Paul est sûr.

to be

Breakdown of Paul est sûr.

• Paul: Paul
• sûr: sure (adjective)

Questions & Answers about Paul est sûr.

Why is it est and not es?

Because the subject is Paul, which is he in grammatical terms: third person singular.

The verb être in the present tense goes like this:

• je suis
• tu es
• il / elle / on est
• nous sommes
• vous êtes
• ils / elles sont

So with Paul, you need est:

• Paul est sûr.

You would use es with tu:

• Tu es sûr.

Why is sûr not preceded by un or le?

Because sûr is an adjective here, not a noun.

In Paul est sûr, the structure is:

• Paul = subject
• est = verb to be
• sûr = adjective describing Paul

This works just like English Paul is sure, where sure is also an adjective and does not need an article.

What does the accent in sûr do?

The circumflex accent (^) is part of the spelling of sûr.

In modern French, it often helps distinguish sûr from sur:

• sûr = sure, certain
• sur = on, on top of

So the accent is very useful because it separates two different words.

In pronunciation, the circumflex does not always create a dramatic difference for learners, but you should learn the correct spelling because it matters in writing.