mr.moderino

[rose mason]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[old badger]

tenses in French do not map perfectly onto tenses in English

in this case, the simple present is much more expansive in French than in English

[digital pollen]

"je suis travaille aujourd'hui" would have the same oddness as "I am - work today"

[old badger]

there is a construction être en train de but it's it can almost always be replaced by the simple present and refers only to an immediate action in progress

this is why duolingo is a bad at actually teaching you

[digital pollen]

Basically, "je travaille" means "I work" AND "I am working"

[vapid quest]

you first have to realize "I am working today" uses progressive present in English. It's a tense using the verb BE + ing ending to indicate a progressive/continuous action.
In French, such a tense does not exist. Instead, simple present is used, and you don't need to use être in this case
I work => Je travaille
I am working => Je travaille

there is no real distinction between simple or continuous present actions
so be mindful of this whenever you want to translate directly any sentence with be + ing verb

[vernal karma]

thank you