Avoir Conjugation French

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Does the conjugation of avoir in French confuse you? If so, use this article to learn how to use the different avoir conjugations in French.

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Definition and Background Information on AvoirPresent Tense French Avoir Conjugation ChartAvoir French Conjugation Imperfect TenseFrench Avoir Conjugation Future TenseFrench Conjugation of Avoir in the Conditional TensePassé Composé Conjugation of Avoir in FrenchAvoir Subjunctive Tense Conjugation in FrenchFrench Verb Conjugation of Avoir in the Pluperfect TenseFrench Conjugation of Avoir in Le Passé HistoriquePassé Antérieur Avoir Conjugation in FrenchFutur Antérieur Avoir French ConjugationThe Near Future Tense Conjugation of Avoir in FrenchCommon Phrases Using the Conjugation of Avoir in FrenchConclusion

Avoir is an irregular verb whose infinitive ends in -oir. It does not follow the pattern of regular -ir verbs such as finir. The charts below show the forms to learn.

Definition and Background Information on Avoir

Avoir means “to have” in French. It is also used when answering a question about your age: in French, you say how many years you have.

For example, “I am 27 years old” becomes J’ai vingt-sept ans. Ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir.

Because avoir is irregular and very common, it is useful to learn its forms separately rather than apply a regular conjugation pattern.

This verb is also used to conjugate other verbs in certain tenses, for example, the passé composé. This is because it is used to say that someone has done something.

Present Tense French Avoir Conjugation Chart

This is the tense that will be most helpful to learn because it is the tense that will also help you to speak in the passé composé tense in conjunction with other verbs.

As is the rule, when je is followed by a vowel, it becomes j’ which is what has happened for the first person in the present tense conjugation of avoir.

Examples

• J’ai vingt-sept ans – (I am 27 years old)
• Avez-vous un stylo ? – (Do you have a pen?)

Avoir French Conjugation Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is a commonly used past tense, in this case being used to say that someone had something.

Examples

• Ils avaient faim – (They were hungry)
• Elle avait le même vélo quand elle avait ton âge – (She had the same bike when she was your age)

French Avoir Conjugation Future Tense

The future conjugation of avoir in French can be used to say that someone or something will have something in the future.

Examples

• Vous aurez une bonne carrière – (You will have a good career)
• Nous aurons du temps libre quand tu auras fini – (We will have free time when you have finished)

French Conjugation of Avoir in the Conditional Tense

The present conditional forms of avoir usually mean “would have.” They can describe a hypothetical situation, make a polite request, or express a future viewed from a past point of view. For example: Si j’avais plus d’argent, j’aurais une voiture (If I had more money, I would have a car).

Example

• J’aurais peut-être un peu de temps – (I might have some time)

Passé Composé Conjugation of Avoir in French

Avoir is an auxiliary for many French verbs. Its own passé composé is formed with the present tense of avoir followed by its past participle, eu: j’ai eu (I had / I have had).

Firstly, you will use the present tense of avoir, as is shown in the table above, then use it in conjunction with the past participle of the verb (eu).

So, for this tense as long as you have learnt the French conjugation of avoir in the present tense and know that the past participle of the verb is “eu”, you shouldn’t have any issues.

Examples

• Il en a eu assez – (He has had enough)
• Tu as eu tout le week-end pour y travailler – (You have had the whole weekend to work on it)

Avoir Subjunctive Tense Conjugation in French

French Verb Conjugation of Avoir in the Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect, or plus-que-parfait, corresponds to the English past perfect. It describes an event or state before another past event: j’avais eu means “I had had.”

To conjugate this tense in French, you need to combine the imperfect tense conjugation of avoir and the verb’s past participle.

French Conjugation of Avoir in Le Passé Historique

Also known as le passé simple, this tense is mainly used in writing to describe something that has happened in the past.

Passé Antérieur Avoir Conjugation in French

This tense is also mainly used in formal written French. It is formed by combining the passé simple of avoir with the past participle of the verb (eu for avoir itself).

Futur Antérieur Avoir French Conjugation

The futur antérieur describes something that will already be completed by a future point or before another future event. For avoir, j’aurai eu means “I will have had.”

To conjugate this version of the French verb avoir, you will need to combine the future tense and the past participle.

The Near Future Tense Conjugation of Avoir in French

The near future, or futur proche, often describes a plan or a future event connected to the present situation. It uses the present of aller plus an infinitive: je vais avoir means “I am going to have.” It does not guarantee that an event will happen.

In this tense, the present conjugation of aller is used in conjunction with the infinitive avoir.

Common Phrases Using the Conjugation of Avoir in French

Avoir can be used to say if you want or need something as well. When I was learning to speak French, I was told to think of it as having a need or want for something as it would make it easier to remember that way.

• Avoir besoin de… – (To need something)
• Avoir envie de… – (To want something)

Avoir can also be used to talk about whether you are hungry, thirsty, hot, or cold. Although the verb is only to be used in this way when it is something that you are feeling.

• Avoir faim – (To be hungry)
• Avoir soif – (To be thirsty)
• Avoir froid – (To feel cold)
• Avoir chaud – (To feel hot)

Conclusion

Because avoir is both common and irregular, learning these forms will help you use it as a main verb and as an auxiliary.

Avoir ranks second on our list of the 200 most common French verbs, just after être.

Other articles on verb conjugations can be found here:

• Faire
• Aller
• Dire
• Voir