Two of the most important verbs in French are être (to be) and avoir (to have). They are essential for describing family, relationships, personal status, and possession. This guide provides complete conjugations in three key tenses (présent, imparfait, passé composé) along with practical examples for talking about your family.
ÊTRE – To Be
Use être to describe identity, characteristics, and states of being.
Présent (Present Tense)
- je suis – I am
- tu es – you are (singular informal)
- il / elle / on est – he / she / one is
- nous sommes – we are
- vous êtes – you are (plural or formal)
- ils / elles sont – they are
Imparfait (Past Habitual / Continuous)
- j'étais – I was / used to be
- tu étais – you were
- il / elle / on était – he / she / one was
- nous étions – we were
- vous étiez – you were
- ils / elles étaient – they were
Passé Composé (Completed Past Actions)
- j'ai été – I have been / I was
- tu as été – you have been
- il / elle / on a été – he / she / one has been
- nous avons été – we have been
- vous avez été – you have been
- ils / elles ont été – they have been
Examples with Family & Relationships
- Sara est ma soeur. – Sara is my sister.
- J'étais célibataire. – I was single.
- Ils sont mariés. – They are married.
- Nous avons été heureux ensemble. – We were happy together.
- Mon père était professeur. – My father was a teacher.
- Elle est ma meilleure amie. – She is my best friend.
AVOIR – To Have / To Get
Use avoir to express possession, age, and certain physical states. It is also the most common auxiliary verb for forming the passé composé of many verbs.
Présent (Present Tense)
- j'ai – I have
- tu as – you have
- il / elle / on a – he / she / one has
- nous avons – we have
- vous avez – you have
- ils / elles ont – they have
Imparfait (Past Habitual / Continuous)
- j'avais – I had / used to have
- tu avais – you had
- il / elle / on avait – he / she / one had
- nous avions – we had
- vous aviez – you had
- ils / elles avaient – they had
Passé Composé (Completed Past Actions)
- j'ai eu – I had / I have had / I got
- tu as eu – you had
- il / elle / on a eu – he / she / one had
- nous avons eu – we had
- vous avez eu – you had
- ils / elles ont eu – they had
Examples with Family & Relationships
- Sara a deux soeurs. – Sara has two sisters.
- Elle a eu deux enfants. – She had two children / She gave birth to two children.
- J'ai un frère et une soeur. – I have one brother and one sister.
- Ils avaient trois cousins. – They had three cousins.
- Nous avons eu une grande famille. – We had a large family.
- Tu as des enfants ? – Do you have children?
Family & Relationship Vocabulary to Use with ÊTRE and AVOIR
- un père – father
- une mère – mother
- un frère – brother
- une soeur – sister
- un fils – son
- une fille – daughter
- un mari / une femme – husband / wife
- un époux / une épouse – spouse
- un ami / une amie – friend
- un petit ami / une petite amie – boyfriend / girlfriend
- célibataire – single
- marié(e) – married
- divorcé(e) – divorced
- veuf / veuve – widower / widow
- les parents – parents
- les enfants – children
- un grand-père / une grand-mère – grandfather / grandmother
- un petit-fils / une petite-fille – grandson / granddaughter
- un oncle / une tante – uncle / aunt
- un cousin / une cousine – cousin
Example Sentences for Talking About Family
- J'ai deux soeurs et un frère. – I have two sisters and one brother.
- Ma mère est médecin. – My mother is a doctor.
- Mon père était ingénieur. – My father was an engineer.
- Nous avons eu une réunion de famille hier. – We had a family gathering yesterday.
- Ils sont cousins. – They are cousins.
- Elle a été mariée pendant dix ans. – She was married for ten years.
- Je suis célibataire pour l'instant. – I am single for now.
- Mes grands-parents ont eu cinq enfants. – My grandparents had five children.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using avoir instead of être for age in English ('I am 20 years old' → J'ai 20 ans, not Je suis 20 ans).
- Confusing célibataire (single, never married) with seul (alone).
- Forgetting agreement with être in passé composé for feminine/masculine/plural (e.g., Elle est allée).
- Misusing avoir for relationships that describe identity (e.g., Je suis sa soeur, not J'ai sa soeur).
Practice Exercise
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of être or avoir:
- Je ______ deux frères. (I have two brothers.)
- Ma soeur ______ médecin. (My sister is a doctor.)
- Nous ______ été mariés pendant 5 ans. (We were married for 5 years – passé composé)
- Ils ______ trois enfants. (They have three children.)
- Tu ______ célibataire ? (Are you single?)
- Mon père ______ fatigué hier. (My father was tired yesterday – imparfait)
Answers: ai / est / avons / ont / es / était
Final Tips
- Always memorize être and avoir with their conjugations – they are used in almost every French sentence.
- Practice creating sentences about your own family to make the vocabulary stick.
- Notice that avoir eu (passé composé of avoir) means 'had' in the sense of possessing or experiencing, while a eu can also mean 'gave birth to' in context.
- For describing family relationships, être tells you who someone is; avoir tells you what someone possesses.
With these conjugations and examples, you can confidently talk about your family, your past relationships, and your current situation in French.