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The French verb être is one complicated verb to deal with, and you’ll use it constantly in French. Follow our guide to using être, and you’ll make a big impact on your French language skills.
Être (to be) is among the most important verbs that you will ever learn. It shows up all the time in everyday conversation, including many idiomatic expressions. So, you definitely want to spend some time getting to know this essential French verb.
Être is used to talk about a state of being, to show ownership, and to tell one’s profession. The word also functions as an auxiliary verb for a number of French verbs.
Here, we provide a guide on how to effectively use the French verb être, along with conjugation tables to practice the different tenses and moods. You can also get help from our French tutors for any other guidance and support.
How to Use Être
Before we start conjugating, we’ll review the different ways to use être.
Express State of Being, Ownership, or Profession
- To talk about a state of being: Je suis ravi de te voir. (I’m happy to see you.)
- To show ownership: C’est ma maison. (It’s my house.)
- To tell one’s profession: Je suis médecin. (I’m a doctor.)
Être as an Auxiliary Verb
There are two main ways the French verb être is used as an auxiliary verb:
1. Compound Tenses
Since être is an auxiliary verb, it’s used to form compound tenses along with the past participle of other French verbs: Je suis revenu au bureau il y a deux semaines. (I came back to the office two weeks ago.)
2. Passive Voice
Être is placed before a past participle when forming passive tenses in French.
a) Passive Compound Past (Passé composé au passif): This is done using the perfect tense of être followed by a past participle.
b) Passive Present (Présent au passif): Here, the present tense of être is followed by a past participle.
c) Passive Future (Futur au passif): This is the future tense of être followed by a past participle.
d) Passive Past Conditional (Passé conditionnel au passif): This is formed using the passive past conditional of être followed by a past participle.
You can use repetition and video below to help refine your pronunciation of different forms être:
How to Conjugate Être
The conjugation of être can be a bit challenging since it’s an irregular verb. Since irregular verbs don’t follow regular patterns, you’re required to internalize the fundamental concepts of conjugating être. You can find several key conjugations in the tables that follow.
Être Conjugated (Indicative Mood/Indicatif)
Present/Présent
| 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 |
Imperfect/Imparfait
| j’étais | I was being |
| tu étais | you were being |
| il/elle était | he/she was being |
| nous étions | we were being |
| vous étiez | you were being |
| ils/elles étaient | they were being |
Future/Futur
| je serai | I will be |
| tu seras | you will be |
| il/elle sera | he/she will be |
| nous serons | we will be |
| vous serez | you will be |
| ils/elles seront | they will be |
Compound Past/Passé composé
| j’ai été | I was |
| tu as été | you were |
| il/elle a été | he/she was |
| nous avons été | we were |
| vous avez été | you were |
| ils/elles ont été | they were |
Simple Past/Passé simple
| je fus | I was |
| tu fus | you were |
| il/elle fut | he/she was |
| nous fûmes | we were |
| vous fûtes | you were |
| ils/elles furent | they were |
Pluperfect/Plus-que-parfait
| j’avais été | I had been |
| tu avais été | you had been |
| il/elle avait été | he/she had been |
| nous avions été | we had been |
| vous aviez été | you had been |
| ils/elles avaient été | they had been |
Past anterior/Passé antérieur
| j’eus été | I had been |
| tu eus été | you had been |
| il/elle eut été | he/she had been |
| nous eûmes été | we had been |
| vous eûtes été | you had been |
| ils/elles eurent été | they had been |
Future Perfect/Futur antérieur
| j’aurai été | I will have been |
| tu auras été | you will have been |
| il/elle aura été | he/she will have been |
| nous aurons été | we will have been |
| vous aurez été | you will have been |
| ils/elles auront été | they will have been |
Être Conjugated (Subjunctive Mood/Subjonctif)
Present/Présent
| que je sois | that I am |
| que tu sois | that you are |
| qu’il/elle soit | that he/she is |
| que nous soyons | that we are |
| que vous soyez | that you are |
| qu’ils/elles soient | that they are |
Imperfect/Imparfait
| que je fusse | that I would be |
| que tu fusses | that you would be |
| qu’il/elle/on fût | that he/she would be |
| que nous fussions | that we would be |
| que vous fussiez | that you would be |
| qu’ils/elles fussent | that they would be |
Past/Passé
| que j’aie été | that I have been |
| que tu aies été | that you have been |
| qu’il/elle ait été | that he/she has been |
| que nous ayons été | that we have been |
| que vous ayez été | that you have been |
| qu’ils/elles aient été | that they have been |
Pluperfect/Plus-que-parfait
| que j’eusse été | that I would have been |
| que tu eusses été | that you would have been |
| qu’il/elle eût été | that he/she would have been |
| que nous eussions été | that we would have been |
| que vous eussiez été | that you would have been |
| qu’ils/elles eussent été | that they would have been |
Être Conjugated (Conditional Mood/Conditionnel)
Present/Présent
| je serais | I would be |
| tu serais | you would be |
| il/elle serait | he/she would be |
| nous serions | we would be |
| vous seriez | you would be |
| ils/elles seraient | they would be |
Past/Passé (1st form)
| j’aurais été | I would have been |
| tu aurais été | you would have been |
| il/elle aurait été | he/she would have been |
| nous aurions été | we would have been |
| vous auriez été | you would have been |
| ils/elles auraient été | they would have been |
Past/Passé (2nd form)
| j’eusse été | I would have been |
| tu eusses été | you would have been |
| il/elle eût été | he/she would have been |
| nous eussions été | we would have been |
| vous eussiez été | you would have been |
| ils/elles eussent été | they would have been |
Below are some exercises to help you understand how to use être.
1. Elle ____ italienne. (She is Italian.)
The correct answer is: Elle est italienne.
2. Vous ____ merveilleux. (You are wonderful.)
The correct answer is: Vous êtes merveilleux.
3. Il ____ adorable. (He is adorable.)
The correct answer is: Il est adorable.
4. Ils ____ determinés. (They are determined.)
The correct answer is: Ils sont déterminés.
5. Nous _____ tous des employés. (We are all employees.)
The correct answer is: Nous sommes tous des employés.
Conclusion
Invest some time and energy toward understanding this widely used French verb être. Also brush up on other similar core verbs such as faire, avoir, manger, dire, voir, pouvoir and many others. You don’t need to memorize them all perfectly in order to speak French effectively. You just have to keep reading French content and practice conversing and building sentences. Listen to audio drills as well, and you’ve got a recipe for great French communication skills!
Quiz: Test your knowledge of French Verb Être!
