In French, être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two most important verbs.

Why? Because you’ll use them in hundreds of everyday sentences. They appear everywhere: to describe yourself, to talk about others, to say what you own, even to form the past tense later on.

Note: in yellow, the liaison (link between a final consonant and a vowel in the following word).

1. Être – to be

• je suis → I am

• tu es → you are (informal)

• il/elle/on est → he/she/one is

• nous sommes → we are (again, prefer "on" because "nous" is too formal)

• vous êtes → you are (formal/plural)

• ils/elles sont → they are

Examples:

• Je suis fatigué(e). → I am tired

• Tu es content ? → Are you happy?

• Il est américain. → He is American (There's a liaison, but it's not needed in casual French)

• On est prêts. → We are ready

• Vous êtes en retard. → You are late

• Elles sont étudiantes. → They are students

2. Avoir – to have

• j'ai → I have ("J'" because of the double vowel Je ai = J'ai.)

• tu as → you have

• il/elle/on a → he/she/one has

• nous avons → we have (again, prefer "on" because "nous" is too formal)

• vous avez → you have

• ils/elles ont → they have

Examples:

• J’ai faim. → I am hungry

• Tu as une question ? → Do you have a question?

• Il a un appartement à Paris. → He has an apartment in Paris

• On a des amis ici. → We have friends here

• Vous avez du temps ? → Do you have time?

• Ils ont trois enfants. → They have three children ("Ils" is used for a mixed group instead of "Ils et elles".)

3. Mini dialogue

— Tu es prêt ? (Are you ready?)
— Oui, je suis prêt ! (Yes, I’m ready!)
— Vous avez vos clés ? (Do you have your keys?)
— Oui, c'est bon, on a tout. (Yes, we have everything.)

4. Practice tips

• Make simple sentences every day:

  • Je suis… (I am…)

  • J’ai… (I have…)

  • Il est… (He is…)

  • Elle a… (She has…)

• Combine with vocabulary you already know from earlier lessons:

  • J’ai une sœur. (I have a sister.)

  • Il est fatigué. (He is tired.)

  • On a un appartement. (We have an apartment.)

• Speak out loud and replace pronouns:

  • Je suis… → Tu es… → On est…

• Listen for liaisons in real life, but don’t stress. They’ll come naturally with practice.

🎯 What You Can Do Now

After this lesson, you can:

• Use être and avoir to make real sentences.

• Talk about yourself, describe others, and say what you have.

• Recognize the most common liaisons, without worrying about being perfect.

What’s Next

Bravo, you now have the two most powerful verbs in French.

In the next lesson, you’ll learn how to build full sentences in the present tense with regular verbs and some common irregulars. This is where your ability to communicate really takes off.

Alors, tu penses que c'est difficile ? Si oui, prends une pause. Sinon ... On continue !