is vs have : être et avoir

Overview

Mot	Pinyin	Sens	Négation
is	is	être (identité)	is not
have	have	avoir / il y a	do not have

is (is) - Being / Equality

is establishes a relationship of identity or equality between the subject and what follows.

Uses

1. Identify someone or something

He is a teacher. Tā shì lǎoshī. Il est professeur.

This is my book. Zhè shì wǒ de shū. C'est mon livre.

2. Confirm or affirm

Yes, is. Duì, shì de. Oui, c'est ça.

Negation of is

Important : Always use not with is, never no !

He is not a student. Tā bù shì xuéshēng. Il n'est pas étudiant.

have (have) - Having / There is

have expresses possession or existence.

Uses

1. Ownership

I have a book. Wǒ yǒu yì běn shū. J'ai un livre.

She has two children. Tā yǒu liǎng gè háizi. Elle a deux enfants.

2. Existence (there is)

There is a cup of coffee on the table. Zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì bēi kāfēi. Il y a une tasse de café sur la table.

There are many students in the classroom. Jiàoshì lǐ yǒu hěn duō xuéshēng. Il y a beaucoup d'étudiants dans la salle de classe.

Negation of have

Important : Always use no with have, never not !

I do not have money. Wǒ méiyǒu qián. Je n'ai pas d'argent.

There is no one here. Zhèlǐ méiyǒu rén. Il n'y a personne ici.

Direct comparison

French	With is	With have
C'est un livre	There is is a book	✗
I have a book	✗	There is have a book
He is a teacher	There is is a teacher	✗
He has a teacher	✗	There is have a teacher

Common errors

Error 1: Using is to describe a place

Incorrect	Correct
There is a book on the table	There is have a book

To say "there is X somewhere", use have.

Error 2: Using have to identify

Incorrect	Correct
This is my phone	There is is my phone

To say "this is X", use is.

Error 3: Incorrect negation

Incorrect	Correct
Not is	is not
No have	do not have

Mnemonic trick

• is = "c'est" (identity, equality)
• have = "there is" (possession, existence)

Ponder: "C'est = is" and "There is = have"

Exercises

Complete with is or have:

1. I ___ a Chinese person.
2. You ___ a phone?
3. This ___ what?
4. In the room, there ___ three people.

See answers

1. is 2. have 3. is 4. have