Lesson 7: I Am, You Are (etre)
Être — I Am, You Are · A0 → A1 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life
You will learn the nine French subject pronouns and the whole verb ÊTRE (to be). You will be able to say who you are, ask who someone is, and say how you feel. You will also use three fixed phrases that French people say every day: je suis désolé(e), je suis prêt(e) and c'est.
In this lesson
- subject pronouns
- le verbe être
- je suis / tu es / il est
- tu vs vous
- survival phrases
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | I | zhuh ژُ | Before a vowel it becomes j' — j'ai, j'habite. |
| tu | you (one friend, informal) | tü * تُو * | French 'u' has no honest English or Urdu spelling. Round your lips like a whistle and say 'ee'. |
| il | he / it (masculine thing) | eel اِیل | The final l is pronounced. |
| elle | she / it (feminine thing) | el ایل | No final sound after the l. |
| on | we (in spoken French) / one | on وں | Real spoken French uses on far more than nous. It always takes the il/elle form. |
| nous | we (written / formal) | noo نو | You read it in books; you hear on much more in the street. |
| vous | you (polite, or more than one person) | voo وو | One stranger = vous. Two friends = also vous. |
| ils | they (men, or men and women together) | eel اِیل | Sounds exactly like il. Only the verb tells you which one it is. |
| elles | they (women only) | el ایل | Sounds exactly like elle. Context tells you which one it is. |
| je suis | I am | zhuh swee ژُ سوِی | The tight French 'u' again — not 'soo'. |
| tu es | you are (informal) | tü eh تُو اے | Say the two words in one breath: tü-eh. |
| il est | he is / it is | ee-leh اِیلے | Link them: ee-leh, like one word. |
| nous sommes / vous êtes | we are / you are (polite) | noo som / voo zet نو سوم / وو زیت | The TWO irregular forms of ÊTRE — memorise them as a pair. The m of sommes is a real m (not nasal), and êtes links as voo-ZET. |
| je suis désolé(e) | I am sorry | zhuh swee day-zo-lay ژُ سوِی دے زولے | A man writes désolé, a woman writes désolée. Said the same way. |
| je suis prêt(e) | I am ready | zhuh swee preh ژُ سوِی پرے | Man: prêt. Woman: prête. Same sound — the t is silent. |
| c'est | it is / this is / that's | seh سے | The t is silent. Fixed everyday phrase — learn it as one word. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| je suis | zhuh swee | zhuh ... swee | The 'su' of suis is not 'soo'. Round your lips tightly as if whistling and push out a light 'ee'. English 'oo' is wrong here. |
| tu es | tü-eh | tü ... eh | Same tight ü, then 'eh'. Do not pause between the words — French flows straight through. |
| nous sommes | noo som | noo ... som | Because the m is doubled, the sound is a real 'm', NOT a nasal 'son'. Close your lips at the end. |
| vous êtes | voo-zet | voo ... zet | Liaison! The silent s of vous wakes up and becomes a z before a vowel: voo-ZET. |
| il est | ee-leh | ee ... leh | The l joins the vowel: ee-leh. If you say 'eel eh' you sound choppy. |
| c'est | seh | seh | Only two letters are heard: s + eh. The apostrophe replaces a letter and the t is completely silent. |
This lesson has two sounds that English and Urdu speakers must slow down for: the tight French 'u' (tu, suis) and the liaison (vous êtes → voo-ZET, il est → ee-leh). Take them one at a time.
Grammar
Les pronoms sujets — the nine pronouns in front of every verb
Every French verb needs a pronoun in front of it. English can say 'Am ready' or 'Is here'; French cannot. You must always say je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils or elles. Learn these nine words perfectly — you will use them in every sentence for the rest of your life. Notice that ils sounds exactly like il, and elles sounds exactly like elle. Nothing in the sound tells you the difference, so listen to the verb that follows. Tu is for one friend, family member, child or classmate. Vous is for a stranger, an elder, a teacher, a shopkeeper, or any group of two or more people. When you are not sure, use vous — it is never rude.
Le verbe ÊTRE (to be) — and two famous irregular forms
ÊTRE means 'to be'. In the present tense it has six useful shapes. Most of them are short: je suis, tu es, il est, elle est, on est, ils sont, elles sont. Two of them are longer and irregular, and you must simply memorise them: nous sommes and vous êtes. Notice two things. First, je suis is the ONLY form that starts with a 's' sound (others are es, est, êtes). Second, tu is always used with es — never 'tu êtes'. ÊTRE is used for identity, nationality, jobs, feelings and states: je suis Ali, je suis étudiant, je suis prêt, je suis désolé.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Je suis Ali. | I am Ali. | zhuh swee a-lee |
| Salut, je suis Amelie. | Hi, I'm Amelie. | sa-lü, zhuh swee a-may-lee |
| Tu es étudiant ? | Are you a student? (informal) | tü eh ay-tü-dyahn ↗ |
| Vous êtes madame Khan ? | Are you Mrs Khan? (polite) | voo zet ma-dam kahn ↗ |
| Oui, je suis madame Khan. | Yes, I am Mrs Khan. | wee, zhuh swee ma-dam kahn |
| Je suis désolé, monsieur. | I am sorry, sir. (man speaking) | zhuh swee day-zo-lay, muh-syuh |
| Je suis désolée, madame. | I am sorry, madam. (woman speaking) | zhuh swee day-zo-lay, ma-dam |
| Tu es prêt ? | Are you ready? (to a friend) | tü eh preh ↗ |
| Oui, je suis prête ! | Yes, I am ready! (woman) | wee, zhuh swee pret |
| Nous sommes étudiants. | We are students. | noo som ay-tü-dyahn |
| On est prêt ! | We're ready! (spoken French) | on eh preh |
| Ils sont à Paris. | They are in Paris. | eel son a pa-ree |
| Elles sont à Paris. | They (women) are in Paris. | el son a pa-ree |
| C'est bon. | That's good. / It's fine. | seh bon |
| C'est ça ! | That's it! / Exactly! | seh sa |
| Ça va ? Oui, ça va bien, merci. | How are you? Yes, I'm fine, thanks. | sa va ↗ wee, sa va byan, mehr-see |
Dialogue: First day at the French course
Ali uses vous with his new teacher and the teacher uses vous with him. This is normal between adults who have just met.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Bonjour ! Vous êtes monsieur Khan ? | Hello! Are you Mr Khan? | bon-zhoor, voo zet muh-syuh kahn ↗ |
| B | Oui, je suis Ali Khan. Bonjour, madame. Vous êtes professeur ? | Yes, I am Ali Khan. Hello, madam. Are you the teacher? | wee, zhuh swee a-lee kahn, bon-zhoor, ma-dam, voo zet pro-fuh-suhr ↗ |
| A | Oui, je suis professeur. Ça va ? | Yes, I am a teacher. How are you? | wee, zhuh swee pro-fuh-suhr, sa va ↗ |
| B | Ça va bien, merci. Et vous ? | I'm fine, thank you. And you? | sa va byan, mehr-see, ay voo ↗ |
| A | Très bien ! Vous êtes prêt ? | Very well! Are you ready? | treh byan, voo zet preh ↗ |
| B | Oui, je suis prêt ! | Yes, I am ready! | wee, zhuh swee preh |
| A | D'accord ! On est prêt. Au revoir, à demain ! | Okay! We're ready. Goodbye, see you tomorrow! | da-kor, on eh preh, o ruh-vwar, a duh-man |
Say it out loud
- Je suis Ali. — I am Ali. Say your own name instead of Ali.
- Je suis étudiant. — I am a student. If you are a woman: je suis étudiante (ay-tü-dyahnt).
- Tu es prêt ? — Are you ready? Rising voice at the end makes it a question.
- Il est à Paris. — He is in Paris. Link il est into ee-leh.
- Elle est là. — She is there. 'là' means there. Keep it short and open.
- On est prêt ! — We're ready! Remember: on = we in normal speech.
- Nous sommes étudiants. — We are students. Close your lips for the m of sommes.
- Vous êtes prêt ? — Are you ready? (polite) Link voo + zet smoothly.
- Je suis désolé, madame. — I am sorry, madam. A woman says désolée — it sounds exactly the same.
Listening practice: Who is who at the language school
Bonjour ! Je suis Amelie. Je suis professeur. Ça va ? Oui, ça va bien. Voilà Ali. Il est étudiant. Il est à Paris. Il est prêt. Nous sommes prêts ! Au revoir, à demain !
Hello! I am Amelie. I am a teacher. How are you? Yes, I'm fine. Here is Ali. He is a student. He is in Paris. He is ready. We are ready! Goodbye, see you tomorrow!
Questions
- What is the speaker's name? Ali / Amelie / Madame Khan → Amelie
- What is her job? A teacher / A student / A shopkeeper → A teacher
- How is she feeling? Tired / Fine / Ready → Fine
- Where is Ali? In Paris / In Karachi / At home → In Paris
- How does the script end? With merci / With au revoir, à demain / With pardon → With au revoir, à demain
Remember this
- The nine pronouns: je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles — always in front of the verb.
- il and ils sound the same; elle and elles sound the same. Listen to the verb, not the pronoun.
- ÊTRE = to be: je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont.
- nous sommes and vous êtes are irregular — memorise them like a song.
- tu = one friend or family member. vous = a stranger, an elder, or a group. When unsure, use vous.
- on = we in normal spoken French, and it always takes the est form.
- vous êtes links as voo-ZET; il est links as ee-leh.
- The tight French ü in tu and suis: round lips like a whistle, then say 'ee'.
- Fixed survival phrases: je suis désolé(e) = I'm sorry; je suis prêt(e) = I'm ready; c'est = it is / this is.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tu êtes prêt. | Tu es prêt. | Tu never goes with êtes — that form belongs to vous only. |
| Nous êtes étudiants. | Nous sommes étudiants. | Nous takes sommes. Êtes is only for vous. |
| Vous sont prêts. | Vous êtes prêts. | Vous takes êtes. Sont belongs to ils and elles. |
| On sont prêts. | On est prêt. | On always behaves like il or elle — so it takes est, and the adjective stays singular. |
| Je suis désolée (said by a man) | Je suis désolé (said by a man) | The -e on désolée is the feminine marker. Men write désolé. |
Practice questions
- In normal spoken French, which pronoun means 'we'? on / nous / vous / ils — on
- Which is the correct form of ÊTRE with vous? vous êtes / vous sommes / vous est / vous sont — vous êtes
- Complete: Nous ___ étudiants. sommes / sont / êtes / est — sommes
- Complete: Ils ___ à Paris. sommes / est / sont / êtes — sont
- 'Elles' means: they (men or mixed) / they (women only) / she / you all — they (women only)
- Which pronoun do you use with one close friend? tu / vous / ils / on — tu
- 'On est prêt' in everyday French means: She is ready / We are ready / They are ready / I am ready — We are ready
- 'C'est' means: he is / it is / this is / we are / you are — it is / this is
- A woman wants to say 'I am sorry'. Which spelling is right? Je suis désolé. / Je suis désolée. / Je suis désolés. / Je suis désolè. — Je suis désolée.
- Which sentence is correct? Il est étudiant. / Il es étudiant. / Il est étudiants. / Il sont étudiant. — Il est étudiant.
Homework (15 minutes)
1) Write the nine pronouns on paper from memory, then write the full ÊTRE table next to them without looking. 2) Record yourself saying: Je suis … (your name), Tu es prêt ?, Nous sommes étudiants, Vous êtes prêt ?, Ils sont à Paris. Listen back and check that you link il est and vous êtes. 3) Write three true sentences about yourself using je suis, and one sentence using nous sommes about your family or your class. 4) Say 'je suis désolé' out loud five times, then once as 'je suis désolée' if you are a woman.
Lesson 7 of 45 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2