The big four: être, avoir, aller, faire

The big four

These four are irregular in the present and in the future, and the most useful verbs in the language.

What each one buys you:

• J'ai mangé. - I ate. (avoir builds most past tenses)
• Je suis allé à Paris. - I went to Paris. (être builds the rest)
• Je vais manger. - I'm going to eat. (aller + infinitive: the near future)
• Il fait froid. - It's cold. (faire does the weather, and much else)

vous êtes and vous faites are two of only three vous forms ending in -tes rather than -ez. The third is vous dites (you say):

• Vous êtes ici ? - Are you here?
• Qu'est-ce que vous faites ? - What are you doing?

avoir where English says be

French says you have hunger, fear or years where English says you are hungry, afraid or twenty.

1234

1. 1J'ai chaud
2. 2J'ai froid
3. 3J'ai faim
4. 4J'ai sommeil

Hot, cold, hungry, sleepy: all four take avoir and a noun. Je suis chaud is not how you say you are hot.

12

1. 1J'ai cinq ans !
2. 2cinq bougies

Age takes avoir: J'ai cinq ans, I have five years. Je suis cinq is never French. Count the candles.

Tiredness goes the other way, because fatigué is an adjective, not a noun:

• Je suis fatigué. - I'm tired.

The modal group

Four verbs behave alike and usually come before an infinitive: pouvoir (can), vouloir (want), devoir (must) and savoir (know how to).

pouvoir and vouloir end in -x, -x, -t in the singular; devoir and savoir in -s, -s, -t. The verb after a modal stays in the infinitive:

• Je peux venir. - I can come.
• Tu veux manger ? - Do you want to eat?
• Nous devons rentrer. - We have to go home.
• Je sais nager. - I can swim.

What each modal means, je voudrais, and savoir against connaître are on French modal verbs.