/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.
, c' .
Being in good health is the most important thing.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(25)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
Pas devant les clients
5 min read · Core 1000
Grammar articles
(39)French Advanced Grammar (C1-C2): The Constructions That Sound Native
French Articles: Definite, Indefinite, Partitive, and the Article English Speakers Drop
Avoiding the Passive in French: on, se and the Active Recast
avoir or être: Choosing the French Auxiliary in the Passé Composé
French Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
French Adjectives and Nouns with à or de
French Concession Clauses: However It Turns Out
French Conditionnel: Polite Requests, Hypothetical 'Would', and the Same Irregular Stems as the Future
The French Conditional Perfect: j'aurais fait, elle serait venue
Conjugating French -re Verbs in the Present Tense
French Verb Conjugation: The Complete Rules with Examples
Faire causatif: Having Things Done in French
The French Future Perfect: futur antérieur
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'
Infinitive or Subjunctive: The French Same-Subject Rule
French Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2): The Things That Stop You at the Plateau
French quel and lequel: Which and Which One
French Irregular Verbs: The Core Set, the -ir Split and the Patterns That Repeat
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
laisser, voir and entendre + Infinitive in French
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
j'aurais dû, tu aurais pu: French Regrets and Reproaches
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 Subjunctive After Superlatives and Exclusives
The French Subjunctive in Relative Clauses
The French Past Subjunctive: subjonctif passé
The French Present Subjunctive: How to Form It
Subjunctive or Indicative: How to Choose in French
The French Passive Voice (la voix passive)
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être: worksheet, infographic and listicle
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