Grammaire 1: avoir
On étudie !
The verb avoir (to have) is one of the most frequently used verbs in French along with être (to be). Unfortunately, the most common verbs are also the most irregular, because they are used so often that speakers of a language are less apt to change them over time to follow patterns as they do with less commonly used words.
As we learned with the verb être, a French verb must be conjugated, that is, placed in the proper form to agree with its subject. Although memorizing irregular verbs is difficult at first, it will soon become easier for you and you will begin to see patterns. Learning the correct spelling of each verb form from the start is crucial and it will make you more aware of conjugation patterns, and give you a solid base.
| Singulier | Pluriel |
|---|---|
| j’ai (I have) | nous avons (we have) |
| tu as (you have) | vous avez (you have) |
| il, elle, on a (he/she/it/one has) | ils, elles ont (they have) |
Notes
(a) When the verb form begins with a vowel, je (I) changes to j’. This elision always occurs when je precedes a vowel or silent h, just as it does with the definite articles le and la. Remember that when elision is made between two words (such as j’ai), they are pronounced as one word, with no hesitation or pause between them.
(b) There must be a liaison between the final consonants of il, on, nous, vous, ils and elles and the first vowel of the forms of avoir that follow: illa, onna, nouszavons, vouszavez, ilszont, elleszont. Nous avons (we have), sounds like a /z/. If you pronounce this liaison like an /s/, then a listener will think you are saying nous savons (we know). Pronunciation matters!
(c) Also, the final consonants of each form are not pronounced: as, avons, avez, ont.
(d) When you have something, you usually say j’ai… followed by an article and a noun. There are exceptions but this is generally true. For example: j’ai un crayon (I have a pencil). When you negate it, you say je n’ai pas de without any article. For example: Je n’ai pas de crayon(s).
Compare:
|
Il a un examen aujourd’hui. Il n’a pas d‘examen aujourd’hui. J’ai un cours très intéressant. Je n’ai pas de cours intéressant. |
(He has an exam today.) (He doesn’t have an exam today.) (I have an interesting class.) (I don’t have an interesting class.) |
Notice how this is similar to the negation of il y a (see previous section):
Il y a des chaises grises dans la salle de classe (there are grey chairs in the classroom)
vs.
Il n’y a pas de chaises violettes (there are no purple chairs).
(e) There are numerous idiomatic expressions based on the verb avoir. For example, to ask someone’s age, you say Quel âge as-tu? Quel âge avez-vous? (How old are you?) To answer use: avoir + [number] + ans.
— Bryan, Quel âge as-tu?
— J’ai 18 ans.
— Et Amélie?
— Elle a 20 ans.
To learn more expressions with avoir, go to this site.
