Tuesday, January 7, 2020
All about Être, a French Super Verb
Être is an irregular French verb that means to be. The multitalented verb à ªtre is omnipresent in the French language, both written and spoken and appears in a multitude of idiomatic expressions, thanks to its utility and versatility. It is one of the most-used French verbs. In fact, of the thousands of French verbs, it is among the top 10, which also include: avoir, faire, dire, aller, voir, savoir, pouvoir, falloir and pouvoir. Être is also an auxiliary verb in compound tenses and the passive voice. The ThreeMain Uses of'Être' The many forms of à ªtre are busy binding together the French language in three essential ways: 1) to describe a temporary or permanent state of being, 2) to describe someones profession, and 3) to indicate possession. 1. Être is used with adjectives, nouns, and adverbs to describe a temporary or permanent state of being. For example:    Il est beau. He is handsome.   Je suis à Paris. Im in Paris.   Nous sommes franà §ais. Were French.   Il est là -bas. Hes over there. 2. Être is used to describe someones profession; note that in French the indefinite article is not used in this type of construction. For example:    Mon pà ¨re est avocat. My father is a lawyer.   Je suis à ©tudiant. Im a student.  Elle à ©tait professeur. She used to be a professor. 3. Être can be used with the preposition à plus a stressed pronoun to indicate possession. For example:    Ce livre est à moi.  This is my book.    À qui est cet argent ? Cest à Paul. Whose money is this? Its Pauls. Être as an Auxiliary Verb 1. For Compound Tenses: While avoir is the auxiliary for most verbs in the French compound tenses, à ªtre is the auxiliary for some verbs as well. The conjugated auxiliary verb is used with the past participle of the main verb to form the compound tense. For example:    Je suis allà © en France. I went to France.   Nous à ©tions dà ©jà sortis. We had already left.   Il serait venu si... He would have come if... 2. For the ​Passive Voice: Être in the present tense and the past participle of the main verb forms the passive voice. For example:    La voiture est lavà ©e. - The car is washed.   Il est respectà © de tout le monde. He is respected by everyone. Expressions With'Avoir' That Mean 'to Be' When does to have (avoir) mean to be (à ªtre) in French? In several idiomatic expressions, which are governed by the laws of use over time, as odd as the use may seem. For this reason, there are a number of state of being idiomatic expressions with avoir that are translated as to be in English:    avoir froid to be cold   avoir raison to be right   avoir xx ans to be xx years old Weather Expressions Use 'Faire,' Not 'Être' Weather is another instance of odd idiomatic usage. When talking about the weather, English uses a form of the verb to be. French uses the verb faire (to do or make) rather than à ªtre:    Quel temps fait-il ? Hows the weather?   Il fait beau. It is nice out. / The weather is nice.   Il fait du vent. It is windy. Idiomatic Expressions with'Être' A multitude of idiomatic expressions using à ªtre exist. Here are a few of the better-known expressions: à ªtre à cà ´tà © de la plaque  to be way off the mark, to not have a clueà ªtre bien dans sa peau  to be at ease/comfortable with oneselfà ªtre bouche bà ©e  to be flabbergastedà ªtre dans le doute  to be doubtfulà ªtre dans la mouise (familiar) to be flat brokeà ªtre dans la panade (familiar) to be in a sticky situationà ªtre dans son assiette  to feel normal, like oneselfà ªtre de  to be at/in (figuratively)à ªtre en train de infinitive  to be (in the process of) present participleà ªtre haut comme trois pommes  to be knee-high to a grasshopperà ªtre sur son trente et un  to be dressed to the ninesen à ªtre  to take part inà §a mest à ©gal  its all the same to meà §a y est  thats it, its donecest  it is (impersonal expression)cest  date  its (date)cest-à -dire  that is, i.e., I meancest à moi / toi / Paul  thats mine / yours / Paulscest à §a  thats it, thats rig htcest cadeau  Its free, on the housecest dans la poche  Its in the bag, a sure thing, a done dealcest grà ¢ce à   its (all) thanks tocest la vie!  thats life!cest le pied  its greatcest parti  here we go, here goes, and were offce nest pas de la tarte  its not easyce nest pas grave  it doesnt matter, no problemce nest pas la mer à boire  Its not the end of the worldce nest pas mardi gras aujourdhui  what youre wearing is ridiculousce nest pas terrible  its not that greatce nest pas tes oignons!  none of your business!ce nest pas vrai!  no way! I dont believe it! Youre kidding!est-ce que  no literal translation; this expression is used to ask questionssoit... soit...  either... or... Conjugations of'Être' Below is the useful present-tense conjugation of à ªtre. For a complete conjugation of tenses, see all tenses. Present tense je suistu esil estnous sommesvous à ªtesils sont
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