être

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See also: etre and étre

Bourbonnais-Berrichon

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Etymology

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From Old French estre, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse.

Verb

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être

  1. to be

Conjugation

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French

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Etymology

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From Middle French and Old French estre and ester, respectively from Early Medieval Latin essere (< esse "be") and Latin stāre (stand). Conjugations reflect both but more so the former. The form suis "(I) am" appears to reflect Vulgar Latin *suiō < Latin sum. Compare ai "(I) have", sais "(I) know" < *aiō, *saiō < habeō, sapiō.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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être

  1. to be
    Vous devez être plus clairs.
    You must be clearer.
  2. (auxiliary) Used to form the perfect and pluperfect tense of certain verbs (including all reflexive verbs)
    Après être allé au yoga, je suis rentré chez moi.
    After having gone to yoga, I came back home.
  3. (semi-auxiliary) to be (Used to form the passive voice)
    Il peut être battu ce soir.
    He can be beaten this evening.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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French terms starting with “être”

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See also

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Noun

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être m (plural êtres)

  1. being, creature
  2. (uncountable) being, the state or fact of existence
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Further reading

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Lorrain

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Etymology

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From Old French estre, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse.

Verb

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être

  1. to be

Conjugation

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Norman

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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être (Jersey)

  1. Alternative form of ête (to be)