Present Tense: present tense includes two parts, the stem which carries the meaning of the verb and the person ending which is determined by the subject of the sentence.  There are three types of verbs ER, IR, RE. 

For all three categories, you drop the 2 letter ending and then add the appropriate person ending to the stem.

       ER    IR                         RE

     Parler: to speak                                         finir: to finish              vendre: to sell

je parle nous parlons                           je finis             nous finissons            je vends              ns vendons

tu parles vous parlez                           tu finis             vous finissez        tu vends               vs vendez

il/elle/on parle     ils/elles parlent                    il/elle/on finit         ils/elles finissent                  il/elle/on vend           ils/elles vendent

ER endings: IR endings: RE endings:

e, es, e, ons, ez, ent                                is, is, it, issons, issez, issent                            s, s, -, ons, ez, ent

The present tense refers to actions that are on-going or habitual in the present:

There are 3 ways a verb conjugated in the present tense can be translated: 

                    EX:    Je mange          I EAT

                                                       I AM EATING

                                                       I DO EAT

*The auxiliary verb “do/does” is not translated before French verbs forms in questions and in negative sentences

*tu comprends la leçon? Do you understand the lesson?

*No, je ne comprends pas. No, I do not understand.