Verb être (to be) in the present tense in French

French lesson 1 of conjugation: verb être (to be) in the present tense in French

From the start of your learning of French, it is imperative to learn to conjugate the verb être (to be) in the present tense. Indeed, the verb être (to be) is the most used verb in French, both written and oral. So it is very important to know how to conjugate it. At first, this will allow you to make very simple sentences. This will allow you to introduce yourself. For example, you will be able to express your nationality: “Je suis (your nationality).”. “Je suis” means “I am”. Or express your occupation (profession): “Je suis (your profession).”. In addition, “to be” is one of the two auxiliaries in French (the other is “avoir” = “to have”). Thus, “être” also serves to form the tenses made up of certain verbs. So it will be very useful for you to progress in French. The video below will teach you how to conjugate the verb être (to be) in the present tense in French.

Thanks to this video and this article, you will learn how to conjugate the verb être (to be) in the present tense in French. To learn the conjugation of the verb to be in the present tense in French according to the personal pronouns subjects (je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles = I, you, he, she, we, you, they), when the teacher says “Je suis”, say “Je suis”, when the teacher says “Tu es”, say “Tu es”, when the teacher says “Il est”, says “Il est”, etc., until to “Elles sont”. Thus, you will be able to understand well orally (listening) and to pronounce (speaking) the conjugation of the verb être (to be) in the present tense in French. To do well, watch the video several times, repeating after the teacher. To write and read well this conjugation, copy the list below several times:

Je suis = I am
Tu es = You are
Il est / Elle est / On est = He is / She is / It is
Nous sommes = We are
Vous êtes = You are
Ils sont / Elles sont = They are

We strongly recommend that you memorize the conjugation of the verb être (to be) in the present tense in French, both orally and in writing.

As the conjugation of the verb être (to be) varies according to the personal pronoun subject, we recommend that you consult the article on personal pronouns subjects in French. In addition to the written explanations, this article presents an explanatory video on the personal pronouns subject in French.

To learn how to use the verb être (to be) in the present tense in French in context and learn to make simple sentences with the verb être in the present tense, you can study the French course: learn to introduce yourself, the French course: learn to introduce someone, the French course: learn to ask closed questions, the French course: learn to describe yourself physically, the French course: learn to describe a person and the French course: learn to describe an object.

Once you have correctly mastered this conjugation lesson for the verb to be in the present tense in French, you can move on to the next French conjugation lesson:

French conjugation lesson 2: the verb avoir (to have) in the present tense in French

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