Practice FrenchA1
Present tense of être and avoir
These two verbs are the first ones learners need to control well. They appear in many basic sentences and they also support later grammar.
Forms to know
- être: je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont
- avoir: j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont
Basic uses
- identity and description: Je suis étudiant.
- possession: Nous avons une voiture.
- age: J'ai dix ans.
- location and state: Elle est à la maison.
Watch out
Do not confuse être and avoir in very short sentences. The meaning is simple, but the forms have to be automatic.
Être and avoir side by side
| être (to be) | avoir (to have) | |
|---|---|---|
| je / j' | je suis | j'ai |
| tu | tu es | tu as |
| il / elle / on | il est | il a |
| nous | nous sommes | nous avons |
| vous | vous êtes | vous avez |
| ils / elles | ils sont | ils ont |
Two sounds are worth drilling early: ils sont (they are) starts with an "s" sound, while ils ont (they have) links with a "z" sound — ils‿ont. Mixing them up changes the meaning of the sentence.
When French uses avoir where English uses "to be"
The single biggest être/avoir trap: French expresses many states with avoir + noun where English uses "to be" + adjective.
| French | Literally | English |
|---|---|---|
| J'ai 20 ans. | I have 20 years | I am 20 years old |
| J'ai faim / soif. | I have hunger / thirst | I am hungry / thirsty |
| J'ai froid / chaud. | I have cold / heat | I am cold / hot |
| J'ai peur. | I have fear | I am afraid |
| Tu as raison / tort. | you have right / wrong | you are right / wrong |
| J'ai sommeil. | I have sleepiness | I am sleepy |
| J'ai besoin de café. | I have need of coffee | I need coffee |
If you remember one rule from this page: age, hunger, thirst, heat, cold, fear and need all take avoir, never être.
Common mistakes
- ❌ Je suis 20 ans. → ✅ J'ai 20 ans. — age takes avoir.
- ❌ Je suis faim. → ✅ J'ai faim. — so do hunger and thirst.
- ❌ Je ai un chat. → ✅ J'ai un chat. — je always elides to j' before a vowel.
- ❌ Il être content. → ✅ Il est content. — the infinitive never replaces a conjugated form.
- ❌ Nous avons contents. → ✅ Nous sommes contents. — an adjective describing the subject takes être.
Quick answers
Why "j'ai" and never "je ai"? Before a vowel sound, je drops its e and attaches: j'ai, j'aime, j'habite. The elision is mandatory, not stylistic.
Is "on" singular or plural? On conjugates like il/elle — on est, on a — even when it means "we" in everyday speech: On est prêts.
Which one builds the passé composé? Most verbs use avoir (j'ai mangé); a small set of movement and change verbs plus all reflexives use être (je suis allé, je me suis levé). The split is covered in the A2 conjugation lesson.
See them in a real text
The A1 story Le chat de la boulangerie uses être and avoir in nearly every paragraph — read it right after this lesson and count the forms you recognise. Then continue with aller and venir, the next two irregulars every sentence needs.
Try three examples
Example 1
Choose the sentence that says "We have two books."
- Nous sommes deux livres.
- Nous avons deux livres.
- Nous êtes deux livres.
- Nous a deux livres.
Show answer
Nous avons deux livres.
We have two books.
Example 2
Complete with the present indicative form of «être» that fits the sentence.
Je ___ fatigué.
Show answer
suis
I am tired.
Example 3
Complete with the present indicative form of «être» that fits the sentence.
Ils ___ à la maison.
Show answer
sont
They are at home.
Conjugate the verbs from this lesson
Practice this lesson
Continue with the interactive exercise set and save your progress.