Formation: stem of « nous » in the present + -ant: nous parl-ons → parlant, nous finiss-ons → finissant, nous fais-ons → faisant. Three irregular: étant (être), ayant (avoir), sachant (savoir).
Gérondif = en + -ant. The subject is the same as the main verb's:
Present participle (without « en », mostly written) = "who + verb" or a cause. It doesn't change: Les personnes ayant un billet peuvent entrer. (People who have a ticket can go in.) Étant malade, il est resté chez lui. (Being ill, he stayed at home.) Compound form: ayant fini (having finished), étant arrivé(e) (having arrived).
Careful: the English -ing form is usually NOT translated by -ant: "I like swimming" = j'aime nager; "I am reading" = je lis.
The verbal adjective agrees and is sometimes spelt differently: une histoire fatigante (a tiring story: adjective) but en fatiguant tout le monde (tiring everyone: participle). Likewise: convaincant / convainquant, négligent / négligeant, précédent / précédant.
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