Être and avoir in everyday French

Use être for identity and location

Être means to be. Its present forms are je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Unlike English, French usually omits the indefinite article before an unmodified profession: je suis professeur.

Use être for location too: nous sommes à Paris. Keep the subject pronoun in ordinary statements; suis étudiant on its own is not the standard full sentence.

Use avoir for having and age

Avoir means to have. Learn j’ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. Je becomes j’ before ai.

French expresses age with avoir: j’ai trente ans, literally I have thirty years. Do not translate English I am thirty word for word. Avoir also appears in expressions such as avoir faim and avoir soif.

Compare whole expressions

Je suis fatigué means I am tired for a masculine speaker; fatiguée is the feminine written form. J’ai faim means I am hungry, and j’ai soif means I am thirsty. The English word am does not always correspond to être.

On is a third-person singular subject often used for we in everyday conversation: on est à Paris. Nous sommes is also correct. Keep the verb singular with on even when it refers to several people.

Lesson vocabulary

Read each word aloud, then test your recall of its meaning.

Practice questions

Answer the questions and read the explanations. You can repeat the exercises.

I can describe identity and location. I can state an age. I can use familiar expressions with avoir.