French State-of-Being Verbs


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Verbes d’état

State-of-being verbs have various names* but no action. These verbs create a link between their subject and a noun or adjective that describes or defines it.

Par exemple…

Je suis médicin.		I’m a doctor.
Océane semble triste.		Océane seems sad.

State-of-being verbs never have direct objects. Any noun that directly follows the verb is something called a "subject complement": a word that can basically replace the subject because they are one and the same.

You can always recognize a state-of-being verb by the fact that it can be replaced by "be" – the meaning might change slightly, but the essence is the same and the sentence is grammatical.

Il paraît heureux. Il est heureux.		He seems happy. (He is happy.)
Le temps s’annonce orageux. Le temps fait orageux.		The weather looks stormy. (The weather is stormy.)

State-of-being verbs can introduce

appearances
definitions
descriptions
feelings and moods
states of being (changing, temporary, or permanent)

Here are the most common French state-of-being verbs with links to conjugations.

s’affirmer (comme)		to assert oneself (as)
s’annoncer		to look, shape up (to be)
apparaître		to appear, seem
s’appeler		to be called/named
s’avérer		to turn out (to be)
avoir l’air		to seem
composer		to make up, form
consister en		to consist of, be made up of
constituer		to constitute, make up
demeurer		to remain
devenir		to become
être		to be
être considéré comme		to be considered
se faire		to get, become
former		to form, make up
se montrer		to show/prove oneself to be
paraître		to appear
passer pour		to pass for, be regarded as
redevenir		to become again
représenter		to depict, portray
rester + adjective		to stay
se révéler		to reveal / show oneself
sembler		to seem
se sentir		to feel
servir de		to act / serve as
tomber + adjective		to fall / get
se trouver		to find oneself