{"id":119751,"date":"2019-12-16T04:47:50","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T09:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/french-to-be\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T02:57:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T06:57:37","slug":"french-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"The French “To Be”: Conjugating and Using the Verb \u00catre"},"content":{"rendered":"

The verb to be<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is everywhere, in one form or another.<\/p>\n

When learning French, the verb to be<\/em>, or \u00eatre <\/em><\/strong> is one of the first verbs (along with avoir<\/em><\/a> and aller<\/em>) that you should memorize and learn how to conjugate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are about a thousand ways to use the French to be<\/em>, but let’s cover the basics<\/a> before anything else. We also have a story-based lesson on our YouTube channel<\/a> if you need extra support:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The French To Be<\/em>\u00a0and How to Use It<\/h2>\n

The verb\u00a0\u00eatre<\/strong><\/em> literally translates to to be<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As you might guess, you’ll usually use \u00eatre<\/em> to talk about a state of being.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Nous sommes<\/strong> s\u0153urs.<\/em> (We are<\/strong> sisters.)<\/p>\n

Es<\/strong>-tu\u00a0\u00e0 Nashville?<\/em> (Are<\/strong> you in Nashville?)<\/p>\n

Je suis<\/strong> am\u00e9ricain.<\/em> (I am<\/strong> American.)<\/p>\n

Use\u00a0\u00eatre<\/em> alongside the preposition \u00e0<\/em> (to) if you want to indicate that something belongs to someone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ce lit est \u00e0 <\/strong>moi, et le lit\u00a0l\u00e0-bas est\u00a0\u00e0<\/strong> mon fr\u00e8re.<\/em> (This bed is<\/strong> mine, and the bed over there is<\/strong> my brother’s.)<\/p>\n

Finally, you can also use the verb when referring to a profession<\/strong>. In this case, you drop the article (un\/une<\/em> or le\/la)<\/em> before the profession:<\/p>\n

Je ne suis<\/strong> pas \u00e9tudiant.<\/em> (I am<\/strong> not a student.)<\/p>\n

Ma m\u00e8re \u00e9tait<\/strong> m\u00e9decin.<\/em> (My mother\u00a0was<\/strong> a doctor.)<\/p>\n

“\u00catre” <\/em>is the infinitive form of the verb<\/strong>, meaning it’s in a base form that isn’t conjugated. The sentence examples above each contain a conjugated form of \u00eatre<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you’ll use just the infinitive form of this verb, just as you’d occasionally use to be<\/em>\u00a0in English.<\/p>\n

But for the most part, you’ll be conjugating\u00a0\u00eatre<\/em> to match the subject in your sentence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00catre is an irregular verb<\/strong><\/a>, meaning that it doesn’t follow typical conjugation patterns<\/strong> like regular -er<\/em>, -ir<\/em> and -re<\/em> verbs. You just have to remember how to do it.<\/p>\n

How to Conjugate \u00ca<\/em>tre<\/em><\/h2>\n

Present Tense Conjugation of \u00ca<\/em>tre<\/em><\/h3>\n

This is the most basic way to conjugate\u00a0\u00eatre<\/em>. Once you memorize how to conjugate and use the verb in the present tense, you can move on to other tenses.<\/p>\n

Je suis<\/em> (I am)<\/p>\n

Je sui<\/strong>s une femme.<\/em> (I am<\/strong> a woman.)<\/p>\n

Tu es<\/em> (You are)<\/p>\n

Tu es<\/strong> tr\u00e8s beau.<\/em> (You are<\/strong> very handsome.)<\/p>\n

Il\/elle\/on est<\/em> (He\/she\/one is)<\/p>\n

Il est<\/strong>\u00a0\u00e9tudiant.<\/em> (He is<\/strong> a student.)<\/p>\n

Elle est<\/strong>\u00a0m\u00e8re de deux enfants adorables. <\/em>(She is<\/strong> a mother of two adorable children.)<\/p>\n

Quand on est<\/strong> en France, on parle francais.<\/em> (When one is<\/strong> in France, one speaks French.)<\/p>\n

Nous sommes<\/em> (We are)<\/p>\n

Nous sommes<\/strong> heureux.<\/em> (We are<\/strong> happy.)<\/p>\n

Vous\u00a0\u00eates<\/em> (You are, formal\/You all are)<\/p>\n

Madame, vous\u00a0\u00eates<\/strong>\u00a0une bonne professeure.<\/em> (Ma’am, you are<\/strong> a good teacher.)<\/p>\n

Ils\/elles sont<\/em> (They are)<\/p>\n

Ils sont<\/strong> tristes.<\/em> (They are<\/strong> sad.)<\/p>\n

Elles sont<\/strong> amies.<\/em> (They are<\/strong> friends.)<\/p>\n

Past Participle of \u00ca<\/em>tre <\/em><\/h3>\n

The\u00a0pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> is the other way to talk about events in the past tense, but it refers to clearly completed actions, including the present perfect.<\/p>\n

If you aren’t talking about one of the four times we use imparfait<\/em>, you’ll probably use pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9.<\/em><\/p>\n

Use the present tense of avoir<\/em> (to have) as a helping verb, then \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n

J’ai \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> (I was\/have been)<\/p>\n

J’ai \u00e9t\u00e9\u00a0<\/strong>\u00e0 New York.\u00a0<\/em>(I was\/have been<\/strong> in New York.)<\/p>\n

Tu as \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> (You were)<\/p>\n

As<\/strong>-tu\u00a0\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> en France?<\/em> (Have <\/strong>you been<\/strong> to France?)<\/p>\n

Il\/elle\/on a \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> (He\/she\/one was)<\/p>\n

Il a\u00a0\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0tr\u00e8s triste.<\/em> (He was<\/strong> very sad.)<\/p>\n

Elle n’a<\/strong>\u00a0pas \u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0une bonne avocate.<\/em> (She has <\/strong>not been<\/strong>\u00a0not a good lawyer.)<\/p>\n

On a\u00a0\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> inquiet hier soir.<\/em> (We were<\/strong> worried last night.)<\/p>\n

Nous avons \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> (We were)<\/p>\n

Nous avons\u00a0\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> en retard mercredi.<\/em> (We were<\/strong> late on Wednesday.)<\/p>\n

Vous avez \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> (You were, formal\/You all were)<\/p>\n

Vous avez \u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> gentils avec moi.<\/em> (You all were\/have been<\/strong> kind to me.)<\/p>\n

Ils\/elles ont \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em> (They were)<\/p>\n

Ils n’ont<\/strong> pas\u00a0\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> stupides!<\/em> (They were <\/strong>not\u00a0stupid!)<\/p>\n

Les filles ont\u00a0\u00e9t\u00e9<\/strong> amicales.<\/em> (The girls were\/have been<\/strong> friendly.)<\/p>\n

Imperfect Conjugation of \u00ca<\/em>tre<\/em><\/h3>\n

L’imparfait<\/em> is one way to talk about the past. You use the imparfait<\/em> in four main situations:<\/p>\n