à la bibliothèque après les cours.
  3. Tu allez au cinéma ce soir avec tes amis.
  4. Elle allons faire des courses demain matin.
Explanation: When working with French verb conjugation, the key skill is matching the verb form to its subject pronoun. The verb aller (to go) is highly irregular in the present tense, so it must be memorized: je vais, tu vas, il/elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont. Choice A pairs nous with allons — which is exactly correct. The sentence "Nous allons au marché tous les samedis" is grammatically sound and means "We go to the market every Saturday." This is your answer. Now look at why the others fail. Choice B uses ils (they) but pairs it with va, which is the third-person singular form reserved for il or elle. The correct form for ils would be vont. Choice C pairs tu with allez, but allez belongs to vous (the plural or formal "you"). For tu, the correct form is vas. Choice D pairs elle (she) with allons, which is the nous (we) form — a mismatch that would make no sense in French grammar. Notice that each wrong answer takes a real conjugated form of aller but assigns it to the wrong subject — a classic trap designed to test whether you truly know the full conjugation table or are just recognizing familiar words. Your best study strategy: write out the full present-tense conjugation of aller and drill it until it feels automatic. Irregular verbs like aller, être, and avoir appear constantly on French exams, and subject-verb agreement is always fair game.

Question 7

A student wants to say 'One eats well in France' using the subject 'on.' Which sentence is correct?

  1. On mangent bien en France.
  2. On mange bien en France. (correct answer)
  3. On mangez bien en France.
  4. On mangeons bien en France.
Explanation: When you see a question about conjugating a verb with the subject on in French, the key is remembering that on always takes the third-person singular verb form — the exact same ending you use for il or elle. This trips up many students because on often translates to "one," "we," or "people" in English, which can make it feel plural. For the verb manger (to eat), the present tense conjugation chart looks like this: je mange, tu manges, il/elle/on mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils/elles mangent. Notice that on shares its form with il and elle — simply mange, with no added ending beyond the base stem. This makes B) "On mange bien en France" the correct sentence. It properly pairs on with the singular third-person form mange, giving you the natural French expression for "One eats well in France." Looking at the wrong choices: A) "On mangent" uses the ils/elles plural ending -ent, incorrectly treating on as a plural subject. C) "On mangez" borrows the vous ending -ez, which belongs to the second-person plural — a completely different subject. D) "On mangeons" uses the nous ending -ons; while on can mean "we" informally in spoken French, its verb conjugation is never nous — that grammatical shortcut doesn't apply to the verb form. A handy tip: whenever you see on as a subject, mentally substitute il or elle and use that verb form. This one swap will keep you on track every time.

Question 8

Un professeur corrige cette phrase d'élève : 'Elle et lui finissent leurs devoirs ensemble.' The teacher must decide if the verb is correct.

What is the correct assessment of the verb form 'finissent' in this sentence?

  1. Incorrect — 'elle et lui' is a mixed-gender subject, so the verb should be 'finit' to match the feminine subject 'elle'
  2. Correct — 'elle et lui' forms a third-person plural subject, so 'finissent' is the appropriate present-tense form (correct answer)
  3. Incorrect — 'lui' is a stressed pronoun used only after prepositions, so the sentence is structurally invalid and the verb should be 'finit'
  4. Incorrect — two subjects joined by 'et' always require the 'nous' form, so the verb should be 'finissons'
Explanation: When two subjects are joined by et in French, they combine to form a plural subject — and that plural subject determines the verb form you need. This question tests whether you understand subject-verb agreement with compound subjects using stressed pronouns. In the sentence Elle et lui finissent leurs devoirs ensemble, the subject is the combination of elle and lui — two people performing the action together. Two people = plural, so you need the third-person plural form of finir, which is finissent. This makes B correct. The verb perfectly matches the compound subject. Here's why each distractor fails: A suggests that mixed-gender subjects require agreement with only the feminine element, but that's not how French works. When subjects are combined, they become plural regardless of gender. Gender might matter for adjective agreement, but it doesn't reduce a plural subject down to singular. C contains a grain of truth — lui is indeed a stressed (disjunctive) pronoun — but stressed pronouns are used precisely in subject positions like this one, alongside another pronoun or noun joined by et. The structure is completely valid in French. D introduces a false rule: two subjects joined by et do not trigger nous. The nous form is reserved for when nous is the actual subject. Third-person compound subjects use the third-person plural (ils/elles form), not the first-person plural. Study tip: Whenever you see two subjects joined by et, automatically think "plural" and reach for the third-person plural verb ending (-ent for regular -ir and -er verbs). Don't let mixed pronouns trick you into choosing singular.

Question 9

Lisez cet extrait d'une rédaction d'étudiant : 'Je   (vouloir) apprendre le français parce que c'est une belle langue.'

Which present-tense form of 'vouloir' correctly completes the student's sentence?

  1. voulez — 'vouloir' is a modal-type verb that uses the vous-form when followed by an infinitive
  2. veut — the first-person singular of 'vouloir' uses the same ending as the third-person singular
  3. voulons — the subject 'je' with an infinitive following always takes the nous-form in formal writing
  4. veux — the first-person singular of the irregular verb 'vouloir' follows the x-ending pattern (correct answer)
Explanation: When you see a blank requiring a verb conjugation in French, your first step is always to identify the subject — because the verb ending must match it. Here, the subject is je (I), so you need the first-person singular form of vouloir. Vouloir is an irregular verb, meaning it doesn't follow standard -er, -ir, or -re patterns. Its present-tense conjugation follows a special stem-changing pattern with an unusual ending: the first-person singular is veux — using an x rather than the typical s. This x-ending pattern also appears in other common irregular verbs like pouvoir (je peux) and valoir (je vaux), making it a recognizable family of exceptions. So D is correct: Je veux apprendre le français — "I want to learn French." As for the distractors: A is entirely fabricated — there is no grammatical rule in French requiring a vous-form when a verb precedes an infinitive. This is a nonsense explanation designed to sound authoritative. B is tempting because veut looks like it could be related to veux, and it's true both share a stem, but veut is the third-person singular (il/elle veut), not the first-person. The subject here is je, not il. C is also invented — formal writing in French never reassigns verb forms based on style; voulons is the nous-form and has no connection to je. A useful memory trick: for je veux, je peux, think "x marks the spot" — irregular verbs in this family always end in x for the first-person singular. Memorizing these three together (vouloir, pouvoir, valoir) will save you from confusion on future questions.

Question 10

Which of the following correctly uses the present tense of the verb 'avoir' in a complete sentence?

  1. Ils as un appartement près de l'université.
  2. Nous avez beaucoup de travail cette semaine.
  3. Tu ont faim après une longue journée de cours.
  4. Vous avez deux chats et un chien chez vous. (correct answer)
Explanation: When working with French verb conjugations, the key is making sure the verb form matches its subject pronoun exactly — every pronoun has one specific conjugation, and mixing them is the most common error on questions like this. The verb avoir (to have) follows this present-tense pattern: j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. Notice that each ending is unique to its pronoun. Answer D — Vous avez deux chats et un chien chez vous — correctly pairs vous with avez, making it a grammatically complete and accurate sentence. Now let's look at why the other options fail. In A, the subject Ils requires ont, but the sentence incorrectly uses as, which belongs only to tu. That's a third-person plural subject paired with a second-person singular verb — a clear mismatch. In B, Nous requires avons, but the sentence uses avez, which belongs to vous. These two pronouns are often confused because both feel "plural," but their endings are completely different. In C, Tu requires as, yet the sentence uses ont, which belongs to ils/elles. Again, the conjugation is pulled from the wrong part of the verb chart entirely. A practical study tip: when reviewing avoir, write out all six subject-verb pairs on flashcards and drill them until the pairing feels automatic. On exam questions, always identify the subject pronoun first, then check whether the verb ending matches — that one habit will catch almost every conjugation error before you finalize your answer.