In this French grammar lesson we will learn about avoir conjugation in the present tense.
Avoir means “to have” and is an irregular verb, and one of the most important verbs in the French language. Therefore it warrants its own lesson.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how avoir is conjugated in French,
- how avoir is used in French,
- how avoir is pronounced in French,
- how avoir is used in sentences in French,
- how avoir conjugation Anki files can be downloaded.
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar if you are curious about how avoir fits in French A1 grammar.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about avoir conjugation in the present tense!
Table of Contents
Avoir Conjugation in the Present Tense
| j’ | ai |
| tu | as |
| il/elle/on | a |
| nous | avons |
| vous | avez |
| ils/elles | ont |
Usage of Avoir
This section on avoir conjugation in the present tense will show you how avoir is used in French.
The verb avoir means “to have”.
There are 4 general usages for the verb avoir in French:
- The verb avoir is used to say one’s age
J’ai 30 ans
I am 30
Please note that in English you are a certain age wheras in French you have a certain age.
- To talk about one’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Tu as une petite amie française?
Do you have a French girlfriend?
This is the same both in French and English.
- To talk about one’s possesions
Il a un ordinateur
He has a computer
This is the same both French and English.
- To talk about certain sensations/feelings one has.
Nous avons faim
We are hungry
Please note that in English you are a certain sensation whereas in French you have a certain sensation.
Pronunciation of Avoir Conjugations
In this section on avoir conjugation in the present tense we will focus on pronunciation.
There are 3 important rules to take into account when we want to pronounce a avoir conjugation in the present tense.
- We do not pronounce the last e in the subject pronoun elle
Elle a soif
She is thirsty
After the letter “l” we go straight to the “a”.
- Rather than pause in between certain words, we pronounce them in one go. This is called a liason and applies in the following expressions
On a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont
Here we can see that “on a” is pronounced in one go, and in the other examples the letter s at the end of the subject pronoun will be pronounced with the letter z
- The subject pronoun “je” is turned into a “j” because otherwise there would be two vowels next to each other
J’ai peur.
I am afraid
Please note how it is NOT “Je ai peur”. This would be wrong.
Example Sentences with Avoir Conjugations
The final section of this lesson on avoir conjugation in the present tense is about seeing avoir in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of avoir conjugation in the present tense through examples.
J’ai 25 ans.
I am twenty five.
J’ai peur.
I am afraid.
Tu as quel âge?
How old are you?
Tu as une petite amie française?
Do you have a French girlfriend?
Elle a une soeur.
She has a sister.
Elle a soif.
She is thirsty.
Nous avons un chien.
We have a dog.
Vous avez un téléphone portable.
You have a mobile phone.
Ils ont deux fils.
They have two sons.
Les filles ont froid.
The girls are cold.
Anki File for Avoir Conjugation in the Present Tense
It is important to do the Anki excercises for this lesson, so that you can better remember what you just studied.
By downloading the Anki File for French A1, you can practice every French A1 lesson that is on Language Atlas.
You can also choose to just get the Anki File for French A1 Verbs. This only has the verbs for French A1.
If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or if you don’t know what Anki is, then please click here.
Anki can be downloaded from here.
