The verb être (to be)

One of the verbs that I first learnt and which I thought to be important was être. It is similar to "to be" in English. These are all in present tense.

Je suis - I am
Tu es - You are (informal)
Il est - He is
Elle est - She is
Nous sommes - We are
Vous êtes - You are (formal or speaking to a group of people)
Ils sont - They are (masculine or mixed male and female group)
Elles sont - They are (feminie group)
C'est - This is/It is (can be used to introduce someone)
Ce sont - These are (plural of c'est)

Examples:

Je suis étudiant - I am a student (étudiante for feminine. Note that you don't say "un" or "a" in this case)

Il est ingénieur - He is an engineer (again you don't say "an" like in English. This is the same for all occupations)

Nous sommes professeurs - We are teachers

Elle est femme au foyer - She is a housewife

C'est mon amie Jenny - This is my friend Jenny