Être (to be) – Present tense
Je suis I am
Tu es You are (singular, familiar)
Il, elle est He, she is
Nous sommes we are
Vous êtes (plural, formal)
Ils, elles sont They are
Être (to be) conjugation in a nutshell
Être is an irregular verb. This means that when conjugated in the present tense, its endings are different from regular verbs in the -re group. Être is used as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé for many intransitive and reflexive verbs.
Être (to be) Conjugation – Verb Tables
Present tense (present indicative)
The following table shows the verb être conjugated in the present tense (le présent de l’indicatif).
| Je suis | I am | Je suis en vacances. | I am on vacation. |
| Tu es | You are (familiar) | Tu es français. | You are French. |
| Il, elle, on est | He, she, one is | Elle est en retard. | She is late. |
| Nous sommes | We are | Nous sommes à Paris. | We are in Paris. |
| Vous êtes | You are (formal, plural) | Vous êtes en ville. | You are downtown. |
| Ils sont, elles sont | They are | Ils sont au cinéma | They are are the movies. |
Compound past (passé composé)
The passé composé is a past tense that’s used to describe past actions which occurred at a specific moment in time.
| J'ai été | I was | j'ai été au supermarché hier après-midi. | I was at the supermarket yesterday afternoon. |
| Tu as été | You were (familiar) | Tu as été au café hier matin. | You were at the café yesterday morning. |
| Il, elle, on été | He, she, one was | Elle a été chez elle hier soir. | She was at home last night. |
| Nous avons été | We were | Nous avons été au parc avec les enfants. | We were at the park with the kids. |
| Vous avez été | You were (formal, plural) | Vous avez été au restaurant avec vous amis. | You were at the restaurant with your friends. |
| Ils, elles été | They were | Ils ont été chez nous ce midi. | The were at our house at noon. |
Simple past (passé simple)
The passé simple is a literary past tense that equates grammatically to the passé composé.
| Je fus | I was | Je fus à Paris la semaine dernière. | I was in Paris last week. |
| Tu fus | You were (familiar) | Tu fus très gentil avec les invités. | You were very kind with the guests. |
| Il, elle, on fut | He, she, one was | Il fut un grand artiste. | He was a great artist. |
| Nous fûmes | We were | Nous fûmes a l'hopital hier matin. | We were at the hospital yesterday morning. |
| Vous fûtes | You were (formal, plural) | Vous fûtes un homme honorable. | You were an honorable man. |
| Ils, elles furent | They were | Ils furent contre notre pays. | They were against our country. |
Imperfect indicative (imparfait)
The imperfect indicative (imparfait) tense is to describe past events who do not have a precise start and stop time.
| J'étais | I was, used to be | Quand j'étais un enfant, faisais du chaque week-end. | When I was a child, I used to ski every weekend. |
| Tu étais | You were, used to be (familiar) | Tu étais tres mignon quand tu étais un enfant. | You were very cute when you were a child. |
| Il, elle, on était | He, she, one was, used to be | Elle était une étudiante à Paris aux années 80. | She was a student in France in the 1980s. |
| Nous étions | We were, used to be | Nous étions très heureux ensemble. | We were very happy together. |
| Vous étiez | You were, used to be (plural, formal) | Vous étiez très fatigué après le voyage. | You were very tired after the trip. |
| Ils, elles étaient | They were, used to be | Ils n'étaient pas en retard. | They were not late. |
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
The French pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is a tense that’s used to express anteriority (one event occurring before another).
| J'avais été | I had been | J'avais été en retard. | I had been late. |
| Tu avais été | You had been (familiar) | Tu avais été au cinéma avec tes amis. | You had been at the movies with your friends. |
| Il, elle, on avait été | He, she, one had been | Il avait été fatigué le jour de l'examen. | He had been tired on the day of the exam. |
| Nous avions été | We had been | Nous avions été à l'heure pour la fête. | We had been on time for the party. |
| Vous aviez été | You had been (formal, plural) | Vous aviez été trop injuste avec les enfants. | You were too unfair with the kids. |
| Ils, elles avaient été | They had been | Ils avaient été très généreux avec les invités. | The had been very generous with the guests. |
Near future (futur proche)
The near future tense (futur proche) is used to describe future events which suggest a high level of certainty.
| Je vais être | I'm going to be | Je vais être très riche un jour. | I'm going to be very rich some day. |
| Tu vas être | You're going to be (familiar) | Tu vas être en retard. | You are doing to be late. |
| Il, elle, on va être | He, she, one will be | Elle va être très belle. | She is going to be very beautiful. |
| Nous allons être | We will be | Nous allons être des parents. | We are going to be parents. |
| Vous allez être | You will be (formal, plural) | Vous allez être fatigué après le voyage. | You are going to be tired after the trip. |
| Ils, elles vont être | They will be | Ils vont être contents dans la nouvelle maison. | They will be happy in the new house. |
Simple future (futur simple)
The futur simple, also simply called the “French future tense”, is used to describe future events. The events this tense describes are usually a bit less certain that those of the previous near future tense.
| Je serai | I will be | Je serai ravi de vous rencontrer. | I will be delighted to meet you. |
| Tu seras | You will be (informal) | J'espère que tu seras heureux. | I hope you will be happy. |
| Il, elle, on sera | He, she, one will be | Nous pensons qu'elle sera en retard. | We think she'll be late. |
| Nous serons | We will be | Nous serons disponibles la semaine prochaine. | We will be available next week. |
| Vous servez | You will be (formal, plural) | Il croit que vous serez un peu déçu. | He thinks you will be a bit disappointed. |
| Ils, elles seront | They will be | Je ne sais pas s'ils seront ici demain. | I do not know if they will be here tomorrow. |
Past future (futur antérieur)
The past future tense (futur antérieur) is used to describe events that will have occurred in the future.
| J'aurai été | I will have been |
| Tu auras été | You will have been (familiar) |
| Il, elle, on aura été | He, she, one will have been |
| Nous aurons été | We will have been |
| Vous aurez été | You will have been (formal, plural) |
| Ils, elles auront été | They will have been |
Conditional mood (présent du conditionnel)
The French conditional tense is used to describe hypothetical situations. This the “would” tense.
| Je serais | I would be | Je serais plus à l'aise si j'avais plus de temps. | I'd be more at ease if I had more time. |
| Tu serais | You would be (familair) | Est-ce que tu serais prêt a commencer demain? | Would you be ready to start tomorrow? |
| Il, elle serait | He, she would be | Ils serait plus ambitieux s'il avait un objectif. | He would be more ambitious if he had a goal. |
| Nous serions | We would be | Nous serions très heureux de faire un voyage. | We would be very happy to go on a trip. |
| Vous seriez | You would be (formal, plural) | Vous seriez plus motivé si vous faisiez plus d'effort. | You would be more motivated if you tried harder. |
| Ils, elles seraient | They would be | Ils seraient déçu s'ils n'achetaient les billets. | They would be disappointed if they didn't buy the tickets. |
Present subjunctive (subjonctif)
The French subjunctive mood (le subjonctif) is used to express wishes, emotions and doubts.
| que je sois | that I be | Je veux que tu sois patient. | I want you to be patient. |
| que tu sois | that you be (familiar) | Il faut que tu sois gentil. | You have to be nice. |
| qu'il, elle, on soit | that he, she, one be | Je doute qu'il soit prudent. | I doubt he's being careful. |
| que nous soyons | that we be | Il veut que nous soyons sages. | He wants us to behave. |
| que vous soyez | that you be (formal, plural) | Elle souhaite que vous là avant là départ. | She wants you to be there before the departure. |
| qu'ils, elles soient | that they be | Je ne pense pas qu'ils soitent d'accord. | I don't think they agree. |
Imperative (impératif)
The imperative mood (impératif) is used to express both positive and negative commands.
Positive commands
| Sois! | Be! (tu form, familiar) | Sois patient! | Be patient! |
| Soyons! | Let's be! | Soyons à l'heure! | Let's be on time! |
| Soyez! | Be! (vous form, formal, plural) | Soyez gentils! | Be nice! |
Negative commands
| Ne sois pas! | Don't be! | ne sois pas si bête! | Don't be so silly! |
| Ne soyons pas! | Let's not be! | Ne soyons pas pressés! | Let's not be in a rush! |
| Ne soyez pas! | Don't be | Ne soyez pas tristes! | Don't be sad! |
Gerund
The French gerund is a combination of the preposition “en” and the present participle. The present participle of être is “étant“.
The gerund of être is “en étant”, which translates to “while being”.
- J’ai trouvé mon premier boulet en étant un étudiant en Asie.
I found my first job while being a student in Asia.
Auxiliary verb in passé composé for intransitive and reflexive verbs
The verb être is used as an auxiliary verb to for the passé composé for many intransitive verbs and reflexive verbs.
| Aller = to go | Se laver = to wash oneself | ||
| Je suis allé(e) | I went | Je me suis lavé(e) | I washed myself |
| Tu es allé(e) | You went (familar) | Tu t'es lavé(e) | You washed yourself (familiar) |
| Il, elle, on est allé(e) | He, she, one went | Il, elle, on s'est lavé(e) | He, she, one washed him, her, oneself |
| Nous sommes allé(e)s | We went | Nous nous sommes lavé(e)s | We washed ourselves |
| Vous êtes allé(e)(s) | You went (formal, plural) | Vous vous êtes lavé(e)(s) | You washed yourself(ves) (formal, plural) |
| Ils, elles sont sont allé(e)s | They went | Ils, elles se sont lavé(e)s | They washed themselves. |
Example sentences using être
- Je suis heureux / heureuse. I am happy.
- Je suis en France. I’m in France.
- Je suis d’accord avec vous. I agree with you.
- Je suis allé(e) en France. I went to France.
- Je suis en train de travailler. I am working.
- Le stylo est à moi. The pen is mine or belongs to me.
- Je suis à l’heure. I’m on time.
Helpful video lesson
Following all of explanations and example sentences on this page, you may find online French teacher Dylane’s video lesson covering être to be very useful.
Where to go next
In addition to mastering the basic conjugations, it’s of vital importance to know know how to pronounce the various forms of être and how to use them in “real” modern conversation.
This is were Camille at French Today comes in. In her lesson covering être, Camille explains the pronunciation “être” in great detail, offering 450 audio samples in all the main tenses.
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