Lessons / Leçons: 3 (trois)
Être et avoir / to be and to have

Text / Texte

Ça ne va pas du tout: j’ai faim, j’ai soif, j’ai froid et j’ai peur.
Je suis ici et je suis bien.
Agnès entre dans l’appartement:

• Jean, tu es là ? Tout va bien ?

• Oui! je suis ici, dans la salle de bain

Vocabulary / Vocabulaire

Like in English, "être" and "avoir" are two very important verbs. They are used in their meanings and as auxiliaries in different tenses. But let's see the personal pronouns first.

je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles (I, you (singular), he/she/it, we, you (plurial), they)

"On", like "it", is the neutral pronoun, used originally for the indefinite person.

On ne sait jamais (ce qu'il peut arriver) - You never know (what can happen)

However, in an informal speech, it is often used as "we" (instead of "nous").

On y va ? - Shall we go?

Try and learn these by heart, repeat them several times (remember that you won't pronounce the ending -s).

 

Être (to be)

 

Like in English, "être" means what you are, your different physical, mental and psychological states. BUT, unlike English, it is not used with several physical feeling as cold, heat, hunger, thirst, fear, hurt.

 

Avoir (to have)

 

Like in English, "avoir" means what you have, what you posses.

Unlike English, it is also used with several physical feeling as cold, heat, hunger, thirst, fear.

faim = hunger / j'ai faim = I'm hungry
soif = thirst / j'ai soif = I am thirsty
froid = cold / j'ai froid = I am cold
chaud = heat / j'ai chaud = I'm hot
peur = fear / j'ai peur = I'm afraid
mal = bad / j'ai mal = I'm hurt
ça ne va pas (du tout) = It is not - or I am not - well (at all)
ici = here
là = there (somethime a very near "there")

Grammar / Grammaire

Être (present tense)

Je suis

Tu es

Il/elle/on est

Nous sommes

Vous êtes

Ils/elles sont

Avoir (present tense)

J’ai

Tu as

Il/elle/on a

Nous avons

Vous avez

Ils/elles ont

Exercise / Exercice

 

 

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French is still the universal language of love. This is the main reason why the number of people wishing to learn how to speak, read, and write French fluently continue to rise.