Je pense à mon frère.

Questions & Answers about Je pense à mon frère.

Why does the sentence use à to mean "about"?
In French, the verb penser (to think) is paired with the preposition à when it means "to think about" or "to think of" someone or something. English speakers might be tempted to literally translate "about", but penser à is the correct set phrase here.
Does Je pense mean "I think" or "I am thinking"?
It means both! French does not have a separate present continuous tense (like the English "am doing" or "am thinking"). The simple present tense Je pense covers both "I think" and "I am thinking" depending on the context of the conversation.
Would a female speaker use ma instead of mon?
No, it stays mon. In French, possessives like "my" match the gender of the person or thing being talked about, not the person speaking. Because frère (brother) is masculine, you must use the masculine mon, no matter your own gender.
Why isn't there an -s at the end of pense?
Penser is a regular -er verb. For the Je (I) form, you drop the -er and just add an -e. The -s ending is used for the tu (you) form, so "you are thinking" would be tu penses.

Learn Je pense à mon frère and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free