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A1 · Verb Tenses · Published
Être and Avoir
Être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two most important verbs in French, and both are irregular: je suis, tu es, il est… and j’ai, tu as, il a… have to be learned by heart. Être covers identity, descriptions, and location; avoir covers possession — and, surprisingly for English speakers, age: J’ai vingt ans, literally "I have twenty years".
The effort pays off fast: they appear in almost every French conversation.
In short
- Être = to be: je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont.
- Avoir = to have: j’ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont.
- French uses avoir where English uses "be" for age: j’ai vingt ans — literally "I have twenty years".
form of êtreform of avoirnoun inside an avoir phrase· hover a highlighted word for its label
Être: the forms
Être is the most irregular verb in French: its six forms can’t be predicted from the infinitive. Unlike the regular verbs on the present tense page, there is no stem-plus-ending pattern to lean on — these six forms are pure memorization.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | je suis |
| tu | tu es |
| il / elle / on | il est |
| nous | nous sommes |
| vous | vous êtes |
| ils / elles | ils sont |
I’m a student in Bordeaux.
— Identity and profession follow suis — and the profession takes no article.
Are you ready? The taxi is here.
— Both êtes and est are être — one subject is vous, the other le taxi.
What être does
Être links the subject to what it is: a name, a description, a place, a nationality, a job. After être, an adjective agrees with the subject — ils sont prêts, elles sont prêtes — a pattern covered in adjective agreement. And to introduce someone or something with a noun ("this is my brother"), French usually says c’est rather than il est; that choice has its own page, c’est vs il est.
Use être for
- Identity and relationships: je suis sa cousine
- Descriptions with adjectives: elle est contente
- Location: nous sommes à la gare
- Nationality and profession, with no article: il est belge, elle est avocate
My keys are in the kitchen.
— Location uses the same verb: sont places the keys in the kitchen.
He’s Irish and he’s very funny.
— Nationality and description both follow est — irlandais behaves like any adjective.
Avoir: the forms
Avoir is just as irregular. Two sound patterns matter early. First, je becomes j’ before the vowel: j’ai, never "je ai". Second, the plural forms carry a liaison with a z sound: nous avons, vous avez, ils ont all glide with [z]. That z is what separates ils ont (they have) from ils sont (they are) in speech.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j’ | j’ai |
| tu | tu as |
| il / elle / on | il a |
| nous | nous avons |
| vous | vous avez |
| ils / elles | ils ont |
I have a meeting at three o’clock.
— Je becomes j’ before the vowel of ai.
Do you have the time?
— Literally "you have the hour?" — as is the tu form.
What avoir does
Avoir is the verb of having: things you own, people in your family, plans on your calendar. It also hides inside the fixed phrase il y a, the French "there is / there are".
The number-one trap is age. English says you are an age; French says you have your years. The question and the answer both run on avoir: Tu as quel âge ? — J’ai vingt ans. Answering with être is never correct.
She has three cats and a dog.
— Possession: a covers everything you own — pets included.
My little brother is fifteen.
— English "is fifteen" but French counts the years you have: always a, never est.
When French has and English is
Age is not alone. A small family of nouns — faim (hunger), soif (thirst), froid, chaud, raison, tort, de la chance — pairs with avoir where English reaches for "to be":
J’ai soif. Tu as de la chance ! Ils ont froid.
The logic: these words are nouns, and nouns are things you have. Resist translating "I am hungry" word for word.
I’m hungry — shall we eat soon?
— French has hunger: faim is a noun, so it needs ai.
You’re right, it’s too expensive.
— English "you are right", but French pairs as with the noun raison.
Their second job: building the passé composé
Beyond the present tense, both verbs are the helpers that build the passé composé, the everyday past tense — j’ai raté le bus, ma sœur est rentrée. Most verbs take avoir; a small group of movement verbs takes être. The system is taught on its own page — the point here is that the twelve forms you are memorizing now are the exact pieces that tense is made of.
Common mistakes
✗Je suis vingt ans.
✓J’ai vingt ans.
Age uses avoir in French — you have your years, you are not them. This is the single most common être/avoir mistake.
✗Elle est faim après l’école.
✓Elle a faim après l’école.
Faim is a noun meaning "hunger", so French has it. Everyday French has no adjective for "hungry" — you say you have hunger.
✗Ils sont un examen demain.
✓Ils ont un examen demain.
Sont (être) and ont (avoir) are easy to mix up, but having an exam is possession — avoir. Listen for the liaison: ils ont glides with a z sound.
✗Nous avons fatigués après le voyage.
✓Nous sommes fatigués après le voyage.
Fatigué is an adjective, and adjectives follow être. The avoir phrases (j’ai faim, j’ai froid) work only with nouns.
Check yourself
1 / 5Elle ___ professeur de musique.
2 / 5Mes parents ___ une petite maison en Bretagne.
3 / 5Tu ___ quel âge ?
4 / 5Nous ___ très contents de te voir.
5 / 5Vous ___ de la chance !
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between être and avoir?
Être means "to be" and covers identity, descriptions, location, nationality, and professions. Avoir means "to have" and covers possession — plus a group of cases where English uses "be", such as age (j’ai vingt ans) and hunger (j’ai faim).
Do you use être or avoir for age in French?
Always avoir: j’ai dix-huit ans, elle a trente ans. French treats age as something you have, so "je suis dix-huit ans" is never correct.
What is the difference between ils sont and ils ont?
Ils sont is être ("they are") and ils ont is avoir ("they have"). In speech you hear the difference in the consonant: ils sont has the s of sont (il-sont), while ils ont has a liaison z (il-z-ont).
Why do the French say "j’ai faim" instead of "je suis faim"?
Faim is a noun meaning "hunger", not an adjective, so French says you have it. The same logic produces j’ai soif, j’ai froid, and j’ai raison — a whole family of avoir phrases where English uses "to be".
Are être and avoir irregular verbs?
Yes — they are the two most irregular verbs in French. Their present-tense forms are too irregular to build from a rule and must be memorized, which pays off quickly: the same forms later serve as the helper verbs of the passé composé.
Memory tip
Look at the word after the verb. An adjective or a place points to être; a noun — vingt ans, faim, raison, une maison — points to avoir. Être likes descriptions; avoir likes things.
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