French reference
être
to be
Irregular · 19 form tables
Includes indicative, conditional, subjunctive and imperative forms. Literary categories and supplied participle agreement forms are labeled separately.
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Indicative
Present
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I am |
| tu | you are |
| il/elle/on | he/she is |
| nous | we are |
| vous | you (plural/formal) are |
| ils/elles | they are |
Compound past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I was; I have been |
| tu | you were; you have been |
| il/elle/on | he/she was; he/she has been |
| nous | we were; we have been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) were; you (plural/formal) have been |
| ils/elles | they were; they have been |
Imperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I was |
| tu | you were |
| il/elle/on | he/she was |
| nous | we were |
| vous | you (plural/formal) were |
| ils/elles | they were |
Pluperfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had been |
| tu | you had been |
| il/elle/on | he/she had been |
| nous | we had been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had been |
| ils/elles | they had been |
Future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will be |
| tu | you will be |
| il/elle/on | he/she will be |
| nous | we will be |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will be |
| ils/elles | they will be |
Future perfect
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I will have been |
| tu | you will have been |
| il/elle/on | he/she will have been |
| nous | we will have been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) will have been |
| ils/elles | they will have been |
Near future
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I am going to be |
| tu | you are going to be |
| il/elle/on | he/she is going to be |
| nous | we are going to be |
| vous | you (plural/formal) are going to be |
| ils/elles | they are going to be |
Recent past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I have just been |
| tu | you have just been |
| il/elle/on | he/she has just been |
| nous | we have just been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) have just been |
| ils/elles | they have just been |
Simple past (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I was |
| tu | you were |
| il/elle/on | he/she was |
| nous | we were |
| vous | you (plural/formal) were |
| ils/elles | they were |
Past anterior (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I had been |
| tu | you had been |
| il/elle/on | he/she had been |
| nous | we had been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) had been |
| ils/elles | they had been |
Conditional
Conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would be |
| tu | you would be |
| il/elle/on | he/she would be |
| nous | we would be |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would be |
| ils/elles | they would be |
Past conditional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have been |
| tu | you would have been |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have been |
| nous | we would have been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have been |
| ils/elles | they would have been |
Past conditional, second form (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | I would have been |
| tu | you would have been |
| il/elle/on | he/she would have been |
| nous | we would have been |
| vous | you (plural/formal) would have been |
| ils/elles | they would have been |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I am |
| tu | (that) you are |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she is |
| nous | (that) we are |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) are |
| ils/elles | (that) they are |
Past subjunctive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I have been |
| tu | (that) you have been |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she has been |
| nous | (that) we have been |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) have been |
| ils/elles | (that) they have been |
Imperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I was |
| tu | (that) you were |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she was |
| nous | (that) we were |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) were |
| ils/elles | (that) they were |
Pluperfect subjunctive (literary)
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| je | (that) I had been |
| tu | (that) you had been |
| il/elle/on | (that) he/she had been |
| nous | (that) we had been |
| vous | (that) you (plural/formal) had been |
| ils/elles | (that) they had been |
Imperative
Imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| tu | be! |
| nous | let's be! |
| vous | be! (plural/formal) |
Past imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| tu | have been by then! |
| nous | let's have been by then! |
| vous | have been by then! (plural/formal) |
Additional forms
- Gerund
- Present participle
- Past participle
- Past infinitive
- Perfect participle
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all French entries.