GCSE French · Verbs and tenses

Avoir, être, aller and faire

The four verbs every tense leans on, the phrases English says with "be" (j'ai faim, j'ai quinze ans), and boire, voir, écrire and the other verbs you meet in the singular.

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Avoir, être, aller and faire, explained point by point

Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.

  1. Learn avoir and être by heart

    These two are everywhere, and they build the perfect tense as well. Avoir: j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont. Être: je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont.

  2. Learn aller and faire by heart

    Aller is irregular in almost every person: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. Faire: je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font. Aller builds the near future, and faire gives the weather and many activities: il fait beau, je fais du vélo.

  3. Tell apart ils sont, ils ont, ils vont and ils font

    The four they forms look alike but mean they are, they have, they go and they do. Say them aloud: in ils sont you hear an s sound, while in ils ont the s of ils joins the vowel as a z.

  4. Say you are hungry, cold or fifteen with avoir

    Where English says be with an adjective, French often says have with a noun: j'ai faim (I am hungry), j'ai soif, j'ai froid, j'ai chaud, j'ai peur. Age works the same way, and ans is never left out: j'ai quinze ans means I am fifteen.

  5. Use être for what someone is like, with no article before a job

    Être gives nationality, character and looks: elle est timide, nous sommes écossais. Before a job, French leaves out un or une after être: mon père est infirmier.

  6. Learn the nine verbs you need in the singular

    Boire, connaître, courir, croire, écrire, recevoir, rire, suivre and voir are irregular, and you need their I, you and he or she forms. Most keep one sound across all three: je bois, tu bois, il boit; je vois, elle voit; je crois, il croit.

  7. Know je reçois, je cours, je ris and je suis from suivre

    Recevoir gives je reçois, il reçoit, with a ç to keep the s sound before o. Courir gives je cours and rire gives je ris, il rit. Suivre gives je suis, the same as I am, so let the sentence decide: je suis un cours de dessin means I am taking an art class.

Avoir, être, aller and faire key terms

The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.

Irregular verb
A verb that does not follow the pattern of its group, so its forms have to be learnt: être gives je suis and aller gives je vais.
avoir
To have, and the helper verb for most verbs in the perfect tense: j'ai un chien, j'ai joué.
être
To be, and the helper verb for some verbs in the perfect tense: je suis content, je suis allé.
aller
To go, and the verb that builds the near future: je vais au collège, je vais jouer.
faire
To do or to make, also used for the weather and many sports: il fait froid, je fais de la natation.
avoir faim and avoir soif
To be hungry and to be thirsty, literally to have hunger and thirst: j'ai très faim means I am very hungry.
avoir ... ans
To be a certain age: mon cousin a douze ans means my cousin is twelve.
avoir peur
To be afraid: il a peur des chiens means he is afraid of dogs.
Liaison
Sounding the last consonant of a word when the next word starts with a vowel: in ils ont the s is said as a z, which tells it apart from ils sont.

Common mistakes in Avoir, être, aller and faire

The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.

  • Saying I am hungry with être, as in je suis faim.

    Hunger, thirst, cold, heat, fear and age take avoir with a noun: j'ai faim, j'ai froid, j'ai seize ans.

  • Leaving out ans, as in j'ai quinze for I am fifteen.

    French always says the years: j'ai quinze ans. Without ans, it sounds as if you have fifteen of something.

  • Mixing up ils sont and ils ont.

    Ils sont is they are, from être, and ils ont is they have, from avoir. Listen for the s sound in sont and the z sound of the liaison in ils ont.

  • Writing vous faisez or ils faisent.

    Faire is irregular in those two persons: vous faites, ils font. Être has an unusual vous form too: vous êtes.

  • Putting un or une before a job, as in mon père est un professeur.

    After être, a job takes no article: mon père est professeur. Add one only when an adjective comes with it: c'est un professeur très gentil.

Practice

Try a Avoir, être, aller and faire question

A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.

Which form of avoir completes the question? Vous ___ des frères ou des sœurs ?

  1. avons
  2. avez
  3. êtes
  4. ont
Show the answer and the working

Answer: avez

The vous form of avoir is avez: do you have any brothers or sisters?

  1. Having brothers or sisters: avoir.
  2. The subject is vous.
  3. Vous avez: you have.

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