‘Avoir’ conjugation: How to use this essential French verb

Mastering avoir conjugation is essential for anyone learning French. 

As the second most common verb in French after être (to be), avoir (to have) serves important functions in everyday communication. It notably helps to express possession, state a person’s age, and convey a wide range of emotions and physical states. Beyond these fundamental uses, avoir also functions as an auxiliary verb to form compound tenses like the passé composé

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This comprehensive guide will walk you through the conjugation of avoir in all major tenses, including present, past, future and conditional forms, along with the subjunctive and the imperative. You'll also discover how to use avoir in some common idiomatic expressions that can help your French sound more fluent.

Present tense conjugation of ‘avoir’

Here’s the conjugation table for the verb avoir in the present simple tense, with some examples for each person:

FrenchEnglishExample
J’aiI haveJ’ai une voiture. (I have a car.)
Tu asYou haveTu as une voiture.
Il/Elle/On aHe/She/It hasIl a une voiture.
Nous avonsWe haveNous avons une voiture.
Vous avezYou haveVous avez une voiture.
Ils/Elles ontThey haveElles ont une voiture.

‘Avoir’ in the past: ‘Passé composé’ and beyond

To speak French fluently, you also need to master other French tenses

Let’s start with past tenses: the compound past, the imperfect and the past perfect. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the conjugation of the verb avoir in these past tenses.

‘Passé composé’: ‘Avoir’ as an auxiliary verb

The compound past tense is used to describe actions that were completed in the past.

It’s formed with the present tense of an auxiliary verb (avoir or être), followed by the past participle.

The past participle is formed by adding specific endings to the verb stem:

  • é” with verbs ending in “-er”;
  • i” with most verbs ending in “-ir”;
  • u” with regular verbs ending in “-re”;
  • other endings including “-u”, “-is” and “-it” with irregular verbs.

Here’s a summary table with examples:

FormationExamples
J’ai [+ past participle]J’ai beaucoup mangé. (I ate a lot.)
Tu as [+ past participle]Tu as beaucoup mangé.
Il/Elle/On a [+ past participle]Il a beaucoup mangé.
Nous avons [+ past participle]Nous avons beaucoup mangé.
Vous avez [+ past participle]Vous avez beaucoup mangé.
Ils/Elles ont [+ past participle]Elles ont beaucoup mangé.

The past participle of the verb avoir is eu. For example:

  • Elle a eu des cadeaux pour son anniversaire. (She received gifts for her birthday.)

‘Imparfait’: Describing ongoing or repeated past actions

The imperfect tense is used to describe habitual, background or ongoing past actions.

It’s formed by adding imperfect endings (-ais, -ait…) to the verb stem (av-).

French
EnglishExamples
J’avaisI hadJ’avais un chien. (I had a dog.)
Tu avaisYou hadTu avais un chien. 
Il/Elle/On avaitHe/She/It hadElle avait un chien. 
Nous avionsWe hadNous avions un chien. 
Vous aviezYou hadVous aviez un chien. 
Ils/Elles avaientThey hadIls avaient un chien. 

‘Plus-que-parfait’: The ‘past of the past’

The past perfect is used to express an action that happened before another past action.

It’s formed with the imperfect form of avoir, followed by the past participle of the verb.

FormationExamples
J’avais [+ past participle]J’avais eu de la chance. (I had been lucky.)
Tu avais [+ past participle]Tu avais eu de la chance.
Il/Elle/On avait [+ past participle]Elle avait eu de la chance.
Nous avions [+ past participle]Nous avions eu de la chance.
Vous aviez [+ past participle]Vous aviez eu de la chance.
Ils/Elles avaient [+ past participle]Ils avaient eu de la chance.

Future and conditional tenses with ‘avoir’

Now that you’ve mastered the conjugation of avoir in the various past tenses, let’s examine two other essential verb tenses in French: the future and the conditional.

‘Futur simple’: Expressing certainty or scheduled events

The simple future is used to describe events that will happen.

It’s formed with the future stem of the verb avoir (aur-), followed by future endings.

French
EnglishExamples
J’auraiI will haveJ’aurai du travail en septembre. (I will have work in September.)
Tu aurasYou will haveTu auras du travail en septembre.
Il/Elle/On auraHe/She/It will haveElle aura du travail en septembre.
Nous auronsWe will haveNous aurons du travail en septembre.
Vous aurezYou will haveVous aurez du travail en septembre.
Ils/Elles aurontThey will haveIls auront du travail en septembre.

‘Conditionnel présent’: Expressing politeness or hypotheticals

The present conditional tense is used to describe events that would happen in certain conditions.

It’s formed with the future stem of the verb avoir (aur-), followed by imperfect endings.

FrenchEnglishExamples
J’auraisI would haveJ’aurais besoin d’aide. (I would need some help.)
Tu auraisYou would haveTu aurais besoin d’aide.
Il/Elle/On auraitHe/She/It would haveElle aurait besoin d’aide.
Nous aurionsWe would haveNous aurions besoin d’aide.
Vous auriezYou would haveVous auriez besoin d’aide.
Ils/Elles auraientThey would haveIls auraient besoin d’aide.

Subjunctive and imperative forms of ‘avoir’

Let’s now examine how avoir is used in the present subjunctive and imperative forms.

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‘Subjonctif présent’: Expressing doubt, emotion or necessity

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of doubt, emotion or obligation. For instance, you’ll often find it in sentences starting with “Je doute que”, “J’aimerais que” or “Il faut que”.

It’s formed with the irregular subjunctive stems of the verb avoir (ai- and ay-), followed by subjunctive endings.

FormationExamples
Que j’aieIl n’est pas certain que j’aie reçu la lettre. (It is not certain that I received the letter.)
Que tu aiesIl n’est pas certain que tu aies reçu la lettre.
Qu’il/elle/on aitIl n’est pas certain qu’elle ait reçu la lettre.
Que nous ayonsIl n’est pas certain que nous ayons reçu la lettre.
Que vous ayezIl n’est pas certain que vous ayez reçu la lettre.
Qu’ils/elles aientIl n’est pas certain qu’ils aient reçu la lettre.

‘Impératif’: Giving direct commands

The imperative form is used to express direct orders, instructions or encouragement. As imperative commands are always directed to someone, this form is only used with the French pronouns for “you” (singular and plural) and “we” (in which case the speaker is included in the group receiving the command).

Here’s a table with examples to help you remember how it’s formed:

Formation
Examples
Singular you: aieAie confiance en toi, tu peux le faire ! (Have confidence in yourself, you can do it!)
We: ayonsAyons confiance en nous, nous pouvons le faire !
Plural you: ayezN’ayez crainte, tout se passera bien. (Have no fear, everything will be fine.)

Common idiomatic expressions using ‘avoir’

First, let’s remember that the verb avoir is commonly used for the following purposes:

  • To express possession.

Example: J’ai deux voitures. (I have two cars.)

  • To state a person’s age.

    Example: J’ai 25 ans. (I am 25 years old.)
  • In two common expressions: il y a (there is) and il n’y a pas (there is not).

In French, idiomatic expressions using the verb avoir are also very common in everyday language.  Idiomatic expressions often don’t translate literally, and context may be necessary to understand their idiomatic usage. It’s a great idea to memorize these!

Here are some examples of common expressions using the verb avoir:

  • Avoir faim (to be hungry)
    • Ex.: J’ai eu faim toute la journée. (I was hungry all day.)
  • Avoir peur ( to be afraid)
    • Ex.: N’aie pas peur, tout ira bien. (Don't be afraid, everything will be fine.)
  • Avoir raison (to be right)
    • Ex.: Vous avez eu raison de refuser. (You were right to refuse.)
  • Avoir sommeil (to be sleepy)
    • Ex.: J’ai terriblement sommeil. (I am terribly sleepy.)
  • Avoir besoin de (to need)
    • Ex.: J’ai besoin de me reposer. (I need to rest.)
  • Avoir l’air (to seem)
    • Ex.: Il a l’air très fatigué. (He seems very tired.)
  • Avoir du mal à (to have difficulty)
    • Ex.: J’ai du mal à respirer. (I have difficulty breathing.)

The verb avoir is also used in more metaphorical idiomatic expressions:

  • Avoir la pêche (to be happy; literally, “to have the peach”)
    • Ex.: J’ai la pêche dès que je te vois ! (I feel happy as soon as I see you!) 
  • Avoir le cafard (to feel sad; literally, “to have the cockroach”)
    • Ex.: Elle a le cafard depuis qu’il est parti. (She has been feeling sad since he left.)
  • Avoir du pain sur la planche (to have a lot to do; literally, “to have bread on the board”)
    • Ex.: C’est chargé en ce moment : j’ai du pain sur la planche ! (It’s busy right now: I have a lot to do!)
  • Avoir le bras long (to be influential; literally, “to have a long arm”)
    • Ex.: Attention, nous avons le bras long ! (Be careful, we are influential!)

There are many other French idiomatic expressions with avoir. The good news is that they are fun to learn!

Your next step: Mastering ‘avoir’ and beyond

Mastering the avoir conjugation is a fundamental step in learning French. As we've seen, avoir is essential for expressing possession, forming compound tenses and creating idiomatic expressions that can help your French sound more fluent.

With Lingoda's online French grammar lessons, you can learn from certified and native-level teachers who'll help you practice essential verbs like avoir and être in live, interactive sessions. 

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Rita Douxchamps

Rita Douxchamps

Rita Douxchamps is a French freelance translator and writer , with a long-standing passion for languages and literature. She speaks French, English and Spanish, and she also studied Italian, Portuguese, German and Russian. She is always eager to help people with their French learning, which led her to complete a university degree in teaching French as a Foreign language in 2020. Rita is based in the South-East of France. When she is not working with international companies from the tech and education sectors, she enjoys spending the best of her time outdoors, exploring the beauties of the southern sceneries.