Avoir is one of the most important verbs in the French language. It’s pretty much impossible to go a day without using the verb as it is used in many tenses and expressions.
This blog post dives into the most common French expressions that use the verb avoir.
How to conjugate avoir in French
The meaning of the verb “avoir” is to have. It is an irregular verb, meaning that it does not follow the usual French verb patterns. Here is how it is conjugated in the present tense:
J’ai
Tu as
Il /elle / on a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils / elles ont
Common Expressions using avoir in French
Expressing age in French: Avoir… ans
A common mistake in French recurs in a very simple sentence. When saying their age, learners (especially English natives) tend to use être (to be) rather than avoir (to have).
Quel âge as-tu?
How old are you?
Literally translate to: which age do you have?
We say “J’ai trente ans” rather than “Je suis trente ans”.
Feelings and emotions with avoir
Many expressions surrounding feelings and emotions in English use the verb to be followed by an adjective. However, in French, those same expressions are formed with avoir followed by a noun.
Avoir faim – to be hungry
J’ai faim, on mange quand?
I’m hungry, when do we eat?
Avoir soif – to be thirsty
T’as de l’eau? J’ai soif.
Do you have water? I’m thirsty.
Avoir peur de – to be scared of
Elle a peur de l’eau donc elle (ne) vient pas avec nous.
She’s scared of water so she’s not coming with us.
Avoir froid – to be cold
T’as pas froid? Tu aurais dû prendre une veste.
Aren’t you cold? You should have taken a jacket.
Avoir chaud – to be hot
J’ai tellement chaud!
I feel so hot!
Avoir sommeil – to be sleepy
Je vais dormir, j’ai sommeil.
I’m going to sleep, I’m sleepy.
Avoir honte de – to be ashamed of
Je pense qu’elle a honte de ce qu’elle a fait.
I think she’s ashamed of what she’s done.
Other Expressions with Avoir
Avoir besoin de – to need
Elle a besoin de beaucoup de courage pour changer sa vie comme ça.
She needs a lot of bravery to change her life like that.
Avoir raison – to be right
T’as raison, je me suis trompé!
You are right, I got it wrong.
Avoir tort – to be wrong
Il a complètement tort mais il ne l’accepte pas.
He’s completely wrong but he doesn’t accept it.
Avoir de la chance – to be lucky
On a eu beaucoup de chance.
We were very lucky.
Avoir envie de – to feel like/ to want
J’ai vraiment envie d’un croissant.
I really feel like a croissant.
Avoir l’air in French
Avoir l’air directly translates to “to have the air”. It is a bit strange to learners at first, but it can be extremely useful.
Its real meaning is “to seem” or “to look like”.
J’ai l’air d’un clown avec ce pantalon.
I look like a clown with these trousers.
Tu as l’air fatigué, ça va?
You seem tired, are you okay?
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