The French verbs “to be” and “to have” in the present tense
“Je suis content” (I am happy), “j’ai un chat” (I have a cat): être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two most used French verbs. They look like no other verb. How do you conjugate them in the present tense?
This lesson takes about 10 minutes. You can take a break after each part.
Before you start
Learning objectives
- I can conjugate the French verbs for “to be” and “to have” in the present tense.
- I can choose the pronoun that goes with each form.
The forms of “to be” and “to have”
The verb être (to be)
| je | suis | I am |
| tu | es | you are |
| il, elle | est | he, she is |
| nous | sommes | we are |
| vous | êtes | you are |
| ils, elles | sont | they are |
The verb avoir (to have)
| j’ai | I have | |
| tu | as | you have |
| il, elle | a | he, she has |
| nous | avons | we have |
| vous | avez | you have |
| ils, elles | ont | they have |
Before ai, je becomes j’: you write j’ai.
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The right pronoun
Each form has its pronoun
sommes only goes with nous; ont only goes with ils or elles. To choose the pronoun, look at the form of the verb.
Il or ils?
Il est is about one person; ils sont is about several. Il a; ils ont. The form of the verb tells how many there are.
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Review game
Final assessment
To master the lesson, you need at least 60% correct answers.
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Summary
être (to be)
je suis tu es il, elle est nous sommes vous êtes ils, elles sont avoir (to have)
j’ai tu as il, elle a nous avons vous avez ils, elles ont - Each form of être and avoir goes with its pronoun: nous sommes, ils sont, j’ai, ils ont. The form of the verb helps you find the pronoun.
