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Conjugation of the French verb être

A list of the common conjugations for the French verb être, along with their English translations.

être is an irregular verb

Verb phrases

Infinitive		Scored
être	to be

Present		Scored
je suis	I am
tu es	you are
il est	he is
elle est	she is
nous sommes	we are
vous êtes	you are
ils sont	they are
elles sont	they are

Imperfect		Scored
j'étais	I was being
tu étais	you were being
il était	he was being
elle était	she was being
nous étions	we were being
vous étiez	you were being
ils étaient	they were being
elles étaient	they were being

Past Historic / Passé Simple This is a literary tense, i.e. a tense used in writing, in everyday speech the Passé Composé is used to refer to past actions.		Scored
je fus	I was
tu fus	you were
il fut	he was
elle fut	she was
nous fûmes	we were
vous fûtes	you were
ils furent	they were
elles furent	they were

Passé Composé		Scored
j'ai été	I have been
tu as été	you have been
il a été	he has been
elle a été	she has been
nous avons été	we have been
vous avez été	you have been
ils ont été	they have been
elles ont été	they have been

Pluperfect / Plus-que-parfait		Scored
j'avais été	I had been
tu avais été	you had been
il avait été	he had been
elle avait été	she had been
nous avions été	we had been
vous aviez été	you had been
ils avaient été	they had been
elles avaient été	they had been

Future		Scored
je serai	I will be
tu seras	you will be
il sera	he will be
elle sera	she will be
nous serons	we will be
vous serez	you will be
ils seront	they will be
elles seront	they will be

Future Perfect / Futur antérieur The French Future Perfect or Futur antérieur is made with the future tense of avoir or être and the past participle of the verb. The past participle agrees with the subject for verbs that take être, or with the direct object for verbs that take avoir.		Scored
j'aurai été	I will have been
tu auras été	you will have been
il aura été	he will have been
elle aura été	she will have been
nous aurons été	we will have been
vous aurez été	you will have been
ils auront été	they will have been
elles auront été	they will have been

Conditional		Scored
je serais	I would be
tu serais	you would be
il serait	he would be
elle serait	she would be
nous serions	we would be
vous seriez	you would be
ils seraient	they would be
elles seraient	they would be

Conditional Perfect / Conditionnel passé The French Conditional Perfect (the past conditional) or Conditionnel passé is made with the conditional tense of avoir or être and the past participle of the verb. The past participle agrees with the subject for verbs that take être, or with the direct object for verbs that take avoir.		Scored
j'aurais été	I would have been
tu aurais été	you would have been
il aurait été	he would have been
elle aurait été	she would have been
nous aurions été	we would have been
vous auriez été	you would have been
ils auraient été	they would have been
elles auraient été	they would have been

Present Subjunctive		Scored
(... que) je sois	(... that) I am
(... que) tu sois	(... that) you are
(... que) il soit	(... that) he is
(... que) elle soit	(... that) she is
(... que) nous soyons	(... that) we are
(... que) vous soyez	(... that) you are
(... que) ils soient	(... that) they are
(... que) elles soient	(... that) they are

Imperfect Subjunctive		Scored
(... que) je fusse	(... that) I was being
(... que) tu fusses	(... that) you were being
(... que) il fût	(... that) he was being
(... que) elle fût	(... that) she was being
(... que) nous fussions	(... that) we were being
(... que) vous fussiez	(... that) you were being
(... que) ils fussent	(... that) they were being
(... que) elles fussent	(... that) they were being

Imperative		Scored
sois	Be
soyons	Let's be
soyez	Be

Present Participle		Scored
étant	being

Past Participle		Scored
été	been

Regular conjugation

Irregular conjugation

Spelling change

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