How to say TO BE LATE in French?
To be late in French is very easy to translate since we use the same verb in English and in French: To be – ÊTRE. The only tricky part is that “late” translates to EN RETARD.

Let’s see the sentence in context with all the conjugations of ÊTRE in present tense
- Je suis en retard – I am late
- Tu es en retard – You are late
- Il est en retard – He is late
- Elle est en retard – She is late
- On est en retard – We are late
- Nous sommes en retard – We are late
- Vous êtes en retard – You are late
- Ils sont Ten retard – They are late
- Elles sont en retard – They are late
Don’t forget the LIAISON between the verb and EN, and also between pronouns and the verb.
- Je suis Zen retard – I am late
- Tu es Zen retard – You are late
- Il est Ten retard – He is late
- Elle est Ten retard – She is late
- On Nest Ten retard – We are late
- Nous sommes Zen retard – We are late
- Vous Zêtes Zen retard – You are late
- Ils sont Ten retard – They are late
- Elles sont Ten retard – They are late
If you need to learn more about LIAISONS, check out the video below or The Complete Pronunciation Course.