‘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. 

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
• ‘Avoir’ in the past: ‘Passé composé’ and beyond
• Future and conditional tenses with avoir
• Subjunctive and imperative forms of avoir
• Common idiomatic expressions using avoir

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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:

French	English	Example
J’ai	I have	J’ai une voiture. (I have a car.)
Tu as	You have	Tu as une voiture.
Il/Elle/On a	He/She/It has	Il a une voiture.
Nous avons	We have	Nous avons une voiture.
Vous avez	You have	Vous avez une voiture.
Ils/Elles ont	They have	Elles 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:

Formation	Examples
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	English	Examples
J’avais	I had	J’avais un chien. (I had a dog.)
Tu avais	You had	Tu avais un chien.
Il/Elle/On avait	He/She/It had	Elle avait un chien.
Nous avions	We had	Nous avions un chien.
Vous aviez	You had	Vous aviez un chien.
Ils/Elles avaient	They had	Ils 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.

Formation	Examples
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	English	Examples
J’aurai	I will have	J’aurai du travail en septembre. (I will have work in September.)
Tu auras	You will have	Tu auras du travail en septembre.
Il/Elle/On aura	He/She/It will have	Elle aura du travail en septembre.
Nous aurons	We will have	Nous aurons du travail en septembre.
Vous aurez	You will have	Vous aurez du travail en septembre.
Ils/Elles auront	They will have	Ils 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.

French	English	Examples
J’aurais	I would have	J’aurais besoin d’aide. (I would need some help.)
Tu aurais	You would have	Tu aurais besoin d’aide.
Il/Elle/On aurait	He/She/It would have	Elle aurait besoin d’aide.
Nous aurions	We would have	Nous aurions besoin d’aide.
Vous auriez	You would have	Vous auriez besoin d’aide.
Ils/Elles auraient	They would have	Ils 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.

Formation	Examples
Que j’aie	Il n’est pas certain que j’aie reçu la lettre. (It is not certain that I received the letter.)
Que tu aies	Il n’est pas certain que tu aies reçu la lettre.
Qu’il/elle/on ait	Il n’est pas certain qu’elle ait reçu la lettre.
Que nous ayons	Il n’est pas certain que nous ayons reçu la lettre.
Que vous ayez	Il n’est pas certain que vous ayez reçu la lettre.
Qu’ils/elles aient	Il 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: aie	Aie confiance en toi, tu peux le faire ! (Have confidence in yourself, you can do it!)
We: ayons	Ayons confiance en nous, nous pouvons le faire !
Plural you: ayez	N’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!

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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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