To have in French: the verb avoir, from j'ai to bonne journée

To have in French is avoir. It is irregular, so you learn its forms by heart, and it does two jobs: it means “to have”, and it helps build the past tense of most other verbs. This page gives every form, the phrases where French says “have” and English says “am”, and the way to say “have a nice day”. For the method behind any verb, read How to conjugate French verbs. To compare avoir with other irregular verbs, see French irregular verbs, and to see where the tenses fit, French tenses explained.

How do you say to have in French?

You say avoir. The Académie française lists it as a transitive verb and gives its core meanings: to hold or own something (“Elle a trois paires de gants”), to have a quality (“Elle a de grands yeux”) and to have a relationship (“Nous avons beaucoup d’amis”) [1]. In English you would use “have” for all three.

The Académie also lists the forms that make up the whole verb in one line: j’ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont; j’avais; j’aurai; j’aurais; j’ai eu; aie, ayons, ayez; ayant; eu [1]. The next sections unpack them.

How do you say I have in French, and has in French?

“I have” is j’ai, and “has” is a (il a, elle a) [2]. Je becomes j’ before ai, because the next word starts with a vowel sound. That is the same pattern the verb follows for every person:

The “on a” form and the singular-or-polite use of vous are general grammar, not read from the pages cited here. Learn the six forms as one set, since each ending differs from the regular -er verbs.

What are the other tenses of avoir?

Larousse’s conjugation table gives all of these for avoir [2]. The first four are the ones to learn first.

Two forms break the pattern most: the future stem is aur-, not “avoir-”, and the past participle is eu [2]. The imperative is aie, ayons, ayez, and the present participle is ayant [2]. The subjunctive is que j’aie, que tu aies, qu’il ait [2]. For when to use the imparfait or the passé composé, see Imparfait vs passé composé.

Why does avoir help build the past tense?

Avoir is also an auxiliary. The Académie française says it forms the compound tenses of all transitive verbs, and of most intransitive ones: “Elle a lu beaucoup de romans”, “Il a neigé” [1]. It even forms its own: j’ai eu, nous en aurions eu [1]. It also notes that a few verbs take either avoir or être as the helper, depending on meaning [1].

So when you build “I have eaten” or “I had”, you start from the present of avoir. To drill the avoir-or-être choice, try passé composé practice.

Why does French say j’ai faim when English says I am hungry?

Because French treats many physical states and feelings as things you have. The Académie lists avoir chaud, avoir froid, avoir faim and avoir soif for physical sensations, and avoir peur, avoir honte and avoir pitié for feelings [1]. It also lists avoir raison and avoir tort for being right or wrong [1].

Age works the same way. The Académie’s example is “Cet enfant a six ans” [1]. The pattern is avoir plus a number plus ans, so “I am 30” is j’ai trente ans, not “je suis trente ans”.

What does il y a mean?

Il y a means “there is” or “there are”, and it also marks how long ago something happened [1]. The Académie’s examples include “Il y a un café au coin de la rue” for existence, and “Il y a deux jours, je l’ai rencontré” for a length of time [1]. It uses a form of avoir, so it changes tense: “Il y avait plus de mille personnes” and “Il y aura des gens” are in its list [1].

How do you say have a good day in French?

Say bonne journée. Larousse translates “Bonne journée/soirée !” as “Have a nice day/evening !” [3]. Notice that the French has no verb: bonne journée is a short wish, literally a good day. You do not need avoir here.

The same wish covers the English versions people type: have a good day in French, have a great day in French and have a nice day in French all come to bonne journée. Larousse gives “nice”; good and great are our wording of the same wish. For a time that has already moved on, switch the noun: bonne soirée is the evening version in the same entry [3]. For more ways to take your leave, see goodbye in French, and for other everyday lines, French phrases for everyday use.

Common mistakes

• Saying “je suis faim” or “je suis 30 ans”. French uses avoir for hunger, thirst, cold, heat and age [1].
• Writing “je ai”. Je becomes j’ before a vowel sound, so it is j’ai [2].
• Using “avoir” for “there is”. Use il y a [1].
• Treating the future stem as the infinitive. The forms start with aur-: j’aurai, not “j’avoirai” [2].
• Relying on a verb table from a blog, including this one. Dictionary entries change between editions. Compare each entry’s edition and date with the date at the top of this page.

See also: the passé composé.

See also: body parts in French.

See also: faire conjugation.

Sources