Conjugating Key French Verbs Avoir, Être, & Faire

The French verbs avoir (to have), à ªtre (to be) and faire (to do or make) are the three most used and, thus, most important verbs in the French language. They are used in some of the ways that we do in English as well as in many idiomatic expressions. Conjugations for all three of these verbs are irregular. In the table below, youll see the present tense conjugated for each verb and links to the full, detailed conjugations of each. Avoir  Uses   Avoir, which  means to have in most senses, has many uses.  Avoir à  Ã‚  can mean to have to, but that expression is more commonly translated by  devoir. Avoir  is the  auxiliary for most French verbs  in the  compound tenses,  as in  Jai dà ©jà   à ©tudià ©. (I have already studied.)   Jai un livre. I have a book.Nous avons une voiture.   We have a car.Jai mal à   la tà ªte.   I have a headache.Jai une idà ©e.   I have an idea.Jai à ©tà © eu.   Ive been had (tricked). Avoir  Expressions Avoir  is used in a number of  idiomatic expressions, many of which are translated by the English verb to be: Jai 30 ans.   I am 30 years old.Jai soif.   I am thirsty.Jai froid.   I am cold.Il y a...   There is/are... Être  Uses   Être, which means to be in most instances,  is used in idiomatic expressions, as an auxiliary verb for some verbs in the  compound tenses,  and for the  passive voice. Note that even though  Ãƒ ªtre  is the French equivalent of to be, there are certain expressions in which you have to use  avoir  or  faire  to translate to be.It is used with  adjectives,  nouns, and  adverbs  to describe a temporary or permanent state of being, such as:  Il est beau (He is handsome).Être  is also used to describe someones  profession, as in:  Mon pà ¨re est avocat  (My father is a lawyer).And  Ãƒ ªtre  can be used with the  preposition  Ãƒ  Ã‚  plus a  stressed pronoun  to indicate  possession, like this:  Ce livre est à   moi (This is my book).When talking about the  weather, French uses the verb  faire  (to do/make) rather than  Ãƒ ªtre, as in:  Quel temps fait-il?  (Hows the weather?) Être  Expressions Theres a long list of idiomatic expressions using  Ãƒ ªtre.  Here are a few: à ªtre bien dans sa peau  Ã‚  to be at ease/comfortable with oneselfà ªtre dans la mouise  (familiar)   to be flat brokeà ªtre dans son assiette  Ã‚  to feel normal, like oneselfà ªtre de   to be at/in (figuratively)à ªtre en train de   infinitive   to be (in the process of) present participleà ªtre sur son trente et un  Ã‚  to be dressed to the ninesen à ªtre   to take part inà §a mest à ©gal  Ã‚  its all the same to me  cest   it is  cest   date  Ã‚  its (date)cest-à  -dire  Ã‚  that is, i.e., I meanCest la vie!  Ã‚  Thats life! Faire: Uses Faire  is used in numerous idiomatic expressions and in the causative construction.  Faire  means to do and to make in most senses that these verbs are used in English, as in  Je fais la lessive  (Im doing the laundry).In French, one takes (not makes) a decision; the expression is  prendre une dà ©cision,  as in:  Jai pris une dà ©cision  (I made a decision). And  when to make is followed by an adjective, it is translated by  rendre, as in:  Ãƒâ€¡a me rend heureux. (That makes me happy). Faire: Expressions Faire, like avoir and  Ãƒ ªtre,  is used in many, many idiomatic expressions. Here are a few: 2 et 2 font 4  (math)   2 plus 2 equals 4faire infinitive  (causative)   to cause something to happen, as inLe froid fait geler leau.   Cold makes water freeze.faire beau or mauvais  (weather expressions)Il fait beau or  il  fait beau temps   Its nice weather / out.Il fait mauvais temp or il fait mauvais temp The weather is bad.  faire attention à     to pay attention to, watch out forfaire bon accueil   to welcomefaire de la peine à   quelquun   to hurt someone (emotionally or morally)faire de lautostop   to hitchhikefaire des bà ªtises to get into mischieffaire une bà ªtise   to do something stupid Simple Present Tense of Avoir, Être, and Faire   Avoir Être Faire j'/je ai suis fais tu as es fais il a est fait nous avons sommes faisons vous avez à ªtes faites ils ont sont font