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FrenchConjugationPrésent

Être (to be) · Présent

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Être in the French présent is: je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. The present of être expresses current state, identity, location, or condition: 'je suis professeur' (I am a teacher), 'nous sommes à Paris' (we are in Paris). Every form is irregular and must be memorised.

être conjugation in the Présent
To BeÊtre
I am
je suis
you are
tu es
he/she is
il/elle/on est
we are
nous sommes
you are
vous êtes
they are
ils/elles sont
Examples

Être (to be) in context

Sentences that use être in the présent. Tap each to hear it.

Je suis fatigué aujourd'hui.

I am tired today.

Tu es très gentil.

You are very kind.

Il est professeur de mathématiques.

He is a math teacher.

Nous sommes à Paris cette semaine.

We are in Paris this week.

Vous êtes prêts à partir?

Are you ready to leave?

Ils sont mes meilleurs amis.

They are my best friends.

Tip

Working with the présent

French uses the present tense more broadly than English does. "Je parle français" can mean "I speak French," "I am speaking French," or "I do speak French" — context decides. Note that "on" (technically third-person singular: "on parle") is the everyday spoken equivalent of "nous" — French speakers use it constantly in conversation. "Nous parlons" feels more formal or written; "on parle" is what you actually hear in everyday speech.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate être in the present tense?
Être in the present is: je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Every form is irregular — there's no pattern to derive them from. Memorise them as a unit; être is the highest-frequency French verb and these forms come up in nearly every sentence.
What's the difference between être and avoir for compound tenses?
Être is the auxiliary for about 17 motion/state verbs and ALL reflexive verbs (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir + all 'se' verbs). Avoir is the auxiliary for every other verb. The être verbs are often called 'the house of être' because they describe motion in and out of a metaphorical house (enter, exit, climb, descend, etc.).
Why is the vous form 'êtes' and not 'estez'?
Être's present comes directly from Latin 'esse' (to be), which had its own irregular paradigm (sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt). The French 'vous êtes' preserves the older form rather than adopting the regular -ez ending. Compare 'vous dites' (dire) and 'vous faites' (faire) — three of the very few -ez exceptions in French.
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More tenses of Être (To Be)

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Être (to be) · Passé Composé

More verbs in présent

All tenses
Être (to be)
présent
Avoir (to have)
présent
Aller (to go)
présent
Faire (to do)
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