How to use the verb 'to have' in French
It's always useful to be able to talk about what you have or don't have.
Avoir - to have is the second most frequent verb in French.
Like lots of really useful verbs avoir is irregular and it goes like this!
J'ai deux pères - I have two dads.
Tu as les cheveux longs - You have long hair.
Il a un chien - He has a dog.
Elle a un chat - She has a cat.
Vous avez un vélo bleu - You have a blue bicycle.
There are some phrases where in English we would say I am but in French you say I have.
J'ai dix-sept ans - I'm 17 years old.
J'ai faim - I'm hungry.
J'ai soif - I'm thirsty.
J'ai raison! - I am right.
With avoir you can say what you and other people have.
j'ai - I have
tu as - you have
il a - he has
elle a - she has
vous avez - you have
Avoir (to have) – a very useful verb
Avoir (to have) is a very useful verb and is used whenever we would say 'have' in English. It is also used to form other tenses, such as the passé composé(the perfect tense).
- J’ai les cheveux noirs - I have black hair.
- Tu as un chat? - Do you have a cat?
- Elle a un frère - She has a brother.
- J’ai mangé une pomme - I have eaten/I ate an apple.
How to form avoir in the present tense
Avoir is an irregular verb, which means that it doesn’t follow the same pattern as regular verbs in the present tense.
This is how to conjugate the I, you (singular, informal) and he/she forms of avoir in the present tense:
| English | French | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I have | j’ai | J’ai un chien - I have a dog. |
| you (singular, informal) have | tu as | Tu as des frères ou des sœurs? - Do you have any brothers or sisters? |
| he / she has | il / elle a | Il a beaucoup d’amis - He has lots of friends. |
How to use avoir in the past
To talk about things you and other people had in the past, you can use the imperfect tense of avoir.
This is how to conjugate the I, you and he/she forms of avoir in the imperfect tense:
| English | French | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I had | j’avais | J’avais un chien quand j’étais jeune - I had a dog when I was little. |
| you had | tu avais | Tu avais une voiture bleue? - Did you (use to) have a blue car? |
| he / she had | il / elle avait | Ma grand-mère avait les cheveux noirs - My grandmother used to have black hair. |
How to use avoir in the future
To talk about things you are going to have in the future, you use the correct form of aller (to go) plus the infinitive avoir (to have). This tense is called the immediate future and is translated as 'I am going to have', 'you are going to have', 'he/she is going to have'. You form it as follows:
| English | French | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I am going to have | je vais avoir | Je vais avoir un cheval - I’m going to have a horse. |
| you are going to have | tu vas avoir | Tu vas avoir un petit frère - You’re going to have a little brother. |
| he / she is going to have | il / elle va avoir | Elle va avoir une grande fête d’anniversaire - She’s going to have a big birthday party. |
Some more useful expressions using avoir
Sometimes, avoir (to have) is used in French where 'to be' is used in English. Here are some useful expressions where this is the case:
| English | French | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to be … years old | avoir … ans | J’ai onze ans - I’m 11 years old. |
| there is/there are | il y a … | Il y a deux supermarchés dans ma ville - There are two supermarkets in my town. |
| there isn’t/there aren’t | il n’y a pas de… | Il n’y a pas de cinéma dans ma ville - There isn’t a cinema in my town. |
| to be hungry / thirsty | avoir faim / soif | Ma mère a faim - My mum is hungry. |
| to be hot / cold | avoir chaud / froid | J’ai froid - I’m cold. |
| to be afraid | avoir peur | J’ai peur des araignées - I’m scared of spiders. |
Quiz
Find out how much you know about the verb avoir in this short quiz.
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