Verb etre: conjugation and use. Etre and avoir educational and methodological material in French (grade 5) on the topic Conjugation of the verb etre for children
As in most other European languages, in the French version it is not possible to omit the verb to be, which, on the contrary, is very typical for the Russian language in phrases like: he is cultured, she is at home, they are in the mountains. A Frenchman, an Englishman or a German in these cases will definitely say: he is strange, she is at home, they are in the mountains. Thus, the verb to be (is) is extremely important for any native speaker in Europe. At the same time, in German we will deal with the verb sein, in English - with the verb to be, in French we have the verb être.
The above-mentioned French verb être is used to describe states (être curieux - to be curious, être petit - to be small), when indicating the type of occupation (être étudiant - to be a student, être médecin - to be a doctor), and is also widely used in the process of conjugation in complex tense forms of fifteen verbs (devenir (to become), naître (to be born), aller (to go), etc. - intransitive verbal units, the semantics of which is associated with movement or state - Je suis allé (I left.)).
The conjugation of the verb être itself is as follows:
je suis adroit - I am clever
tu es adroit - you are clever
il est adroit - he is clever
elle est adroite - she is clever
nous sommes adroits - we are clever
vous êtes adroits - you are clever
ils sont adroits - they are dexterous
elles sont adroites - they are dexterous (f.)
In turn, the negative form with the verb être will be formed according to the following scheme: ne + être in one of its forms + pas. - n’es pas (You are not); n'êtes pas (You are not); ne suis pas (I am not), etc.
The order of constructing interrogative constructions with the verb être will depend on the specific situation and the purpose of the question being asked (general or special), as well as on the recipient (who is being addressed). - Suis-je? Est-elle? Sont-ils? Est-ce qu'elle est? Elle est? Qui est-elle? (Who is she?), etc.
Moreover, if être is used to indicate an occupation or profession, then we will have to omit the article before the definite noun:
je suis artiste - I am an artist;
tu es pianiste - you are a pianist;
il est chef d'orchestre - he is the conductor;
elle est étudiante - she is a student;
nous sommes grimpeurs - we are climbers;
vous êtes médecin - you are a doctor;
ils sont juges - they are judges;
elles sont paysannes - they are peasant women.
However, in the case of placing a definition with a noun, the use of the indefinite article is observed - Vous êtes un mauvais concepteur (You are a bad designer); Elle est une bonne fille (She is a good girl).
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the adjective placed after être must agree with the direct control word in its gender, as well as in number. — Je suis intelligent (-) — m.r. (I'm smart). Ma fille est intelligent(e) - female (My daughter is smart). Son ami est gras (His friend is fat). Ils sont adroit(s) - plural. h. (They are skillful). Thus, the masculine gender will be reflected by the use of the zero ending, the feminine gender by the addition of the inflection -e, and the plural by the use of the ending -s.
It is interesting that the French language is very rich in various kinds of set expressions in which the verb être is actively used: être cool (to be “cool”); être islamiste (to be an Islamist); être stable (to be stable); être insupportable (to be intolerable); (avoir le droit) d’être idiot (have the right) to be an idiot)); être fastidieux (to be boring); être peureux (to be cowardly); être nouveau (to be new); être héros (to be a hero), etc. The ability to use them correctly in your speech can make it richer, more emotionally and stylistically rich.
In almost all languages, verbs change according to persons and numbers. This is called conjugation. Sometimes this happens according to general rules, but often the most used of them have to be learned by heart, because the formation of certain forms does not lend itself to any logic. And among them, of course, is "etre".
Conjugating regular verbs in French
It is difficult for a modern person to do without knowledge of English at least at an elementary level. Any travel, meeting with foreigners, interesting highly specialized articles - for all this you need to learn a foreign language. Most often, English is taught in schools, although French is no less important - the information on a driver’s license is duplicated in it. It is also one of the working languages of the UN and its secretariat, and finally, it is simply beautiful and romantic. But learning it is not an easy task, primarily because of the grammar.
It is not difficult to remember how the so-called “regular” verbs change. There are two main groups with different endings, which are conjugated according to different principles. The easiest way to illustrate this is with a table:
Present tense |
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Infinitive form | parl er(speak) | fin ir(end) |
Obviously, remembering these rules is not that difficult. But unfortunately,
Not all verbs are so simple in their changes. And these, of course, include être.
Conjugation of basic irregular verbs
It might seem that there are no particular difficulties in French grammar. But this is not entirely true. The main verbs - etre (to be) and avoir (to have) belong to the category of irregular ones. That is, their forms can only be learned; it is impossible to construct them based on general conjugation rules. What aggravates the problem is that these verbs often act as “links,” that is, they participate in the formation of more complex grammatical structures. But you shouldn’t immediately delve into the question; first you need to find out how these two verbs change.
Present tense |
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avoir (to have) |
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Je suis (I am, I exist) | J"ai (I have) |
Tu es (You are, you exist) | Tu as (You have) |
Il/Elle/On est (He/she is, he/she exists) | Il/Elle/On a (He/she has) |
Nous sommes (We are, we exist) | Nous avons (We have) |
Vous êtes (You are, you exist) | Vous avez (You have, you have) |
Ils/Elles sont (They are, they exist) | Ils/Elles ont (They have) |
completely different forms that also have to be learned.
Past and future tense
French has 8 tense forms, two of which are used only in writing. There are also 4 conditionals, subjunctive and imperative, as well as participles and constructions denoting the compassionate voice. That is, there are a total of 21 for each verb, including the infinitive. This number is a little scary. And all this must be mastered if you want to know French well. The conjugation of the verb etre, as already mentioned, does not follow general rules, which means that all its forms must be learned by heart
The complete table will look like this:
Indicative mood (Indicatif) |
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Time | Verb form in French | Possible translation |
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Past tense forms | (Simple past) | I was/existed |
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you were/existed |
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we were/existed |
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ils/elles furent | |||
(Past completed) | I was/existed |
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you were/existed |
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il/elle/on a été | he/she was/was/was/existed |
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nous avons eté | |||
ils/elles ont été | |||
(Unfinished Past) | I was/existed |
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you were/existed |
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il/elle/on etait | he/she was/was/was/existed |
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ils/elles etaient | they were/existed |
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Plus-que-parfait (Done long ago, preceding another action) | I was/existed |
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you were/existed |
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il/elle/on avait été | he/she was/was/was |
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nous avions eté | |||
vous aviez eté | |||
ils/elles avaient été | they were/existed |
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Passé anterieur (Anterior past) | |||
il/elle/on eut été | he/she was/was/was/existed |
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nous eûmes eté | |||
vous eûtes eté | |||
ils/elles eurent été | |||
Present forms | I am/exist |
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you are/exist |
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he/she is/exists |
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we are/exist |
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you are/exist |
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they are/exist |
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Future forms | Futur simple (Simple form) | ||
you will |
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he/she will |
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You will |
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they will |
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Futur antérieur (The future with a sequence of actions) | |||
you will |
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il/elle/on aura été | he/she will |
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nous aurons été | |||
vous aurez été | You will |
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ils/elles auront été | they will |
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Subjunctive mood (Subjonctif) |
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que j'aie eté | conveyed by the subordinate clause "... that I was/existed" |
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que tu aies eté | conveyed by the subordinate clause "... that you were/existed" |
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qu'il/elle/on ait été | conveyed by the subordinate clause "... that he/she was/was/was/existed" |
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que nous ayons été | conveyed by the subordinate clause "... that we were/existed" |
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que vous ayez eté | conveyed by the subordinate clause "... that you were/existed" |
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qu'ils/elles aient été | conveyed by the subordinate clause "... that they were/existed" |
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Plus-que-parfait (hardly used) | que j'eusse eté | that I was/existed |
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que tu eusses été | that you were/existed |
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qu'il/elle/on eût été | |||
que nous eussions eté | that we were/existed |
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que vous eussiez été | that you were/existed |
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qu'ils/qu"elles eussent été | that they were/existed |
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Imparfait (hardly used) | that I was/existed |
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that you were/existed |
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qu'il/elle/on fût | that he/she was/was/was/existed |
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que nous fussions | that we were/existed |
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que vous fussiez | that you were/existed |
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qu'ils/elles fussent | that they were/existed |
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that I am/exist |
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that you are/exist |
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qu'il/elle/on soit | that he/she is/exists |
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that we are/exist |
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that you are/exist |
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qu'ils/elles soient | that they are/exist |
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Conditionnel |
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Passé 1re form | j'aurais été | I would be/exist |
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would you be/exist |
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il/elle/on aurait été | he/she was/was/was/existed |
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nous aurions été | we would be/exist |
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vous auriez eté | would you be |
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ils/elles auraient été | they would be |
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Passé 2e forme (almost not used, book form, plus-que-parfait) | I would be/exist (when denoting an unrealized action in the past) |
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would you be/exist |
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il/elle/on eût été | |||
nous eussions eté | we would be/exist |
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vous eussiez été | you would be/exist |
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ils/elles eussent été | they would be |
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I would be (action in the present) |
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would you be/exist |
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il/elle/on serait | he/she would be/were/was/existed |
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we would be/exist |
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would you be |
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ils/elles seraient | they would be/exist |
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Imperative mood |
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Passé (used to indicate an impulse to action that must be completed before a certain point) | |||
let's be/let's be |
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we will/let's be |
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Initial form (Infinitif) |
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Participle form |
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which was |
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being |
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Yes, the variety of forms of French verbs is amazing. And all this will have to be memorized. The table shows only etre, the conjugation of which is an excellent example of how unpredictably irregular ones can behave
Verbs. But there are a huge number of them. In fact, fear of irregular verbs should not stop anyone who wants to master French. Not all of these forms are actively used even by native speakers, and everything that is necessary can be memorized by regular practice.
Use of etre
Conjugating this verb may seem complicated - and it is. But you will have to learn all its forms, since you will have to use it constantly.
Firstly, it is present in phrases denoting the occupation, nationality or other qualities of a person:
Je suis étudiante. I am a student.
Secondly, it is used to designate states:
Je suis malade. I am sick.
Finally, it is used to form forms of some verbs:
Je suis allé. I went.
So you definitely shouldn’t neglect studying such an important verb. And its forms can be remembered in the process of mastering certain tenses, moods and other grammatical structures. Then the conjugation of the verb etre will not be like this
frightening - the main thing is to do everything gradually.
Examples from other languages
French is no exception in terms of irregular verb forms. For European languages this is rather a rule. English to be, German sein, even Russian “to be”! The latter is not used as often as its counterparts in other languages, but it is undeniably incorrect. You can easily verify this by trying to conjugate it. In the present tense, he completely changes the basis to “is”, in the past and future it returns, and the change seems to occur according to the rules. However, it would be more correct to classify it as “incorrect”. So, before you think about how much you have to suffer while learning foreign languages, you should understand that your native language - Russian - can hardly be called simple.
In French, as in many European languages, there is a verb “to be, is”, which in the present tense, as a rule, is not translated into Russian.
If in Russian sentences like “The house is big”, “The woman is very beautiful”, “She is sick” do without a verb, then in French the so-called connective will definitely appear - the verb “etre”. It is this linking verb that we will talk about in this lesson.
The verb “etre” is conjugated in persons and numbers.
Personal pronouns
To correctly conjugate this verb, check out the table of personal pronouns in French. As in Russian, in French there are three persons (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and two numbers (singular and plural) of pronouns. There is no neuter gender in French - only masculine and feminine.
Please note that in French there is no single pronoun for masculine and feminine plurals.
Each plural gender has its own pronoun.
Conjugation of the verb "Etre" (listen)
So, now let’s conjugate the verb “etre”. This verb has six different forms - for each pronoun.
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| je | suis[sui] | nous | sommes[som] |
| tu | es[e] | vous | etes[this] |
| il | est[e] | ils | sont[sɔ̃*] |
| elle | elles | ||
*nasal sounds are indicated by transcription signs given in lesson 4. The remaining transcription sounds are indicated by Russian sounds.
It is important to note that when pronouncing the phrase "vous etes" the so-called binding occurs: [vuzet]. Phrases "il est" And "elle est" are also pronounced together: [tyue] and [ile].
To form a negation in French, the phrase is used "ne...pas", wherein "ne" must come before the verb, and "pas"- after.
For example: tu n'es pas malade(You are not sick).
As you noticed, the letter “e” before another vowel is shortened and replaced by an apostrophe “’”.
To ask a question, you can use not one, but three ways!
- First, you need to swap the subject and predicate, in this case, the pronoun and the desired form of the verb “etre”. In this case, a dash will be written between these two words.
For example:
Es-tu malade?[this little guy] (Are you sick?)
Est-il malade?[ethyl malyad] (Is he sick?)
Notice that the letter "t" before the vowel becomes pronounced.
- The second method is the easiest. There is no need to change anything, just add the intonation of the question to the sentence. Of course, this method is popular for colloquial speech.
- And finally, to ask a question in French you can use the popular expression "Est-ce-que"[esko]. It is not translated into Russian, but allows you to preserve the direct word order of the French sentence.
For example:
Est-ce qu'il est malade?[eskile malyad] - Is he sick?
Est-ce que vous êtes malades?[esko vuzet malyad] - Are you sick?
Notice that the vowel “e” before the pronoun “il” is dropped again.
But where did the ending “s” in the word “malade” come from, you ask. This is another feature of the French language - coordination
. In Russian we do the same thing, we say “I’m sick,” “he’s sick,” “we’re sick.” In French, the masculine gender does not receive any endings, the feminine gender is added with the ending “e”, and the plural – the ending “s”.
For example:
Il est intelligent [ile ɛ̃telizhɑ̃]. - He is smart.
Elle est intelligente [ele ɛ̃telizhɑ̃t]. - She's smart.Elles sont intelligentes [el sɔ̃ ɛ̃telizhɑ̃]. - They are smart. (about women)
Please note that the final unpronounceable consonant “t” in the feminine gender is pronounced due to the addition of the letter “e”.
Ready to consolidate what you've learned? Do some exercises!
Lesson assignments
Exercise 1. Use the correct form of the verb "etre".
1. Il... fatigué (tired).
2. Je... étudiante (student).
3. Ma chambre (my room) ... grande (large).
4. Ils... charmantes.
5. Est-ce que tu… médecin? (doctor).
6. Nous... sûrs (sure).
7. Elle... désolées (sad).
8. Il...marié (married).
9. …-nous en retard?
10. Elle... brune (brunette).
Exercise 2. Make up questions for the sentences using inversion or the phrase “Est-ce que”.
1. Tu es mariée (married).
2. Il est libre (free).
3. Vous etes prêts.
4. Elle est triste (sad).
5. Nous sommes malades.
Exercise 3. Complete the sentences by matching adjectives with pronouns.
1. Ills sont…. (content - satisfied).
2. Elle est... (fatigué).
3. Elles sont…. (fort).
4. Il est... (grand).
5. Ills sont... (médecin).
Answer 1.
1st
2.suis
3.est
4. sont
5.es
6. sommes
7. sont
8.est
9. sommes
10.est Answer 2.
1. Est-ce que tu es mariee? - Es-tu mariee?
2. Est-ce qu’il est libre? - Est-il libre?
3. Est-ce que vous etes prêts? — Êtes-vous prêts?
4. Est-ce que elle est triste? - Est-elle triste?
5. Est-ce que nous sommes malades? - Sommes-nous malades? Answer 3.
1. contents
2. fatiguee
3.fortes
4.grand
5. medecins
In French, the verb être (to be) is used to describe a phenomenon, the state of an animate or inanimate object, to determine the type of activity, occupation, profession. The verb être is also used as an auxiliary when conjugating other verbs in complex tenses in French.
The verb être belongs to the third group of verbs and has special conjugation forms in almost all tenses. In this case, either the original verb root or a morpheme different from the verb root is used as a basis. As a rule, the conjugation of the verb être is learned by heart. Below is the conjugation of the verb être in the present (Présent), past complete (Passé composé), past incomplete (Imparfait), as well as the simple future tense (Futur simple).
Usually in sentences the verb être is not translated into Russian. For example, the expression “il est directeur” in Russian will sound like “he is a director,” and not “he is a director,” since the verb “to be” is combined with names of professions, descriptions of conditions, etc. in Russian, as a rule, it is omitted. Unlike the Russian language, in French there is a subject indicating the type of occupation, description, etc. always presupposes the presence of the verb être:
Nous sommes enfants - We are children.
Pierre, tu es très intelligent - Pierre, you are very smart.
La maison est grande - The house is big.
In some constructions in French, the verb être may either not be translated into Russian at all, or be translated by other verbs that are suitable in meaning in this particular situation. For example:
ton stylo est sur la table - your pen is on the table OR your pen is on the table;
mon complet est dans l"armoire - my suit is hanging in the closet OR my suit is in the closet;
nous sommes en huitième - we are in eighth grade.
The verb être is used as an auxiliary when conjugating all reflexive verbs(se séparer, s"arrêter, etc.) and 15 verbs in complex tenses. These include the so-called “intransitive” verbs, denoting state or movement:
aller (to go), arriver (to arrive), descendre (to go down), devenir (to become),
entrer (to enter), monter (to rise), mourir (to die), naître (to be born), partir (to leave),
rentrer (to return), rester (to stay), revenir (to return), sortir (to leave),
tomber (to fall), venir (to come).
For example: je me suis arrêté - I stopped; je suis venu - I have come; elle est sortie - she came out.
A participle formed from a conjugated verb will agree in number and gender with the subject to which it refers. For example: il est venu, nous sommes venus, elles sont venues.
Due to the fact that some of the listed 15 verbs can have different meanings, such verbs can be conjugated with the auxiliary verb avoir:
Compare: il est monté - he rose; il a monté sa valise dans l’armoire - he lifted (put) his suitcase into the closet.
The auxiliary verb être is replaced by avoir also in the case of an object in the genitive case, i.e. when the conjugated verb becomes transitive:
il a monté l’escalier - he climbed the stairs.
The French verb “être” translated into Russian means “to be”. This verb is part of the third group of verbs, therefore it has special conjugation forms in all tenses. To do this, take the original root of the verb, or a verbal morpheme. To speak correctly, you need to remember these forms.
The verb “être” is used as a semantic verb when defining a profession, status, type of activity, as well as when describing a certain phenomenon or state of an object.
Usually, in sentences where the verb “être” carries a semantic load, it is not translated into Russian. For example:
. Je suis proffesseur. - I'am a teacher. (Not “I am a teacher”)
. Elle est très riche. - She is very rich.
. Le chat botté est mon héros aimé. - Puss in Boots is my favorite hero.
In French, there are a number of phrases in which the verb “être” can also be omitted during translation, or translated by another verb that is related in meaning to the main idea of the sentence in which it is used. For example:
. L'auto est à côt é de la maison - A car near the house. The car is parked near the house.
. Les serviettes sont dans la commode. - Towels in the chest of drawers. Towels are in the chest of drawers.
. Il est jardinier. - He's a gardener. He works as a gardener.
In addition, the verb "être" is one of the auxiliary verbs in French. So, it will be an auxiliary verb when conjugating all reflexive (pronominal) verbs. The participle (participe passé), formed by conjugating a semantic verb, must be consistent in number and gender with the subject. So:
. Il s"est réveillé. - He woke up.
. Elle ne s’est pas lavée. - She didn’t wash her face.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that the first sentence uses a masculine participle, and the second – a feminine one. This is evidenced by the added “e” in the participle of the verb “se laver”.
Also, the verb “être” will be auxiliary when forming complex tenses with “intransitive” verbs denoting movement or state:
. naître - to be born
. mourir - to die
. tomber - to fall
. aller - to go, to go
. arriver - to come, to arrive
. partir - leave, leave
. venir - to come, to come
. survenir - appear, meet
. apparaître - to appear
. sortir - exit
. and others
For example:
. Pouchkine est né en 1799. - Pushkin was born in 1799.
. Le train est arrivé sur le quai. - The train arrived at the platform.
However, the verb être can be replaced by the verb avoir if in the sentence construction the verb is followed by a direct object (without a preposition). Then the verb becomes “transitive”:
J'ai sorti mon porte-monnaie. - I took out my wallet.
The verb être can also be used in stable phrases. In the third person singular, in combination with the pronoun il, it forms the untranslatable impersonal phrase il est, which is used mainly to denote time. For example:
. Quelle heure est-il? - What time is it now?
. Il est quatre heures. - It's four o'clock now.
The use of the verb "être" is very common in French, both independently and as an auxiliary when forming tenses, so be careful when using it. If you choose the wrong form, you can unwittingly distort your own thought.
