{"id":3230,"date":"2019-09-23T19:44:58","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T19:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=3230"},"modified":"2020-09-01T16:07:29","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T16:07:29","slug":"french-avoir-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/french-avoir-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"All You Need to Know About the Avoir Conjugation in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mastering the French verb conjugation can be quite a challenge for a language learner. While there\u2019s a number of regular conjugation patterns that can help you tremendously with this process, the avoir<\/strong> conjugation is irregular and you\u2019ll have to learn it by heart.<\/p>\n

<\/a>What Does Avoir<\/em> Mean?<\/h2>\n

The basic avoir<\/strong> meaning in English is \u201cto have\u201d but it can be different, depending on the context in which it\u2019s used.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Why Is Knowing the Avoir<\/em> Conjugation Important?<\/h2>\n

This verb is crucial not only because of its meaning, but also its other uses as an auxiliary verb<\/strong> in compound tenses.<\/p>\n

Oh dear, grammar jargon alert! A compound tense requires the use of an auxiliary verb and a main verb (= the verb you actually want to use) in the right form.
\nThink about an auxiliary as a \u201chelping\u201d verb that accompanies the main verb.<\/p>\n

Compare these two sentences:<\/p>\n

Je <\/em>prends<\/em><\/strong><\/span> mon petit d\u00e9jeuner sur la terrasse<\/em>. \u2013 \u201cI have (literally: take) my breakfast on the terrace.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a simple tense. There\u2019s only one verb: the correct form of the verb prendre <\/strong>(\u201cto take\u201d).<\/p>\n

Hier, j\u2019<\/em>ai pris<\/em><\/strong><\/span> mon petit d\u00e9jeuner sur la terrasse<\/em>. \u2013 \u201cI had (literally: took) my breakfast on the terrace yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a compound tense. There are two verbs: the auxiliary avoir<\/strong> and prendre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Your choice of an auxiliary verb is between avoir <\/strong>and \u00eatre<\/strong> (\u201cto be\u201d). Avoir<\/strong> is your go to verb used in the majority of cases. You can find out more about when you should use \u00eatre <\/strong>instead in this article<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tenses and moods in this article are paired in a way that helps you notice patterns and remember the avoir<\/strong> conjugation more easily.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Avoir<\/em> Conjugation in the Present Tense<\/h2>\n

The forms of avoir<\/strong> in the present tense (le pr\u00e9sent<\/strong>) are the first ones you should learn. Here they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Singular<\/strong><\/td>\nPlural<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J\u2019ai<\/strong> \u2013 I have<\/td>\nNous avons<\/strong> \u2013 we have<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tu as<\/strong> \u2013 you have<\/td>\nVous avez<\/strong> \u2013 you have<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Il\/elle\/on a<\/strong> \u2013 he\/she\/one has<\/td>\nIls\/Elles ont<\/strong> \u2013 they have<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Below you can find some examples of how to use avoir<\/strong> in this tense with the expression avoir peur<\/strong> (\u201cto be scared\u201d):<\/p>\n

J\u2019<\/em>ai<\/em><\/strong> peur<\/em><\/strong><\/span> de toi<\/em>. \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m scared of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Il <\/em>a<\/em><\/strong> peur<\/em><\/strong><\/span> de l\u2019eau<\/em>. \u2013 \u201cHe\u2019s scared of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Avoir<\/em> Conjugation in the Pass\u00e9 Compos\u00e9<\/h2>\n

Pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/strong> is a compound past tense and it uses the forms of the auxiliary verb in the present tense. To create a sentence in the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/strong> you need:<\/p>\n