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Être – to be
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/etre-lesson/ 1/7
3/6/2020 Être - Be - Essential French Verb - Lawless French Grammar
(https://www.lawlessfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/etre-lesson.png)
Être is one of the two most important French verbs (avoir (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/avoir-lesson/) is the other one) and has irregular
conjugations in just about every tense and mood. Être literally means "to be," but also serves as an auxiliary verb and is the key to the passive voice.
Être = to be
Whether temporary or permanent, être expresses a sense of being with adjectives (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/adjectives/), adverbs
(https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/adverbs/), and nouns (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/nouns/).
Être = to be someone
When a noun or subject pronoun (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/subject-pronouns/) + être is followed by a profession
(https://www.lawlessfrench.com/vocabulary/professions/) or some other noun that defines a person, there can be no indefinite article
(https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/indefinite-article/) in French.
Être = to be somewhere
Être plus a preposition (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/prepositions/) usually indicates location.
However, être à plus a noun or stressed pronoun means "to belong to" – learn more (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/possessive-a/).
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/etre-lesson/ 2/7
3/6/2020 Être - Be - Essential French Verb - Lawless French Grammar
Si j’étais descendu, je ne serais jamais remonté. If I’d gone downstairs, I’d never have come back up.
Être is also the auxiliary verb for all pronominal verbs (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/pronominal-verbs/).
Être ≠ to be
* In more than a dozen common phrases where we use "to be" in English, French uses avoir (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/avoir-lesson/) instead.
* When talking about weather (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/vocabulary/weather/), French often uses faire (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/verb-
conjugations/faire/) where English uses "be."
Être in action
Do these French expressions need the subjunctive (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/subjunctive/)?
Related lessons
Être conjugations (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/verb-conjugations/etre/)
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/etre-lesson/ 3/7
3/6/2020 Être - Be - Essential French Verb - Lawless French Grammar
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lesson.png)
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COUPS DE CŒUR
Subjunctive (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/subjunctive/)
French for Beginners (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/learn-french/french-for-beginners/)
Passé composé vs Imparfait (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/passe-compose-vs-imparfait/)
Telling Time (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/telling-time/)
Demonstrative Adjectives (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/demonstrative-adjectives/)
Encore vs Toujours (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/encore-vs-toujours/)
Que and Qui - Relative Pronouns (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/relative-pronouns-que-qui/)
Avoir (to have) - Verb Tables (https://www.lawlessfrench.com/verb-conjugations/avoir/)
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