Être - Think Language

September 2015 Grammar Lesson: Être
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Être - to be
One of the two most important French verbs is être - to be. It’s used a lot like its English
equivalent, but there are some uniquely French characteristics.
Être conjugations
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•
•
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je suis
tu es
il est
elle est
I am
you are
he is
she is
nous sommes we are
vous êtes
you are
ils sont
they are
elles sont
Être meaning “to be”
Most of the time when you use “to be” in English, you can use être in French.
• Je suis prêt.
I’m ready.
• Il est professeur de français. He’s a French teacher.
• Nous sommes en Italie.
We’re in Italy.
There are, however, some common expressions where “to be” is translated by avoir
instead, like avoir faim (to be hungry) and avoir froid (to be cold).
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T hink F ren ch - se pt em br e 2 0 1 5
Être as a helping verb
In the passé composé and other compound verb forms, être is the helping verb for
about 25 verbs. (See full list: Helping verbs)
• Je suis allé à Nice.
• Tu es arrivé en retard.
• Ils sont restés longtemps.
I went to Nice.
You arrived late.
They stayed for a long time.
As well as for all pronominal verbs.
• Elle s’est levée à 8h.
She got up at 8 am.
• Je me suis brossé les dents. I brushed my teeth.
Note that the past participle requires agreement with the gender and number of the
subject.
Être in the passive voice
Finally, être is used to create the passive voice.
• Les livres sont lus à haute voix.
• La prof est adorée par ses étudiants.
The books are read out loud.
The teacher is adored by her students.
This is a brief overview of the many uses of être; for more detail, see the Lawless
French être lesson.
Bonne continuation !
Related Lessons
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Être conjugations
Helping verbs
Passé composé
Pronominal verbs
w w w. t h i n k f re n c h . c o m
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