When do you use j'ai instead of je suis?

Question

If these both mean I am, when do you use each one?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Audra,
This question has been discussed on the Q&A forum previously. Take a look here: https://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/je-suis-vs-j-ai
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

I'm not an expert but there is a difference between "J'ai" and "Je suis". J'ai means "I have", and "Je suis" means "I am". So an example you should use "J'ai" instead of "Je suis" is if you want to say "I have an apple." You should say "J'ai une pomme" because if you said "Je suis une pomme" that would mean "I am an apple". An example of when you should use "Je suis" instead of "J'ai" is if you wanted to say "I am Audra". Though in some cases, it could mean the same thing. Like if you wanted to say "I am hot", you wouldn't say "Je suis chaud", you'd say "J'ai chaud". In French, when you want to say things like you are hot, you are cold, you are hungry, etc. You'd say in French something that would literally translate to "you have heat, you have coldness, you have hunger" or something like that.