Look at these sentences:
J'ai eu trois cadeaux pour mon anniversaire.
I had three presents for my birthday.
As-tu eu mon message?
Did you have my message?
Nous avons tous eu la varicelle.
We all had chickenpox.
In Le Passé Composé (conversational past), the verb "avoir" (to have) has an irregular past participle: "eu", and works with 'avoir' as an auxiliary:
| j'ai eu | I had/have had |
| tu as eu | you had/have had (singular-familiar form) |
| il/elle/on a eu | he/she/we/one/people had/has had |
| nous avons eu | we had/have had |
| vous avez eu | you had/have had |
| ils/elles ont eu | They had/have had |
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
J'ai eu trois cadeaux pour mon anniversaire.
I had three presents for my birthday.
Hier, j'ai eu des invités.
Yesterday, I had guests.
Nous avons eu la varicelle en même temps.
We had chicken pox at the same time.
Nous avons tous eu la varicelle.
We all had chickenpox.
Vous avez eu beaucoup de chance ce jour-là.
You have been very lucky that day.
As-tu eu mon message?
Did you have my message?
Cette même année, elle a eu des jumeaux.
That same year, she had twins.
Q&A
Ron
Kwiziq community member
27/09/17
Je pense que vous ayez donné une très bonne question. D'abord cela me paraît comme une coutume. Soit un pays avec la coutume d'utiliser «avoir les invités» soit un autre pays qui utilise «recevoir les invités». En ce qui concerne mon avis, les deux sont corrects. J'ai dit les deux.
J'ai remarqué que dans la leçon, il y a l'exemple suivant: «Hier, j'ai eu des invités. --->
Yesterday, I had guests.» Alors, j'imagine qu'en Angleterre le verbe «avoir» est utilisé. Peut-être quelqu'un(e) de l'équippe à kwiziq pourrait nous donner une meilleure explication.
Bonne journée
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
3/08/16
I'm not sure what you're asking - do you mean in French or English?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
8/08/16
If you wanted to ask someone "Did you get my message?" in French, you could use the following forms:
"As-tu eu mon message ? / Avez-vous eu mon message ?"
"Est-ce que tu as/vous avez eu mon message ?"
"Tu as/Vous avez eu mon message ?"
You can also use "recevoir" (to receive), as such:
"As-tu reçu mon message ?" etc...
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
s
Kwiziq community member
27 March 2018
3 replies
This is weird! I type and it shows blank!
Now I cannot figure out "plus-que-parfait"! Even J'avais is "I had"! So, how do I know if it is "J'avais" or "J'ai eu" that has to be used? Sorry, just cannot find the answer!
Chris
Kwiziq community member
27 March 2018
27/03/18
Yes, in English you would translate both -- "avais" and "ai eu" -- with "had". However, if you want to form the plus-que-parfait you need to follow its rules and regulations. One of which is that it is formed using "avoir" or "être" in their imparfait form, followed by the past participle. You can never form the plus-que-parfait with "avoir + eu + past parciciple".
Quand tu m'as appelé, je l'avais déjà prévu. -- When you called me, I had it already planned. (Plus-que-parfait)
J'ai eu un coup de faiblesse. -- I had an attack of weakness. (Passé composé)
J'avais eu un coup de faiblesse. -- I had had an attack of weakness. (Plus-que-parfait)
J'avais un coup de faiblesse. -- I had an attack of weakness. (Imparfait, carrying the connotation that this happened repeatedly over a period of time).
I hope this helps, -- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
27 March 2018
27/03/18
Bonjour !
To complete Chris' answer, here are links to our related glossary lessons on Plus-que-Parfait, Passé Composé and Imparfait :)
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/glossary/verb-tense-mood/the-french-pluperfect-le-plus-que-parfait
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/glossary/verb-tense-mood/the-french-simple-past-le-passe-compose
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/glossary/verb-tense-mood/the-french-continuous-past-and-past-habit-l-imparfait
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
s
Kwiziq community member
27 March 2018
27/03/18
Thank you Chris and Aurelie.
Trying not to get lost :)