How to use être (A1 French)

Être is usually the first French verb you learn, and one you'll use constantly. Like English to be, it expresses identity, location, and description.

One early challenge is that French does not always use être where English uses "to be." For age, hunger, and many everyday expressions, French uses other verbs like avoir or faire instead.

Start by learning the core uses of être. Then you will be able to recognize when another French verb is needed.

Forms and grammar

Être is irregular, and you must learn these forms early because many basic sentences depend on it:

Singular	Plural
je suis	nous sommes
tu es	vous êtes
il / elle / on est	ils / elles sont

Notice how little the forms share with the infinitive être. Je suis and nous sommes do not look like the infinitive form at all, so learn these forms as a set. Practice each form with its subject pronoun.

For all tenses, see the conjugation of être.

When être is the main verb in the passé composé, it uses avoir as its helper. The past participle is été:

avoir + été

Here is how that looks in a full sentence:

French	English
J'ai été malade hier.	I was sick yesterday.
Elle a été très claire.	She was very clear.

For uses of être as a past-tense helper with other verbs, see Passé composé with avoir and être:

être + past participle

How to use être

The uses below cover some of the most common examples of être.

Saying your name or nationality

Use être to say your name, your nationality, or basic information about yourself.

French	English
Je suis Marie.	I am Marie.
Il est français.	He is French.
Nous sommes canadiens.	We are Canadians.
Elle est ma sœur.	She is my sister.

When introducing or identifying someone or something, French often uses c'est instead of il est or elle est.

French	English
C'est mon frère.	This is my brother.
C'est un bon restaurant.	It is a good restaurant.

Talking about location

Être is used for the location of people and things.

French	English
Je suis à la maison.	I am at home.
Le livre est sur la table.	The book is on the table.
Nous sommes à Paris.	We are in Paris.

With cities, French uses à. With most feminine countries, it uses en (en France). With many masculine countries, it uses au (au Canada).

Start with a few places you actually talk about, then expand the list.

Describing someone or something

French uses être to describe someone or something, often with an adjective.

French	English
Je suis fatigué.	I am tired.
La chambre est grande.	The room is big.
Ils sont prêts.	They are ready.

The adjective changes to match the gender and number of the person or thing it describes: fatigué / fatiguée, prêt / prête. At A1, notice the agreement in the examples you meet, even before you can explain every ending.

Talking about professions

French usually omits the article after être when simply stating someone's profession.

French	English
Il est médecin.	He is a doctor.
Elle est étudiante.	She is a student.
Je suis professeur.	I am a teacher.

The identification pattern tends to introduce or identify someone, not just state their role:

c'est un / une + job

These identification lines follow that shape:

French	English
C'est un médecin.	He's a doctor. / That's a doctor.
C'est une étudiante.	She's a student. / That's a student.

Il est médecin presents the profession as a fact about the person. C'est un médecin can introduce or identify someone as a doctor. Learn both shapes from examples.

Do not force every English "he is" through one French phrase.

Useful expressions using c'est

Here are a few high-frequency lines that use être outside the uses described above:

French	English
C'est lundi.	It's Monday.
C'est à toi.	It's your turn. / It's yours.
C'est vrai.	That's true.
C'est facile.	It's easy.

avoir: to have (age, possession, many body states)
aller: to go
devenir: to become
sembler: to seem

Avoir is the one to watch. English be often maps to avoir in French, especially with age and feelings like hunger or cold. See How to use avoir.

Before you go

Use être when you say who someone is, what they do, where they are, or how they are. Do not assume every context where English uses be maps to être in French. Age, hunger, and similar states usually take avoir.

Remember these differences, and you'll understand être through most of A1 French.