êtes

Êtes is the second-person plural present indicative form of the French verb être, meaning “to be.” It is used with the pronoun vous, which covers both formal singular you and plural you.

In the present tense, the full conjugation of être is: je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Êtes corresponds to the English “you are.” It appears in statements and questions, for example: Vous êtes prêt. Êtes-vous prêt ? Je ne suis pas sûr. Être expresses existence, identity, qualities, and states, and is used with adjectives or prepositional phrases to describe origin or location, as in Vous êtes médecin; Vous êtes de Paris; Nous sommes heureux; Où êtes-vous ?

Être is irregular, and its present forms differ from other verbs. The form êtes is specifically the second-person plural form in the present tense, while other persons use suis, es, est, sommes, sont. In spoken French, liaisons may occur in questions or between pronouns and verbs, affecting the cadence rather than the basic spelling.

Étymology: être derives from the Latin esse, with the second-person plural present beingestis in Latin. In the transition to Old French it appears as estes or estes/estes, evolving over time into the modern spelling êtes. This lineage reflects a broad medieval development from Latin to the modern Romance languages.

See also: être, sois, soit, soit; related verb forms in other tenses and moods.