LinguaAvoir: to have, the second pillar
Avoir means “to have” and, with être, it carries half of everyday French. It is irregular too. Je loses its e before the vowel: j’ai. Tu as and il a sound exactly the same, a plain a. Nous avons and vous avez link the s of the pronoun to the vowel: nou-za-von, vou-za-vé. And ils ont is pronounced il-zon – that z is the only thing that separates “they have” from ils sont, il-son, “they are”. One consonant, two verbs: listen for it.
| Pronoun | Form of avoir | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| j’ | ai | I have |
| tu | as | you have (one close person) |
| il | a | he has, it has |
| elle | a | she has, it has |
| nous | avons | we have |
| vous | avez | you have (polite, or several people) |
| ils | ont | they have (men or a mixed group) – say il-zon |
| elles | ont | they have (women only) |
– Vous avez des amis à Paris ? – Oui, nous avons des amis ici.– Do you have friends in Paris? – Yes, we have friends here.
Age and the body: avoir, not être
In French you HAVE your age: j’ai vingt ans – literally “I have twenty years”. An is the year of age, plural ans, and it is never left out: j’ai vingt is not a sentence. To ask, Tu as quel âge ? or Vous avez quel âge ? The body’s sensations also take avoir, with no article: j’ai faim (I am hungry), j’ai soif (thirsty), j’ai froid (cold), j’ai chaud (hot), j’ai peur (afraid). Je suis faim is the classic beginner’s mistake – faim is a noun, so you have it. You will learn the numbers in the next unit; for now, three to recognise: dix 10, vingt 20, trente 30.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| avoir faim | to be hungry |
| avoir soif | to be thirsty |
| avoir froid | to be cold (to feel cold) |
| avoir chaud | to be hot (to feel hot) |
| avoir peur | to be afraid |
| avoir vingt ans | to be twenty (years old) |
– Tu as quel âge, Léo ? – J’ai dix ans. Et j’ai faim !– How old are you, Léo? – I am ten. And I am hungry!
Il y a, and the negation that eats the article: pas de
Il y a means “there is” and “there are” in one unchanging form: il y a un chat, il y a des chats. As a question, just raise your voice: Il y a un médecin ici ? Its negative is il n’y a pas. And here is the rule of the day: after a negation, un, une and des all turn into de (d’ before a vowel): je n’ai pas de voiture, il n’y a pas de table, nous n’avons pas d’amis ici. The definite articles do not change: je n’ai pas le livre – the specific book is still the book.
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| j’ai une voiture | je n’ai pas de voiture |
| tu as un chien | tu n’as pas de chien |
| il y a des stylos | il n’y a pas de stylos |
| nous avons des amis | nous n’avons pas d’amis |
| elle a le livre | elle n’a pas le livre |
Il y a un chat à la maison, mais il n’y a pas de chien.There is a cat at home, but there is no dog.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| avoir | to have | Vous avez un stylo, madame ? Do you have a pen, madam? |
| an | year (of age); plural ans | Théo a trente ans. Théo is thirty. |
| faim | hunger – avoir faim: to be hungry | J’ai faim, et toi ? I am hungry, what about you? |
| soif | thirst – avoir soif: to be thirsty | Les enfants ont soif. The children are thirsty. |
| froid | cold; avoir froid: to feel cold | Nous avons froid à Moscou. We are cold in Moscow. |
| chaud | heat – avoir chaud: to feel hot | J’ai très chaud aujourd’hui. I am very hot today. |
| peur | fear – avoir peur: to be afraid | Le chat a peur du chien. The cat is afraid of the dog. |
| il y a | there is, there are | Il y a une chaise ici, monsieur. There is a chair here, sir. |
| frère | brother (masculine) | J’ai un frère à Lyon. I have a brother in Lyon. |
| sœur | sister (feminine) | Tu as une sœur, Léa ? Do you have a sister, Léa? |
| chat | cat (masculine) | Le chat n’est pas là. The cat is not here. |
| chien | dog (masculine) | Nous avons un chien, Max. We have a dog, Max. |
| pas de | no, not any (un / une / des after a negation) | Il n’y a pas de voiture ici. There is no car here. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which sentence says “I am hungry”?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.