To be and to have in French

Level A1

To be and to have in French

Être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two verbs you'll use most in French, and both are irregular, so it's worth learning their forms by heart. They mostly match English "be" and "have", with one big surprise: French says "I have cold" and "I have twenty years". You'll also see the three ways French asks a yes-or-no question, from relaxed to formal.

The two verbs: être and avoir

Être in the present: je suis, tu es, il est… — and on est for "we"

PronounÊtre
jesuis
tues
il / elle / onest
noussommes
vousêtes
ils / ellessont

Saying what someone is: Ma sœur est infirmière — no "a" before a job

Ma sœur est infirmière.

What être does: who, what kind and where

Like "be", être says who someone is, what something is like and where it is: "Ma sœur est infirmière", "La soupe est très chaude", "Les clés sont dans la voiture". Before a job, French drops the article English needs: "Je suis professeur", never "je suis un professeur".

The describing word agrees with the person or thing, so a woman says "Je suis fatiguée" and a man "Je suis fatigué" (they sound the same). In conversation, on est usually replaces nous sommes for "we are": "On est à la gare" means the same as "Nous sommes à la gare".

Avoir in the present: j'ai, tu as, il a… — ils ont, not ils sont

PronounAvoir
j'ai
tuas
il / elle / ona
nousavons
vousavez
ils / ellesont

Saying what you have: J'ai une petite voiture, Elle a deux chats

Nous avons un grand jardin.

"I'm cold" is J'ai froid: where French uses avoir

English uses "be" for how your body feels and for your age, but French uses avoir: "J'ai froid" (I'm cold), "Tu as faim ?" (Are you hungry?), "J'ai vingt ans" (I'm twenty). "Je suis froid" would mean your personality is cold, so be careful with it. Pain works the same way, with avoir mal à: "J'ai mal à la tête" is "I have a headache".

A cold is the exception, because French uses an adjective: "Il est enrhumé" (He has a cold). Listen for the difference between ils ont (they have), said with a "z" sound, and ils sont (they are), said with an "s".

Asking with your voice: Tu es étudiant ? — no "do", no word change

Tu es étudiant ?

Est-ce que at the front: Est-ce que vous avez un stylo ?

Est-ce que la chambre est calme ?

Swapping verb and pronoun: Avez-vous une réservation ? — the formal way

Avez-vous une réservation ?

Talking about a new flatmate: tu, être and avoir between friends

Checking into a hotel: vous, est-ce que and inversion

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