Using French Auxiliary Verbs

• newEditor
• French Language
• Primary Education
• Age 9

Today’s learning goal

I can use the French auxiliary verbs avoir and être in the present tense in real-life situations.

What are auxiliary verbs?

Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs.

In French, the two main auxiliary verbs are avoir and être.

They are important because they are used on their own and also help to build other verb forms later in French.

Keep the focus on present tense use today. You can briefly mention that students will meet these verbs again when forming other tenses, but do not teach those tenses here.

Avoir in the present tense

Singular

nous avons - we have

vous avez - you have

ils/elles ont - they have

Plural

j’ai - I have

tu as - you have

il/elle a - he/she has

Point out the apostrophe in j’ai. Students often forget it or write je ai.

Using avoir

• J’ai un frère. - I have a brother.

• Tu as un stylo. - You have a pen.

• Nous avons un cours de français. - We have a French lesson.

• Ils ont faim. - They are hungry.

Highlight that French often uses avoir in expressions where English uses 'to be', such as avoir faim.

Which verb means 'to have' in French?

A

être

B

avoir

C

suis

D

sommes

Checks the core distinction before students work with the conjugations. Distractors are taken from the être forms they have just seen.

One word you link with avoir or être

Use this to surface prior knowledge such as have, be, age, identity, school or description. Invite a few students to explain their word aloud.

Complete the sentences with avoir

In French, j’ai means I have. Tu as means you have. In class, nous avons un cours de français. They are hungry: ils ont faim.

j’ai

Tu as

nous avons

ils ont

je suis

nous sommes

il est

vous êtes

All answers come directly from the avoir slides and examples. Remind students that French uses avoir in ils ont faim.

Être in the present tense

je suis - I am

tu es - you are

il/elle est - he/she is

nous sommes - we are

vous êtes - you are

ils/elles sont - they are

Pronunciation support may help here, especially suis, êtes and sont.

Using être

• Je suis prêt.

• Tu es en classe.

• Elle est française.

• Nous sommes amis.

Remind students that être is often used for identity, description and location.

Avoir or être?

Use avoir for having or in some common expressions:

• J’ai un livre.

• Nous avons faim.

Use être for being, identity, description or location:

• Je suis calme.

• Il est à la maison.

A common confusion is translating directly from English. Stress meaning: possession usually takes avoir; identity/description/location usually takes être.

Which sentence uses être correctly?

A

Je suis prêt

B

Je ai prêt

C

J’ai française

D

Nous avons en classe

Targets the use of être for description and identity. Wrong answers reflect common mixing of avoir and être.

Choose avoir or être

To talk about identity, French often uses . To talk about having something, French often uses . For example, Je suis calme shows description, and J’ai un livre shows . But in Je suis à la maison, the verb shows .

To talk about identity, French often uses

. To talk about having something, French often uses

. For example, Je suis calme shows description, and J’ai un livre shows

. But in Je suis à la maison, the verb shows

age

description

avoir

être

Correct answers in order: être, avoir, possession, location. This checks the contrast built across slides 5 to 7.

When do we use être?

Expected elements: students should mention that être is used for being, identity, description or location, not for possession. Accept simple examples such as Je suis en classe or Elle est française.

Real-life situation: introducing yourself

• Je suis Samira.

• Je suis en troisième.

• J’ai treize ans.

• Je suis à Londres.

This slide brings both auxiliary verbs together in a realistic self-introduction. Note that age in French uses avoir, not être.

Real-life situation: in school

• J’ai mon sac.

• Tu as un cahier.

• Nous sommes en classe.

• Le professeur est ici.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Je ai ❌ → J’ai ✅

• Je suis 13 ans ❌ → J’ai 13 ans ✅

• Je have ❌ → use French forms only

• Match the verb to the subject: nous avons, ils sont

These are high-frequency errors for A2 learners. Emphasise correct subject-verb matching.

How do you say 'I am 13 years old' in French?

A

Je suis 13 ans

B

J’ai 13 ans

C

Je ai 13 ans

D

Je suis treize

Tests the key real-life rule that age uses avoir in French. Includes the apostrophe mistake from the common-errors slide.

Complete this self-introduction

Bonjour. Je suis Samira. J’ai treize ans et je suis à Londres. For school, j’ai mon sac.

Je suis

J’ai

je suis

j’ai

Je ai

je suis

tu as

nous sommes

Anchors the final subtopic in real-life use: introduction, age, location and school. Students must notice where avoir and être fit naturally.

Write one real-life sentence with avoir or être.

Look for one short real-life sentence using either auxiliary verb correctly, such as J’ai un cahier, Je suis à Londres or Nous sommes en classe. Use this as a quick oral share-out.

What is one thing you learned today?

Reflection only. Invite students to mention a rule, a form or a real-life sentence they can now use.

What part felt hardest today?

Reflection only. Encourage students to name a specific difficulty such as age with avoir, j’ai with an apostrophe, or matching the verb to the subject.

Glossary

auxiliary verb - a helping verb used on its own or with other verbs

present tense - a verb form used for actions or states happening now

avoir - the French verb meaning to have

être - the French verb meaning to be

subject pronoun - a word such as I, you, he, she, we or they

conjugation - the different forms of a verb to match the subject

real-life situation - an everyday context such as school, home or meeting people