Conjugate être (je suis, tu es, vous êtes) in Le Présent (present tense)

In: Level A0, Verbs Tenses & Conjugation, Présent indicatif, Irregular
Questions: 43

The verb être means to be.

Here's how to say I am and you are in French:

Je suis grand.
I am tall.

Tu es belle.
You are beautiful.

Vous êtes Mme Lupin.
You are Mrs Lupin.

Tu es qui ? 
Who are you?

Note that the verb form changes depending on who is acting. 

Remember that in French, to say you, you will use either: 

- tu to address one person you know well, i.e. informal and singular

- vous to address a group of people, i.e. plural OR one person in a professional context, or that you don't know well, i.e. formal and singular

See also Tu and vous are used for three types of you

Tu es qui ? 
Who are you?

Vous êtes qui ?
Who are you?

 

Here's a link to the full conjugation of être in Présent indicatif:
Conjugate être in Le Présent (present tense)

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Présent indicatif

Irregular

Examples and resources

Video by Ouino Languages

Tu es belle.
You are beautiful.

Vous êtes qui ?
Who are you?

Je suis grand.
I am tall.

Tu es qui ? 
Who are you?

Vous êtes Mme Lupin.
You are Mrs Lupin.

Q&A

Chelsie

Kwiziq community member

18 February 2018

1 reply

Other Pronouns

Chris

Kwiziq community member

19 February 2018

19/02/18

Would you like to pose a question and, if so, what is it?

-- Chris. 

Georgia

Kwiziq community member

5 February 2018

1 reply

Pour les autres sujets?

C'est: Je suis Tu es Il est Elle est Nous sommes? Vous êtes Ils sont? Elles sont?

Chris

Kwiziq community member

5 February 2018

5/02/18

Yes, that seems correct to me.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Francisco

Kwiziq community member

30 October 2017

2 replies

is it "vous êtes qui" always?

So if I'm asking to a group of people "Who are you?" the question would be the same as if I'd be asking that to a single person?? Is it vous êtes qui, no matter what? I was expecting it to be like "quis" or some plural there

Chris

Kwiziq community member

30 October 2017

30/10/17

No it is "vous êtes qui?" In this case one would probably use the inverted form of the question: "Qui êtes-vous?" By just looking at this sentence you couldn't tell whether it is about a single person being addressed formally or a group of people. But that is the same in English: "who are you" has a similar ambiguity. Greetings, -- Chris (not a native speaker)

Laura

Kwiziq language super star

1 November 2017

1/11/17

Bonjour Francisco, That's correct, qui is invariable.

Nigel

Kwiziq community member

25 October 2017

1 reply

Il est une pipe? Non, il est une peintre

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

25 October 2017

25/10/17

Bonjour Nigel !

I love Magritte, what a great artist!

However, here's how we would say :

C'est une pipe ? Non, c'est une peinture (a painting) / un-e peintre (a painter).

Have a look at our related lesson:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/when-to-use-cest-or-il-est-elle-est-to-say-it-is

Bonne journée !

amanda

Kwiziq community member

20 September 2017

2 replies

anyone?

does anyone know how to get a bigger level i transfered from a francophone school to an english school as a grade 8 but it put me as a0 instead of advanced and ive been getting 10-10 on the a2 test and it has not switched my level

Gruff

Kwiziq language super star

20 September 2017

20/09/17

Hi Amanda, levels are upgraded when students achieve a level Kwiziq score of 75% (silver shield).

amanda

Kwiziq community member

21 September 2017

21/09/17

thank you for your help:)

Patrick

Kwiziq community member

23 May 2017

1 reply

why is it that we can say je suis des parents, but not je suis des a amoureux?

I mean this as in, when we say je suis des parents we say I am a parent, but when we say je suis des a amoureux we say I'm lovers - which makes no sense. Maybe it's just des I am confused with?

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

23 May 2017

23/05/17

Bonjour Patrick ! First of all, you can never say "Je suis" with either "des parents" nor "des amoureux", as it's singular. You can say "Nous sommes des parents." or "Nous sommes parents." just like you say either "Nous sommes des amoureux." or "Nous sommes amoureux.". In the case with "des", you insist on the *person* = we are (some) parents/lovers; whereas in the second case, it becomes more of a characteristic: = We are parents (it's our function) / We are *in love*. I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

sonja

Kwiziq community member

14 May 2017

1 reply

est-ce que tu es grand?

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

15 May 2017

15/05/17

Bonjour Sonja ! "Est-ce que tu es grand ?" means "Are you tall?" (addressing a man) Did you have a particular question about this? Bonne journée !

Amy

Kwiziq community member

27 February 2017

1 reply

Why do you have Tu es qui for informal and Vous etes qu for formal?

They seem like two completely different questions except the "qui" on the end of it.

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

10 March 2017

10/03/17

Bonjour Amy ! Following your question, I've decided to amend this lesson to make the distinction between formal and informal forms clearer :) The fact is that in French, we have two ways of saying "you", which can be used in three different contexts: - "tu" is to address *one* person you know well, i.e. "informal" and "singular" - "vous" is to address either: - *a group* of people, i.e. "plural" OR - *one* person in a professional context, or that you don't know well, i.e. "formal" and "singular" Also note that in French, verbs change for each different person (I, you, he, she...), hence the completely different morphology of the two questions :) I also added a link to our related lesson: I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

Joan

Kwiziq community member

8 November 2016

1 reply

De and des

Why is it "Elles sont de meilleurs amies." and not "des", when the number of amies is plural? Isn't "de" for singular words, and "des" for plural?

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

8 November 2016

8/11/16

Bonjour J ! This is a specific case when "des" become "de" when followed by an adjective. Please have a look at our related lesson: https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/use-de-d-instead-of-des-in-front-of-adjectives-preceding-nouns-partitive-article

 I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

Vincent

Kwiziq community member

6 November 2016

2 replies

why is "tu es" and not "tu est£

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

6 November 2016

6/11/16

Bonjour Vincent ! In French, verbs have six different forms for each tense they're conjugated at. The verb "être" in Le Présent is as follows: je suis tu es il/elle/on est nous sommes vous êtes ils/elles sont I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

Vincent

Kwiziq community member

6 November 2016

6/11/16

Merci

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

find your French level

Share the love!

KwiziqFrench

Related lessons

How has your day been?