avoir
/a.vwaʁ/
To have in French is avoir.
The primary meaning of avoir is to have. It is also used as an auxiliary verb to form compound tenses, such as the passé composé. There are several idiomatic expressions using this verb, such as Avoir le cafard to mean feeling down or depressed and Avoir le coup de foudre to mean falling in love at first sight.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form avoir is the infinitive form of the verb.
How do you pronounce it?
/a.vwaʁ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use être (to be) instead of avoir when expressing age or physical sensations like hunger or thirst.
Did you know?
- If you tell a French person you have the blues using avoir le cafard, you are literally saying you 'have the cockroach'.
- The English verb 'aver', meaning to state something strongly, actually comes from the same French root as avoir.
Examples in context
- Elle va avoir un bébé.She's going to have a baby.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use avoir in the context of pregnancy.Tatoeba #1211198 by sacredceltic, translation #1209958 by Scott
- Mary va avoir un bébé.Mary is going to have a baby.Tatoeba #6631106 by Aiji, translation #3370781 by CK
- Layla va avoir un bébé.Layla is going to have a baby.Tatoeba #6394680 by Micsmithel, translation #6394446 by OsoHombre
- Il a un livre.He has a book.
- Nous possédons une maison.We have a house.
- Elles possèdent une voiture.They have a car.
- Le gouvernement détient le pouvoir.The government has the power.
- Elle détient les clés.She has the keys.
- Le musée est en possession de ce tableau.The museum has this painting in its possession.
- Il est en possession de tous les documents nécessaires.He has all the necessary documents in his possession.
- Tu as une idée ?Do you have an idea?
- J'ai chopé des billets gratuits pour le concert.I got some free tickets for the concert.
- Tu as chopé le dernier jeu vidéo ?Did you get the latest video game?
- J'ai piqué ton stylo, désolé !I grabbed your pen, sorry!
- J'ai faim.I am hungry.
- J'ai vingt ans.I am twenty years old.
- 424 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are talking about their pets.
- LéaEst-ce que tu veux avoir un chien ?Do you want to have a dog?
- LucasOui, j'aimerais avoir un petit chien.Yes, I would like to have a small dog.
- LéaMoi, je préfère avoir un chat.Me, I prefer to have a cat.
- LucasOn peut avoir les deux !We can have both!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry avoir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries avoir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
