📖LearnModule 2 · Lesson 1 of 30Basic User · CEFR A1, completedUnit 1 · Le présent — the full present tense
Être — the whole present
Module 2 of the free French course (CEFR A1, completed), lesson 1 of 30: Module 1 gave you je suis, tu es, il est. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 1.
The words
French
English
Say it
nous sommes
we are
noo SUM
vous êtes
you are (polite/plural)
voo ZET
ils sont
they are (m)
eel SOH(n)
elles sont
they are (f)
ehl SOH(n)
nous
we
noo
vous
you (polite/plural)
voo
ils
they (m or mixed)
eel
elles
they (all female)
ehl
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Module 1 gave you je suis, tu es, il est. The other half: nous sommes (we are), vous êtes (you are, polite or plural), ils sont / elles sont (they are).
Et aussi · And also
Vous does double duty: the polite "you" for one person AND the plain "you" for several people.
Attention · Watch out
vous is one word for two jobs: polite to one person, and plain to several. To a whole group of friends you still say vous, never tu.
être — the table
je suis · tu es · il/elle est · nous sommes · vous êtes · ils/elles sont
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with nous sommes.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out être in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.