French Verb Avoir: Essential Guide to Avoir in French

What is avoir?

Avoir means "to have" in French and is a fundamental verb used to express possession, states of being, age, feelings, and as an auxiliary verb in compound tenses.

Present Tense (Présent)

j'ai - I have tu as - you have (informal) il/elle/on a - he/she/one has nous avons - we have vous avez - you have (formal/plural) ils/elles ont - they have

Example Sentences:

1. "J'ai un chat" (I have a cat)

• Uses "ai" because "je" (I) is expressing possession

2. "Ils ont faim" (They are hungry)

• Uses "ont" because "ils" (they) describes a state of being

3. "Tu as quel âge?" (How old are you?)

• Uses "as" because "tu" is the informal way to ask about age

Past Tense (Passé Composé)

j'ai eu - I had/have had tu as eu - you had/have had il/elle/on a eu - he/she/one had/has had nous avons eu - we had/have had vous avez eu - you had/have had ils/elles ont eu - they had/have had

Example Sentences:

1. "J'ai eu de la chance" (I had luck/I was lucky)

• Uses "ai eu" to describe a completed moment of fortune

2. "Nous avons eu un problème" (We had a problem)

• Uses "avons eu" for a past situation that's finished

Imperfect Past (Imparfait)

j'avais - I had/used to have tu avais - you had il/elle/on avait - he/she/one had nous avions - we had vous aviez - you had ils/elles avaient - they had

Example Sentences:

1. "J'avais un chien quand j'étais petit" (I had a dog when I was little)

• Uses "avais" for describing continuous possession in the past

2. "Ils avaient toujours beaucoup d'amis" (They always had many friends)

• Uses "avaient" to express a repeated or continuous state in the past

Future Simple (Futur Simple)

j'aurai - I will have tu auras - you will have il/elle/on aura - he/she/one will have nous aurons - we will have vous aurez - you will have ils/elles auront - they will have

Example Sentences:

1. "J'aurai vingt ans demain" (I will be twenty tomorrow)

• Uses "aurai" to indicate a future age

2. "Nous aurons le temps" (We will have time)

• Uses "aurons" to express future possession

Common Uses of Avoir

1. Expressing age: "J'ai 25 ans" (I am 25 years old)

2. Describing feelings: "Il a peur" (He is afraid)

3. Physical sensations: "Nous avons froid" (We are cold)

4. As auxiliary verb: "J'ai mangé" (I have eaten/I ate)

Key Tips

• Avoir is irregular, so its conjugations don't follow regular patterns
• It's the main auxiliary verb for forming compound past tenses
• Many expressions using avoir in French use "to be" in English
• Memorize common expressions like "avoir faim" (to be hungry), "avoir soif" (to be thirsty)