French Conjugation of Etre and Avoir (Present

Tense)

It this lesson you will learn or consolidate, if you have gone through the 1st and 2nd
part of my French Lessons for Beginners, the conjugation and use of the two most
important verbs in the French language: Etre and Avoir.  

Understanding Avoir and Être

The two verbs to be = "être", and to have = "avoir". The comprehension of the use of these
two verbs is very important for mastering the French language. They are used with the past
participle to make compound tenses.

The simplest way to remember which one to use is as follows:

 Most verbs are conjugated with the French "avoir" (to have)
 Verbs describing, motion and direction; and reflexive verbs for example "to wash my
hair", are conjugated with the verb "être" (to be)

1. French Verbs: Etre / Avoir

Here are some of the advantages of learning etre (to be) and avoir (to have) from the
beginning. 

 They are two the most important verbs in almost any language, but they are
particularly useful in learning Romance Languages
 Thanks to them you will be able to express all the basic things concerning
yourself
 Etre and avoir are essential in constructing most of the grammatical
structures of the French language (past, future, conditional, perfect, subjunctive)
 Two irregular verbs, which means they conjugate differently from other
verbs
 In both verbs, the second ( tu ) and the third( il/elle ) person
singular are pronounced in the same way (although they are written in a different
way)

2. Conjugation of Etre and Avoir:

Without a further ado here is the conjugation with the example sentences to make
your learning the most effective:
 avoir = to have
être = to be
I have = J'ai
I am = Je suis
You have = Tu as
You are = Tu es
He has = Il a
He is = Il est
She has = Elle a
She is = Elle est
We have = Nous avons
We are = Nous sommes
You have = Vous avez
You are = Vous êtes234
They have = Ils ont
They are = Ils sont
They have = Elles ont
They are =Elles sont

Je suis français. I am French. J’ai une voiture rapide. I have a fast car.

Tu as une jolie maison. You have a nice
Tu es allemand. You are German. house.

Il est jeune. He is young. Il a 10 ans. You are 10 years old.

Elle est belle. She is pretty. Elle a un frère. She has one brother.

Nous sommes ensemble. We are Nous avons terminé. We have finished.

together.
Vous avez une question. You have a
Vous êtes arrivés*. You have arrived. question.

Ils sont contents*. They are happy. Ils ont perdu. They have lost.

Elles sont contentes**. They (the Elles ont peur.  They are afraid (lit. They

women) are happy. (the women) have fear)

* you need to add “s” to a verb in the plural form. Just to let you know.

** If the verb is in plural and feminine form, you need to add ‘s’ (plural) and ‘e’
(feminine)