The auxiliary verbs: 2 - tre

Auxiliaries are functional verbs that are added to other verbs in order to form particular tenses.

2. Etre
Etre - to be - is a verb with three functions. It is the most common, and also the most irregular, of French
verbs.

Firstly it is a lexical verb in its own right, meaning "to be"

Example: Il est trois heures moins le quart - It is a quarter to three

Secondly it is an auxiliary which combines with the past participle of a dozen or so French verbs to form composite
tenses such as the perfect or the past perfect: aller, venir, monter, descendre, entrer, sortir, arriver, partir,
rester, tomber, natre, mourir (and devenir, rentrer, remonter, repartir etc.) except when these verbs are used
transitively; and also with reflexive verbs.
Examples:
Je suis all en France l'anne dernire- I went to France last year.
Les marchs se sont effondrs - The markets have collapsed.
Les promeneurs taient arrivs au sommet - The walkers had reached the summit.

Thirdly it is the auxiliary used to form passive tenses in French. For each active tense of a verb, the passive is
formed with the appropriate tense of tre followed by the past participle: thus, for example,
The present passive is formed with the present tense of tre and a past participle.
Example: Il est cass - It's broken
The perfect passive (pass compos passif) is formed with the perfect tense of treand a past participle.
Example: Ma chambre a t repeinte* - My bedroom has been repainted
The future passive (futur passif) is formed with the future tense of tre and a past participle.
Example: Le contrat sera renouvel pour un an - The contract will be renewed for a year
The past conditional passive (pass conditionnel passif) is formed with the past conditional tense of tre and
a past participle.
Example: Elle aurait t due* - She would have been disappointed

* See Past tenses for the rules on agreement of the past participle

Verb tables: Etre

Note: For each tense, a sample English equivalent is given for the first person singular. This represents
the most common translation of the tense in question, but not the only possibility.

Table 1.
Tenses (indicative) :
Present Future Imperfect
Person
(I am) (I will be) (I was / was being)
1st Singular. je suis je serai j'tais
2nd Singular tu es tu seras tu tais
3rd Singular il / elle / on ... est il (..) sera il (..) tait
1st plural nous sommes nous serons nous tions
2nd plural vous tes vous serez vous tiez
3rd plural ils / elles sont ils seront ils taient
Table 2
Tenses (indicative):
Preterite Perfect (pass compos) Pluperfect
Person
(I was) (I have been) (I'd been)
1st Singular. je fus j'ai t j'avais t
2nd Singular tu fus tu as t tu avais t
3rd Singular il (..) fut il (..) a t il avait t
1st plural nous fmes nous avons t nous avions t
2nd plural vous ftes vous avez t vous aviez t
3rd plural ils furent ils ont t ils avaient t

Table 3
Tenses (indicative):
Future perfect Conditional Past conditional
Person
(I will have been) (I would be) (I would have been)
1st Singular. j'aurai t j'e serais j'aurais t
2nd Singular tu auras t tu serais tu aurais t
3rd Singular il aura t il serait il aurait t
1st plural nous aurons t nous serions nous aurions t
2nd plural vous aurez t vous seriez vous auriez t
3rd plural ils auront t ils seraient ils auraient t

Table 4
Imperative
Person (be) Present participle
2nd Singular sois tant
1st plural soyons
2nd plural soyez

Table 5
Tenses (subjunctive) :
Present preterite Perfect (parfait)
Person
(may be) (might be) (may have been)
1st Singular. sois fusse aie t
2nd Singular sois fusses aies t
3rd Singular soit ft ait t
1st plural soyons fussions ayons t
2nd plural soyez fussiez ayez t
3rd plural soient fussent aient t
Further subjunctive cases - such as a pluperfect subjunctive - can theoretically be formed, though to all
intents and purposes these are never used in modern French.

Examples:
Paris is the capital of France.
- Paris est la capitale de la France
Tomorrow we'll be in Bordeaux.
Demain nous serons Bordeaux.
The president was surrounded by his guards
Le prsident tait entour de ses gardes
The film has been very badly received by the critics.
Le film a t trs mal reu par les critiques.
He will have been surprised by the result.
Il aura t surpris par le rsultat..
It's possible that this is (may be) the book we're looking for.
Il se peut que ce soit le livre que nous cherchons.
Please be reassured.
Soyez rassurs s'il vous plat !.