Like être, avoir is one of the most important French verbs. The closest English meaning is "to have," and that match is solid when expressing possession of something.
The surprise for English speakers is how often French uses avoir where English uses be.
You have years, hunger, thirst, cold, and fear. French packages those ideas with a noun after avoir:
avoir + noun
Here are some of the most common ones:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai 20 ans. | I am 20. |
| J'ai faim. | I am hungry. |
| J'ai soif. | I am thirsty. |
| J'ai froid. | I am cold. |
| J'ai peur. | I am scared. |
You will also meet avoir early as the usual helper in the past tense:
avoir + past participle
Here are some common examples:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai mangé. | I ate. / I have eaten. |
| Elle a parlé. | She spoke. / She has spoken. |
Forms and grammar
Avoir is irregular, and the present forms are worth learning early because they support a lot of basic French:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| j'ai | nous avons |
| tu as | vous avez |
| il / elle / on a | ils / elles ont |
Notice the spelling splits: ai, as, a, then avons, avez, ont. Practice each form with its subject pronoun (je becomes j' before ai).
For all tenses, see the conjugation of avoir.
In the past tense, avoir is the most common helper:
avoir + past participle
Some verbs use être instead. For that split, see Passé composé with avoir and être.
How to use avoir
The uses of avoir below are sorted by what it is expressing: holding something, saying something exists, expressing age, or naming a common state.
Having or owning something
Use avoir to say that something belongs to you, or that you have it with you.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai un livre. | I have a book. |
| Tu as mon numéro ? | Do you have my number? |
| Nous avons une voiture. | We have a car. |
Keep the article. French says j'ai un livre, not j'ai livre. For more than one, use des:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai un livre. | I have a book. |
| J'ai des livres. | I have (some) books. |
Des is the plural partner of un / une. English can drop "some." French usually keeps the determiner.
There is / there are: il y a
Il y a is how French says "there is / there are." Learn it as a fixed opener.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il y a un café ici. | There is a café here. |
| Il y a beaucoup de monde. | There are a lot of people. |
The a in these phrases comes from avoir, but you do not conjugate the phrase like an ordinary avoir sentence.
Il est un café ici is incorrect.
Saying how old someone is
Use avoir to express age. French expresses your age as something you have.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai 20 ans. | I am 20. |
| Elle a 8 ans. | She is 8. |
| Quel âge as-tu ? | How old are you? |
Always include ans. J'ai 20 is incomplete.
Expressing common states
Use avoir with a noun for hunger, thirst, cold, heat, fear, and similar states. Many English be expressions use avoir here.
avoir + noun
Learn each line as a whole phrase (avoir faim, avoir soif, and the rest).
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai faim. | I am hungry. |
| Tu as soif ? | Are you thirsty? |
| Il a froid. | He is cold. |
| J'ai chaud. | I am hot / warm. |
| J'ai peur. | I am scared. |
Related verbs
- être: to be (identity, place, description)
- prendre: to take / to have food or drink in many café lines
- vouloir: to want
- devoir: to have to / must
Many English be expressions use avoir in French. For identity, place, and description with être, see How to use être.
Before you go
Ask what idea you are expressing, not whether English uses be. Possession, age, common states, and il y a usually take avoir. Keep those patterns in view, and you will cover a large part of A1 French.