The verb avoir (to have) is irregular (it doesn't follow the same conjugation rules as other verbs ending in -oir).
It conjugates like this in Le Présent:
| j' | ai |
| tu | as |
| il/elle/on | a |
| nous | avons |
| vous | avez |
| ils/elles | ont |
Have a listen to these examples:
Tu as une soeur.
You have a sister.
Il a les yeux bleus.
He has blue eyes.
Nous avons deux chats.
We have two cats.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Q&A
Ron
Kwiziq community member
24/07/17
a proper noun, i.e. a person's name, will use the third person singular. Let's look at some examples:
J'ai un chien.
I have a dog.
So if we want to state that Jean has a dog, then the phrase becomes «Jean a un chien»
Nous avons deux chats.
We have two cats.
In speaking about my family, to use a common noun,
Ma famille a deux chats or Nous avons deux chats.
or how about «the house has a roof»
la maison a un toit.
Elle a une souris.
She has a mouse.
In these examples, except for nous, they all use the third person singular. With nous it takes the first person plural, nous avons.
I hope this helps,
Bonne chance,
Ron
Kyaw
Kwiziq community member
25/07/17
Kyaw
Kwiziq community member
25/07/17
Candace
Kwiziq community member
9 November 2016
3 replies
Bonjour. Also, do I have body parts or own them?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/11/16
Well, in French, you will use "avoir [un bras / une bouche / ... ]", and in English I would use "to have" as well.
Does this answer your question?
Candace
Kwiziq community member
10/11/16
Max
Kwiziq community member
1/12/17
That's interesting, Aurélie. I'm Brazilian, and in Portuguese (which also comes from latin) we have a similar construction. We can say "nós" (= French's "nous") which takes a plural verb, or we can say "a gente", which has the same meaning as "nós", but takes a singular verb, just as "on" does in French.
Candace
Kwiziq community member
9 November 2016
2 replies
Bonjour. Is it possible to use On? Would I conjugate on a or on avons? Merci.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/11/16
Yes, of course, "on" is actually more common in speech than "nous".
You conjugate verbs with it as you do "il/elle", so it will be "on a".
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Candace
Kwiziq community member
10/11/16
Zsuzsanna
Kwiziq community member
6 November 2016
3 replies
Bonjour! Nous avons deux chiens et un cheval. :)
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
7/11/16
Moi, je n'ai pas d'animal familier.
Zsuzsanna
Kwiziq community member
7/11/16
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
7/11/16
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
29/06/16
Comment s'appelle-t-elle ?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
7/04/16
That's an interesting question:
indeed, "t'as" is the contraction of "tu as" (you have), just like "t'es" is the contraction of "tu es" (you are).
It's extremely commonly used in speech: I mean, everyone says "t'as" and "t'es"!
However, unlike in English where "you're" or "I'm" are perfectly acceptable written forms, in French you are not supposed to write the contracted forms, only "tu as" or "tu es".
I hope that answers your question!
Lisa
Kwiziq community member
6/03/16
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
7/03/16
Bonjour Lisa,
In grammatically correct French, E is the only vowel that contracts. So je, me, te, le, etc all contract, but tu, qui, etc do not.
The only exceptions are la and si, but the latter only when it means "if" and only in front of il and ils.
Lisa
Kwiziq community member
8/03/16
Kelly
Kwiziq community member
18 February 2018
1 reply
Demonstrative
Chris
Kwiziq community member
19 February 2018
19/02/18
You need to form comprehensible questions. I don't know what you're asking.
-- Chris.