Être: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Être means “to be”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for être, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with être, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je suis professeur à Paris tous les jours.” — “I be a teacher in Paris every day.”
  2. “Tu es fatigué aujourd'hui tous les jours.” — “You be tired today every day.”
  3. “J'ai été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have been at home this evening this week.”
  4. “Il était professeur à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to be a teacher in Paris in the past.”
  5. “Nous serons fatigué aujourd'hui demain.” — “We will be tired today tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have been at home this evening this week.”
  7. “Je serais professeur à Paris un jour.” — “I would be a teacher in Paris one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il soit fatigué aujourd'hui.” — “It is important that he be tired today.”
  9. “Nous avions été à la maison ce soir avant la fête.” — “We had been at home this evening before the party.”
  10. “Il sera professeur à Paris demain.” — “He will be a teacher in Paris tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils sont fatigué aujourd'hui tous les jours.” — “They be tired today every day.”
  12. “Sois à la maison ce soir !” — “Be at home this evening!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about a teacher in Paris. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how être changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of être below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je suis professeur à Paris tous les jours.” — “I be a teacher in Paris every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je serai fatigué aujourd'hui demain.” — “I will be tired today tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have been at home this evening this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je serais professeur à Paris un jour.” — “I would be a teacher in Paris one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Être in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of être that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, être describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is suis: “Je suis professeur à Paris tous les jours.” — “I be a teacher in Paris every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, être describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is était: “Il était fatigué aujourd'hui autrefois.” — “He used to be tired today in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, être reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle été. The je form is ai été: “J'ai été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “I have been at home this evening this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, être talks about what will happen. The nous form is serons: “Nous serons professeur à Paris demain.” — “We will be a teacher in Paris tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, être talks about what would happen. The tu form is serais: “Tu serais fatigué aujourd'hui un jour.” — “You would be tired today one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, être appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is sois, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je sois à la maison ce soir.” — “It is important that I be at home this evening.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je être professeur à Paris.”

✓ Right: “Je suis professeur à Paris.”

The infinitive être never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form suis.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu suis professeur à Paris.”

✓ Right: “Tu es professeur à Paris.”

suis is the je form. With tu you need es. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je suis professeur à Paris hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai été professeur à Paris hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai été, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu es fatigué aujourd'hui.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu sois fatigué aujourd'hui.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: sois, not the indicative es.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je été professeur à Paris.”

✓ Right: “Je ai été professeur à Paris.”

The passé composé of être needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle été: the full je form is ai été.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on être. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of être in the Present indicative?

    • A) suis
    • B) es
    • C) est
    • D) sommes

  2. What is the tu form of être in the Present indicative?

    • A) es
    • B) suis
    • C) est
    • D) sommes

  3. What is the il/elle form of être in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) avons été
    • B) a été
    • C) ai été
    • D) as été

  4. What is the nous form of être in the Imperfect?

    • A) était
    • B) étiez
    • C) étions
    • D) étais

  5. What is the tu form of être in the Future?

    • A) sera
    • B) serons
    • C) seras
    • D) serai

  6. What is the je form of être in the Conditional?

    • A) seriez
    • B) serais
    • C) serait
    • D) serions

  7. What is the il/elle form of être in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) soyez
    • B) soit
    • C) sois
    • D) soyons

  8. What is the je form of être in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avions été
    • B) aviez été
    • C) avais été
    • D) avait été

  9. What is the gerund of être?

    • A) en faisant
    • B) en étant
    • C) en ayant
    • D) en allant

  10. What does être mean in English?

  • A) to go
  • B) to do, to make
  • C) to be
  • D) to have

Answer key

  1. A) suis — the je form of être in the Present indicative is suis. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. A) es — the tu form of être in the Present indicative is es. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. B) a été — the il/elle form of être in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a été. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. C) étions — the nous form of être in the Imperfect is étions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) seras — the tu form of être in the Future is seras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) serais — the je form of être in the Conditional is serais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. B) soit — the il/elle form of être in the Present subjunctive is soit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. C) avais été — the je form of être in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais été. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) en étant — the gerund of être is en étant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to be — être means “to be” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does être mean in English?

être means “to be”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is être regular or irregular?

être is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, imperfect, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is étant and the past participle is été.

How do I practise être every day?

Say one sentence with être in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je suis professeur à Paris tous les jours.”, “J'ai été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” and “Je serai professeur à Paris demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for être, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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