Two of the most common and most used verbs are totally irregular: être (to be)
and avoir (to have).
Conjugation of être and avoir
Personal pronoun
être (to be)
avoir (to have)
je
suis
ai
tu
es
as
il / elle
est
a
nous
sommes
avons
vous
êtes
avez
ils / elles
sont
ont
The importance of these verbs becomes even more clear when understanding that they are used to form compound tenses like the present perfect (passé composé).
Überblick
Passé
composé*
Perfekt
Passé composé
Perfekt
Je suis venu(e).
I have come.
J' ai parlé.
I have talked.
Tu es venu(e).
You have come.
Tu as parlé.
You have talked.
Il est venu.
He has come.
Il a parlé.
He has talked.
Elle est venue.
She has come.
Elle a parlé.
She has talked.
Nous sommes venu(e)s.
We have come.
Nous avons parlé.
We have talked.
Vous êtes venu(e)s.
You have come.
Vous avez parlé.
You have talked.
Ils sont venus.
They have come.
Ils ont parlé.
They have talked.
Elles sont venues.
They have come.
Elles ont parlé.
They have talked.
* Do not mind the (e) yet, we will get to this later. For those, who cannot wait: When the present perfect is formed with the verb être and the subject is of female gender an e is added.
