Before any verb can be conjugated you need the six people it can belong to. French has one extra wrinkle English doesn't: two words for "you", and a pronoun (on) that quietly does the work of "we" in everyday speech.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| je (j') | zhuh | I | becomes j' before a vowel: j'ai, j'habite |
| tu | tü | you (informal, one person) | friends, family, children, peers |
| il / elle | eel / el | he / she, it | also "it" for masculine / feminine nouns |
| on | ohn | we / one / people | takes an il-form verb; the everyday "we" |
| nous | noo | we | slightly more formal or written |
| vous | voo | you (formal, or plural) | strangers, elders, any group |
| ils / elles | eel / el | they | elles only if every person is female |
Textbooks teach nous allons; real conversations say on va. On always takes the il/elle verb form, which makes it the easiest pronoun in the language: On mange ? (Shall we eat?), On y va ! (Let's go!), On parle français ici. (We / people speak French here.)
Être is the most irregular verb in French and the most useful. It identifies, describes and locates.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| je suis | zhuh SWEE | I am |
| tu es | tü AY | you are |
| il / elle / on est | eel / el / ohn AY | he / she / one is |
| nous sommes | noo SOM | we are |
| vous êtes | voo-ZET | you are |
| ils / elles sont | eel / el SOHN | they are |
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Je suis canadien. | zhuh swee kah-nah-dee-EN | I'm Canadian. (no article with nationalities) |
| Elle est professeure. | el ay pro-feh-SUHR | She's a teacher. (no article with jobs after être!) |
| Nous sommes en retard. | noo som ahn ruh-TAR | We're late. |
| Vous êtes d'où ? | voo-zet DOO | Where are you from? |
English says "She is a teacher." French drops the article after être: Elle est professeure. Say Elle est une professeure and you'll be understood, but you'll sound translated. The article comes back only with c'est: C'est une professeure formidable.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| j'ai | zhay | I have |
| tu as | tü AH | you have |
| il / elle / on a | eel / el / ohn AH | he / she / one has |
| nous avons | noo-zah-VOHN | we have |
| vous avez | voo-zah-VAY | you have |
| ils / elles ont | eel / el-ZOHN | they have |
This is one of the sharpest differences between the two languages. Where English says "I am hungry", French says "I have hunger". Learn these as whole blocks.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| J'ai faim. | zhay FAN | I'm hungry. |
| J'ai soif. | zhay SWAHF | I'm thirsty. |
| J'ai chaud / froid. | zhay SHOH / FRWAH | I'm hot / cold. |
| J'ai vingt-cinq ans. | zhay vant-SANK ahn | I'm twenty-five years old. |
| J'ai peur. | zhay PUHR | I'm afraid. |
| J'ai sommeil. | zhay so-MAY | I'm sleepy. |
| J'ai raison / tort. | zhay ray-ZOHN / TOR | I'm right / wrong. |
| J'ai besoin de... | zhay buh-ZWAN duh | I need... |
| J'ai envie de... | zhay ahn-VEE duh | I feel like... / I want... |
Saying Je suis vingt-cinq ans means something close to "I am twenty-five years" — it marks you instantly as a beginner. Age is always avoir: J'ai vingt-cinq ans. And the word ans can never be dropped the way English drops "years old".
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| je vais | zhuh VAY | I go / I'm going |
| tu vas | tü VAH | you go |
| il / elle / on va | eel / el / ohn VAH | he / she / one goes |
| nous allons | noo-zah-LOHN | we go |
| vous allez | voo-zah-LAY | you go |
| ils / elles vont | eel / el VOHN | they go |
Aller also carries the everyday question Comment ça va ? and, followed by an infinitive, expresses the near future — Je vais manger (I'm going to eat). You'll meet that fully in the future-tense lesson.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| je fais | zhuh FAY | I do / make |
| tu fais | tü FAY | you do |
| il / elle / on fait | eel / el / ohn FAY | he / she / one does |
| nous faisons | noo fuh-ZOHN | we do |
| vous faites | voo FET | you do |
| ils / elles font | eel / el FOHN | they do |
Faire covers far more ground than "to do": weather (il fait beau), sports (faire du vélo), chores (faire la vaisselle), shopping (faire les courses) and cooking (faire la cuisine).
| Use | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| C'est + article + noun | identifying something | C'est un bon restaurant. |
| C'est + name | identifying a person | C'est Marie. |
| C'est + adjective (general) | reacting to a whole situation | C'est difficile ! |
| Il / Elle est + adjective | describing a specific person or thing | Elle est intelligente. |
| Il / Elle est + job / nationality | no article | Il est ingénieur. |
If the next word is an article (un, une, le, la, des), you need c'est. If the next word is a bare adjective or job title describing one identified person, you need il / elle est. C'est un médecin and Il est médecin are both correct — they just enter the sentence differently.
One fixed phrase covers both singular and plural, and it is your fastest tool for describing any place.
| French | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Il y a un problème. | eel ee ah uhn pro-BLEM | There's a problem. |
| Il y a des toilettes ici ? | eel ee ah day twah-LET ee-SEE | Is there a bathroom here? |
| Il n'y a pas de place. | eel nee ah pah duh PLAHS | There's no room. |
| Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? | kess keel ee AH | What's the matter? / What is there? |
Il y a collapses to "ya" in speech: Y a un problème. Greeting answers stay compact — Ça va, Ça roule, Nickel. Vous êtes is expected with any stranger, including shop staff and bus drivers.
Québec says y'a just as often, and adds the questioning particle -tu: T'es-tu prêt ? (Are you ready?). Québécois switches to tu far sooner than France does — shop staff may tutoyer you straight away, and it is friendly rather than rude.
Write the correct form of être or avoir.
1. How do you say "I'm 30 years old"?
2. Which sentence is correct?
3. Which verb form goes with on?
4. "There's no room" is: