The verbs être and avoir in the present indicative

Why start with these two verbs?

Être and avoir are the two most frequent verbs in French. In the present indicative they describe the current situation: who you are, where you are, what you own and how you feel.

Both verbs also work as auxiliaries for compound tenses. Mastering the present tense therefore prepares everything that comes later.

Here are three very simple sentences: “Je suis étudiant.” (I am a student.) “Tu es à Paris.” (You are in Paris.) “J'ai un frère.” (I have a brother.)

This lesson covers the main uses, the table of each verb, and the mistakes beginners should avoid.

Conjugation table: être in the present

The table below shows the six grammatical persons of the present indicative, from first person singular to third person plural.

Read every row from left to right: first the subject pronoun, then the matching verb form. The display column joins pronoun and form with the correct elision.

• The six rows always follow the same order of persons.
• Table content comes from the verb dictionary, so this text never repeats it.
• Read the rows aloud, then hide the second column and test yourself.

être — Present indicative

je suis

tu es

il est

nous sommes

vous êtes

ils sont

Conjugation table: avoir in the present

This second table follows exactly the same structure: six persons, one subject pronoun per row, and the matching verb form.

Compare both tables row by row. The endings do not look alike: each verb follows its own irregular model, which you must memorise.

• Person order matches the previous table.
• The verb dictionary provides every piece of data shown here.
• Watch the elision in the first person singular, visible in the display column.

avoir — Present indicative

j'ai

tu as

il a

nous avons

vous avez

ils ont

When to use être and when to use avoir

Use être for identity, nationality, job, state and place.

• Identity: “Je suis Marie.” (I am Marie.)
• Nationality: “Tu es espagnol.” (You are Spanish.)
• Job: “Elle est médecin.” (She is a doctor.)
• Place: “Nous sommes à la maison.” (We are at home.)
• State: “Vous êtes fatigués.” (You are tired.) “Ils sont contents.” (They are happy.)

Use avoir for possession, age and many physical feelings.

• Possession: “J'ai un vélo.” (I have a bike.)
• Family: “Tu as deux sœurs.” (You have two sisters.)
• Age: “Il a dix ans.” (He is ten years old.)
• Feelings: “Nous avons faim.” (We are hungry.) “Vous avez soif.” (You are thirsty.) “Elles ont froid.” (They are cold.)

Remember two key rules: French expresses age with avoir, and feelings such as hunger, thirst, cold or fear also take avoir, where English uses “to be”.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Four mistakes come back very often with beginners.

• Age: never say “Je suis vingt ans”; say “J'ai vingt ans.” (I am twenty years old.)
• Feelings: never say “Je suis faim”; say “J'ai faim.” (I am hungry.)
• Elision: after the pronoun je, a form starting with a vowel requires “J'ai”, never “Je ai”.
• Third person plural mix-up: “Ils sont à l'école.” speaks about place, “Ils ont un chien.” speaks about possession.

One pronunciation point: in the third person plural, the liaison with avoir produces a clear vowel sound that separates the two verbs by ear.

Practice tip: write five sentences about yourself every day, three with être and two with avoir.