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Conjugation
Objective: Conjugate être across all six subject pronouns and use it to describe identity, origin, and states of being.
| Pronoun | Form | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | suis | swee | I am |
| tu | es | eh | you are (informal) |
| il / elle / on | est | eh | he, she, one is |
| nous | sommes | som | we are |
| vous | êtes | et | you are (formal or plural) |
| ils / elles | sont | son | they are |
Age uses the verb avoir, not être, so French literally says I have 25 years rather than I am 25.
The s in vous links to the vowel in êtes, and skipping this obligatory liaison sounds unnatural.
Suis is the first-person singular form. The verb links the subject to a profession or status.
Es is pronounced eh, the same as est in the third-person form. Context and the pronoun distinguish them.
Professions take no article after être, so médecin appears without un or une.
Sommes is the first-person plural form. In everyday speech, on est à la maison is more common.
The obligatory liaison links vous and êtes, producing the sound voo-zet.
5 exercises · about 8 minutes
Nous takes the first-person plural form sommes, never the third-person singular est.
Adjectives agree with the subject in number, so plural ils requires the plural adjective ending -s.
Sont is the third-person plural form. The adjective contents agrees in the plural.
The expression être désolé means to be sorry and uses a fixed adjective, not the verb avoir.
The expression c'est combines ce and est into a fixed form used to introduce a comment or an opinion.