/ɛtʁ/
Translation
to be
Word origin
From Vulgar Latin essere, a reshaping of Latin esse ('to be'). Some of its forms (such as those in fu-) come from Latin fui, the perfect of esse, and certain present forms draw on stare ('to stand').
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- essere
- English cognates
- essence, essential
Grammar
Conjugation
Regular french-irregular conjugation. Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles.
Indicative
| Person | Present | Imperfect | Past historic | Future | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | suis | étais | fus | serai | serais |
| tu | es | étais | fus | seras | serais |
| il/elle | est | était | fut | sera | serait |
| nous | sommes | étions | fûmes | serons | serions |
| vous | êtes | étiez | fûtes | serez | seriez |
| ils/elles | sont | étaient | furent | seront | seraient |
Subjunctive
| Person | Present | Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| je | sois | fusse |
| tu | sois | fusses |
| il/elle | soit | fût |
| nous | soyons | fussions |
| vous | soyez | fussiez |
| ils/elles | soient | fussent |
Imperative
| Person | Affirmative |
|---|---|
| tu | sois |
| nous | soyons |
| vous | soyez |
Non-finite
- Gerund / present participle
- étant
- Past participle
- été
Examples
l' .
I am a student at the University of Paris.
.
She has been a doctor for twenty years.
.
We are very pleased to see you.
.
The market is open on Sunday morning.
bonne , c' .
Being in good health is the most important thing.
Used in
Stories
(24)On a le temps
1 min read · Core 1000
Un soir avec Marc
1 min read · Core 1000
Une bonne chose
1 min read · Core 1000
Pas la même chose
2 min read · Core 1000
Seule dans la nuit
2 min read · Core 1000
Chez le médecin
3 min read · Core 1000
Cuisiner ensemble
3 min read · Core 1000
La fête surprise
3 min read · Core 1000
Le bus manqué
3 min read · Core 1000
Le coup de téléphone
3 min read · Core 1000
Le dernier train de la nuit
3 min read · Core 1000
Le jour du travail
3 min read · Core 1000
Le nouveau docteur
3 min read · Core 1000
Le premier jour de travail
3 min read · Core 1000
Perdu en ville
3 min read · Core 1000
Un après-midi de pluie
3 min read · Core 1000
Un matin au marché
3 min read · Core 1000
Clara trouve sa place
4 min read · Core 1000
Il faut que tu partes
4 min read · Core 5000
Le bureau de Lucie
4 min read · Core 5000
Un ancien ami
4 min read · Core 5000
Un message pour Hélène
4 min read · Core 1000
Un voyage difficile
4 min read · Core 1000
Une rencontre au marché
4 min read · Core 1000
Grammar articles
(24)French Advanced Grammar (C1-C2): The Constructions That Sound Native
French Articles: Definite, Indefinite, Partitive, and the Article English Speakers Drop
French Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
French Conditionnel: Polite Requests, Hypothetical 'Would', and the Same Irregular Stems as the Future
Conjugating French -re Verbs in the Present Tense
French Verb Conjugation: The Complete Rules with Examples
French Future Tense: Futur Proche, Futur Simple, and the Irregular Stems
French Imparfait: One Stem, One Set of Endings, One Irregular
French Imperative: tu, nous, vous Commands and the Three Irregulars
French Impersonal Verbs: il y a, il faut, il fait and the Dummy Subject 'il'
French Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2): The Things That Stop You at the Plateau
French quel and lequel: Which and Which One
The French Present Participle and Gerund (le participe présent et le gérondif)
Passé Composé vs Imparfait: How to Choose Between the Two French Past Tenses
French Passé Composé: avoir or être + Past Participle and the MRS VANDERTRAMP Set
The French Pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait): The Past Before the Past
French Possessive Pronouns: le mien, le tien, le sien, le nôtre, le vôtre, le leur
French Reflexive Verbs: se laver, se lever, s'appeler and the Singular Pronouns
French si Clauses: The Three Types of Conditional Sentence
The French Subjunctive After Conjunctions
The French Subjunctive After Doubt, Emotion and Opinion
The French Subjunctive After Necessity and Will
The French Present Subjunctive: How to Form It
The French Passive Voice (la voix passive)
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