A1BeginnerVerbs · Point 2 / 40

je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles

These are the two most-used verbs.

Person	Pattern	Meaning
je	—	the pronoun “I”; “j’ai” = “I have”, “je suis” = “I am”
tu	—	the informal pronoun “you”; “tu as” = “you have”, “tu es” = “you are”
il, elle, on	—	“he/she/one”; “il a” = “he has”, “il est” = “he is”
nous	—	“we”; “nous avons” = “we have”, “nous sommes” = “we are”
vous	—	formal or plural “you”; “vous avez” = “you have”, “vous êtes” = “you are”
ils, elles	—	“they”; “ils ont” = “they have”, “ils sont” = “they are”

“On” takes the same form as “il”: “on a”, “on est”. In speech, “nous avons” is almost always said “on a”.

Examples from our dialogues 5 · 5 with audio

Listen
Oui, j'ai mon sac réutilisable.
Yes, I have my reusable bag.
Check The Full DialogueGoing through the checkout and paying

Listen
Bonjour, j'ai une réservation au nom de Martin.
Hello, I have a reservation under the name Martin.
Check The Full DialogueChecking in at the hotel

Listen
Je suis libre du lundi au samedi, le jour.
I'm free Monday to Saturday, during the day.
Check The Full DialogueA job interview

Listen
Bonjour ! Vous êtes le parent de Léa ?
Hello! Are you Léa's parent?
Check The Full DialogueA meeting with the teacher

Listen
Nous sommes trois. Chacun va payer ce qu'il a pris.
There are three of us. Each one will pay for what they had.
Check The Full DialogueSplitting the bill among friends

Je suis faim.J'ai faim.
Hunger, thirst, cold, fever and age are said with “avoir”: “j’ai faim”, “j’ai froid”, “j’ai de la fièvre”.
Vous avez prêt ?Vous êtes prêt ?
A state (ready, tired, happy, sick) is said with “être”, not “avoir”.

Shopping, paying, returning an item — the French of stores and customer service.

These dialogues use this point. They open on the dialogue page (audio, vocabulary to save).