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How to use the verb 'to have' in French

Part of FrenchGrammar

Avoir (to have) 鈥 a very useful verb

Avoir (to have) is a very useful verb and is used whenever we would say 'have' in English. It 鈥巌s also used to form other tenses, such as the pass茅 compos茅 ).

  • J鈥檃i les cheveux noirs - I have black hair.鈥
  • Tu as un chat? - Do you have a cat?鈥
  • Elle a un fr猫re - She has a brother.鈥
  • J鈥檃i mang茅 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鈥檛 follow the same pattern as regular 鈥巚erbs in the present tense.鈥

This is how to conjugate the I, you (singular, informal) and he/she forms of avoir in the 鈥巔resent tense:鈥

EnglishFrenchExample
I have箩鈥檃颈J鈥檃i un chien 鈥- I have a dog.鈥
you (singular, informal) 鈥巋avetu asTu as des fr猫res ou des s艙urs? 鈥- Do you have any brothers or sisters?鈥
he / she hasil / elle aIl a beaucoup d鈥檃mis 鈥- He has lots of friends.鈥

How to use avoir in the past

To talk about things you and other people had in the past, you can use the imperfect 鈥巘ense of avoir.鈥

This is how to conjugate the I, you and he/she forms of avoir in the imperfect tense:鈥

EnglishFrenchExample
I had鈥箩鈥檃惫补颈蝉J鈥檃vais un chien quand 鈥巎鈥櫭﹖ais jeune 鈥- I had a dog when I was 鈥巐ittle.鈥
you hadtu avaisTu avais une voiture bleue? 鈥- Did you (use to) have a 鈥巄lue car?鈥
he / she hadil / elle avaitMa grand-m猫re avait les 鈥巆heveux noirs 鈥- My grandmother used to 鈥巋ave black hair.鈥

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 鈥庘(to go) plus the infinitive avoir (to have). This tense is called the immediate future and is 鈥巘ranslated as 'I am going to have', 'you are going to have', 'he/she is going to have'. 鈥嶻ou form it as follows: 鈥

EnglishFrenchExample
I am going to haveje vais avoirJe vais avoir un cheval 鈥- I鈥檓 going to have a horse.鈥
you are going to havetu vas avoirTu vas avoir un petit fr猫re 鈥- You鈥檙e going to have a 鈥巐ittle brother.
he / she is going to haveil / elle va avoirElle va avoir une grande 鈥巉锚te d鈥檃nniversaire - She鈥檚 going to have a big 鈥巄irthday party.

Some more useful expressions using avoir 鈥

Sometimes, avoir (to have) is used in French where 'to be' is used in English. Here are 鈥巗ome useful expressions where this is the case:鈥

EnglishFrenchExample
to be 鈥 years oldavoir 鈥 ansJ鈥檃i onze ans鈥 鈥- I鈥檓 11 years old.鈥
there is/there areil y a 鈥︹Il y a deux supermarch茅s 鈥巇ans ma ville - There are two 鈥巗upermarkets in my town.鈥
there isn鈥檛/there aren鈥檛il n鈥檡 a pas de鈥︹Il n鈥檡 a pas de cin茅ma dans 鈥巑a ville 鈥- There isn鈥檛 a cinema in my 鈥巘own.鈥 鈥
to be hungry / thirstyavoir faim / soifMa m猫re a faim - My mum is hungry.鈥
to be hot / coldavoir chaud / froidJ鈥檃i froid - I鈥檓 cold.鈥
to be afraidavoir peurJ鈥檃i peur des araign茅es - I鈥檓 scared of spiders.鈥

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