être is the most important verb in the French language. It is extremely common in its own right, and it is used to form various tenses of many other verbs. Getting être under your belt now will pay off in the future.

It is also highly irregular, so it takes some learning. It is as follows:

être
je suis nous sommes
tu es vous êtes
elle, il, on est ils sont

(Remember, final consonants are usually not pronounced.)

In the singular, the 's' on suis is not pronounced, the 's' on es is not pronounced, and the 'st' on est is not pronounced. The second and third person singular are prounced the same, therefore (unless they make a liaison with a following vowel, in which case the 's' on es is pronounced (like a 'z'), and the 't' on est is pronounced (but not the 's')).
In the plural, the 'es' on sommes and êtes is not pronounced. The 't' on sont is not pronounced either, and nor is the 'n', which does however have the effect of nasalizing the 'o'.

 

Click on a verb form to hear the pronounciation.

What a verb! It bears little resemblance to regular verbs. It is the only verb which doesn't end in 'ons' in the first person plural (and one of only a handful of verbs that don't end in 'ez' in the second person plural). Quelle audacité !

Moi, je suis l'aîné de ma famille.
I am the oldest in my family.

Mais mes deux soeurs sont plus grandes que moi.
But my two sisters are taller than me.

Ma mère est aussi très grande, mais mon père est assez petit.
My mother is also very tall, but my father is rather short.

Nous sommes une famille très proche.
We are a very close family.

Combien êtes-vous dans votre famille ?
How many people are there in your family?

Est-ce que tu es très proche de ton frère ?
Are you very close to your brother?


-er verbs / -ir verbs / -re verbs
être / avoir / faire / aller / prendre / connaître
venir, tenir / pouvoir, vouloir / savoir, devoir / dormir, sortir, servir
lire, dire, écrire / voir, croire