What does “en train de” mean in French?

The French use the expression “en train de” (pronounced ɑ̃ tʀɛ̃ də) to express being in the middle of “doing” something. This equates to the present present continuous tense in English, or -ing. The grammatical structure is: être (to be) en train de + infinitive. This post will explain precisely how to use this is expression in conversational French with audio examples.

être en train de

to be in the middle of doing something

Here’s an example of how to use “en train de” in a sentence:

Je suis en train de travailler.

I am working.

The English translation of the example sentence, “am working” is the present progressive (-ing) tense.

Both sentence “Je travaille” and “Je suis en train de travailler” both means “I am working”. However, the French use “en train de” to emphasize the action of being in the middle of “doing” or carrying out the activity.

Je n’ai pas le temps. Je suis en train de finir mon projet.

I don’t have the time. I’m finishing my project.

The most important aspect to using “en train de” in French is to put emphasis on the fact that the subject of the sentence is busy or “in the action” of carrying out the action of the verb.

Here are some more example sentences.

Les enfants sont en train de jouer.