French Grammar For Dummies
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In French and in English, the verbs être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and faire (to do) are probably the most used verbs of our repertoire, which is also why they have become so twisted. Like your favorite sneakers, the more you use them, the more worn out and deformed they become! But you can’t do without them.

The four tables that follow give you the present tense conjugations of these verbs.

je suis nous sommes
tu es vous êtes
il/elle/on est ils/elles sont
j’ai nous avons
tu as vous avez
il/elle/on a ils/elles ont

For pronounciation, be very careful with ils sont (they are) and ils ont (they have), because they have pretty similar sounds. The difference is between the soft sound of ils sont and the z sound created by the liaison (the verbal link between the final -s and the following vowel) in ils ont.

je vais nous allons
tu vas vous allez
il/elle/on va ils/elles vont
je fais nous faisons
tu fais vous faites
il/elle/on fait ils/elles font

About This Article

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About the book author:

Véronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas.

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