When you learn French, one of the key things to remember is how to use the helper verbs être (to be) and avoir (to have) in different tenses. This is especially important for the passé composé, which is the most common way to talk about the past in French.
Most French verbs use avoir for forming these past tenses. But some verbs use être instead. The verbs that take être usually show movement, a change, or reflexive actions. Let’s break this down into simpler ideas.
Most French verbs use avoir when making past tenses. This includes regular verbs that end in -er, -ir, and -re.
How to Conjugate Avoir:
Here’s how you change avoir in the present tense:
| Subject | Avoir Conjugation | |------------------|-------------------| | Je | ai | | Tu | as | | Il/Elle/On | a | | Nous | avons | | Vous | avez | | Ils/Elles | ont |
Example Sentences:
The verbs that use être usually fit into two main types: verbs of movement and reflexive verbs.
Common Verbs that Use Être:
How to Conjugate Être:
Now, let’s see how to change être in the present tense:
| Subject | Être Conjugation | |------------------|--------------------| | Je | suis | | Tu | es | | Il/Elle/On | est | | Nous | sommes | | Vous | êtes | | Ils/Elles | sont |
Example Sentences:
When you use être, the past participle must match the subject in gender and number. For example:
With avoir, the past participle only matches if there’s a direct object before it. For example:
To make negative sentences in French, you put ne before the helper verb and pas after it.
Negative Form with Avoir:
Negative Form with Être:
This structure stays the same, no matter which helper verb you use.
To better understand these helper verbs, practice changing regular verbs. Here are examples for each group:
Past Tense Example:
Past Tense Example:
Past Tense Example:
The future proche, or near future, helps you talk about things that will happen soon. It uses the verb aller in the present tense plus an action verb.
How to Conjugate Aller:
| Subject | Aller Conjugation | |------------------|---------------------| | Je | vais | | Tu | vas | | Il/Elle/On | va | | Nous | allons | | Vous | allez | | Ils/Elles | vont |
Example Sentences:
Try using this structure in conversations, as it can be very helpful.
Knowing when to use être and avoir is really important for learning French past tenses. Most verbs take avoir, but a few specific verbs take être. Pay attention to agreement when using être and practice making negative sentences. Working on regular verb conjugation and understanding the future proche will help you improve your French skills. With practice, you can get better at these key parts of the language!
When you learn French, one of the key things to remember is how to use the helper verbs être (to be) and avoir (to have) in different tenses. This is especially important for the passé composé, which is the most common way to talk about the past in French.
Most French verbs use avoir for forming these past tenses. But some verbs use être instead. The verbs that take être usually show movement, a change, or reflexive actions. Let’s break this down into simpler ideas.
Most French verbs use avoir when making past tenses. This includes regular verbs that end in -er, -ir, and -re.
How to Conjugate Avoir:
Here’s how you change avoir in the present tense:
| Subject | Avoir Conjugation | |------------------|-------------------| | Je | ai | | Tu | as | | Il/Elle/On | a | | Nous | avons | | Vous | avez | | Ils/Elles | ont |
Example Sentences:
The verbs that use être usually fit into two main types: verbs of movement and reflexive verbs.
Common Verbs that Use Être:
How to Conjugate Être:
Now, let’s see how to change être in the present tense:
| Subject | Être Conjugation | |------------------|--------------------| | Je | suis | | Tu | es | | Il/Elle/On | est | | Nous | sommes | | Vous | êtes | | Ils/Elles | sont |
Example Sentences:
When you use être, the past participle must match the subject in gender and number. For example:
With avoir, the past participle only matches if there’s a direct object before it. For example:
To make negative sentences in French, you put ne before the helper verb and pas after it.
Negative Form with Avoir:
Negative Form with Être:
This structure stays the same, no matter which helper verb you use.
To better understand these helper verbs, practice changing regular verbs. Here are examples for each group:
Past Tense Example:
Past Tense Example:
Past Tense Example:
The future proche, or near future, helps you talk about things that will happen soon. It uses the verb aller in the present tense plus an action verb.
How to Conjugate Aller:
| Subject | Aller Conjugation | |------------------|---------------------| | Je | vais | | Tu | vas | | Il/Elle/On | va | | Nous | allons | | Vous | allez | | Ils/Elles | vont |
Example Sentences:
Try using this structure in conversations, as it can be very helpful.
Knowing when to use être and avoir is really important for learning French past tenses. Most verbs take avoir, but a few specific verbs take être. Pay attention to agreement when using être and practice making negative sentences. Working on regular verb conjugation and understanding the future proche will help you improve your French skills. With practice, you can get better at these key parts of the language!