The French verbs avoir (to have), être (to be), and faire (to do/make) are the most important French verbs. They are used in some of the ways that we use them in English as well as in many expressions. Conjugations for all three of these verbs are irregular:
| Avoir - to have | Être - to be | Faire - to do, make | |
| J'ai un livre. I have a book. |
Je suis à Paris. I am in Paris. |
Je fais mon lit. I'm making my bed. |
|
| Nous avons une voiture. We have a car. |
Nous sommes très contents. We are very happy. |
Nous faisons tout ensemble. We do everything together. |
|
| j' je |
ai |
suis |
fais |
| tu | as | es | fais |
| il | a | est | fait |
| nous | avons | sommes | faisons |
| vous | avez | êtes | faites |
| ils | ont | sont | font |
| Conjugations in all tenses | Conjugations in all tenses | Conjugations in all tenses | |
| Using avoir | Using être | Using faire | |
| Expressions with avoir | Expressions with être | Expressions with faire | |
| Note: | Even though être is the French equivalent of "to be," there are certain expressions in which you have to use avoir or faire to translate "to be." After you've looked over the list of expressions for each of these verbs, see how well you do with this test: To Be - Être, Avoir, or Faire | ||
