Être and Avoir — The Two Verbs You Can't Live Without

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The two most common French verbs, how to conjugate them, and why French says "I have 20 years" instead of "I am 20".

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Why start here

Être (to be) and avoir (to have) are the two most frequent verbs in French. You need them for descriptions, possession, and — surprisingly — for age, hunger and thirst, where French uses avoir where English uses "to be".

Être — to be

je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Examples: Je suis de l'Inde (I am from India), Je suis étudiant (I am a student). Nationality, origin and profession all use être.

Avoir — to have

j'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. Notice je ai becomes j'ai — the vowel runs together. Examples: J'ai un frère (I have a brother), Nous avons une voiture (we have a car).

Avoir for age and feelings

French literally "has" its age and feelings: J'ai vingt ans (I am 20 years old), J'ai faim (I am hungry), J'ai soif (I am thirsty), J'ai chaud (I am hot), J'ai froid (I am cold). Never say je suis faim — that is a classic learner error.

Meaning	être	avoir
I am / I have	je suis	j'ai
you (informal) are / have	tu es	tu as
he/she is / has	il/elle est	il/elle a
we are / have	nous sommes	nous avons
they are / have	ils/elles sont	ils/elles ont

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