Être and Avoir Explained: The Two French Verbs You Need First

Être means “to be” and avoir means “to have”; they are two essential French verbs used for descriptions, everyday expressions, and past-tense sentences. Both verbs have irregular forms, so it helps to learn them as complete phrases rather than trying to apply a regular verb pattern.

What is a French 101 verb?

A French 101 verb is a verb a beginner is likely to meet early. Être and avoir are useful starting points because they let you introduce yourself, describe people, and talk about what you have.

For example, je suis américaine means “I am American,” while j’ai un frère means “I have a brother.” The ending of américaine agrees with a feminine speaker; a masculine speaker would write américain.

UPI Study’s French 1 course covers être in its first chapter and avoir in its second. The course details are summarized below.

How does French verb conjugation work for être and avoir?

Conjugation means changing the verb form to match its subject. In English, for example, “I am” and “you are” use different forms of “to be.” French does this for both être and avoir.

Notice that je becomes j’ before ai: write j’ai, not je ai. For a broader explanation of verb patterns, see French verb conjugation explained.

How do you introduce yourself in French?

Start with a greeting, then use être for a description and avoir for your age or something you have. These examples give you a short introduction you can adapt:

• Bonjour ! Je suis étudiant. — Hello! I’m a student. A woman can say je suis étudiante.
• J’ai vingt ans. — I’m twenty years old. French uses avoir for age, not être.
• J’ai un frère. — I have a brother.

You can also use avoir to describe how you feel: j’ai faim means “I’m hungry,” and j’ai soif means “I’m thirsty.” To practice age and other quantities, review French numbers.

How does French pronunciation work for être and avoir?

Written endings are not always pronounced. For example, the final s in tu es and the final t in il est are silent. In j’ai, ai sounds like the vowel in the French word été, though pronunciation can vary by speaker and region.

Listen for liaison, too: in nous avons and vous avez, the normally silent final s connects to the following vowel with a z sound. Try listening to each phrase and repeating it aloud rather than sounding out every written letter. For more practice, see French pronunciation explained.

How are French tenses explained with être and avoir?

Besides meaning “to be” and “to have,” these verbs can act as helping verbs in the passé composé, a common past tense. The structure is a present-tense form of avoir or être followed by a past participle.

Most verbs use avoir: j’ai mangé means “I ate” or “I have eaten.” Some verbs use être, including arriver: elle est arrivée means “she arrived.” With être, the past participle generally agrees with the subject in gender and number, as the final e in arrivée shows.

Start by learning the present-tense forms in the table above. Then practice a few complete past-tense phrases rather than trying to memorize every participle at once.

Which colleges list French 1 on an equivalency chart?

These colleges show French 1 (French 101) on their equivalency charts with UPI Study. Open a college for its full chart.

See the rest of the equivalency on the French 1 course page, or open a college above for its full chart. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Frequently Asked Questions about French Verbs

Final Thoughts on French Verbs

Write three sentences about yourself with être and three with avoir, then say them aloud. Check the conjugation table whenever a form feels uncertain.