The present tense may be expressed in three ways in English:
I work
I am working
I do work
It is expressed in only one way in French, in this case "je travaille".
The present tense is expressed by using the person, followed by the verb with the correct ending. You should NOT attempt to put in a word for "am", "is", "are" or "do" when using the present in French.
FORMING THE PRESENT TENSE (REGULAR VERBS)
Take the infinitive form of the verb, remove the infinitive ending ("er", "re" or "ir") and add an ending to go with the person you are using.
ER VERBS RE VERBS IR VERBS
JE (I) e s is
TU (YOU) es s is
IL (HE) e - it
ELLE (SHE) e - it
NOUS (WE) ons ons issons
VOUS (you) ez ez issez
ILS (THEY) ent ent issent
ELLES (THEY) ent ent issent
examples: (for regular verbs only – irregular verbs must be learned separately)
je travaille je vends je finis
nous travaillons nous vendons nous finissons
elles travaillent elles vendent elles finissent