Society & Culture & Entertainment Languages

Avoir - to have - Conjugation of the French Irregular Verb Avoir



The French irregular verb avoir is one of the most used of all French verbs.

Formal versus Modern Pronunciation of Avoir  


You need to be very careful about the pronunciation of this verb. First, in more formal French, there are many liaisons involved with Avoir:
Nous avons  - nous Z-avons.
Vous avez - vous Z-avez.
Ils/Elles ont - ils Z-ont (t silent)
Lots of students mistake "ils ont" (of avoir, Z sound) and "ils sont" (of avoir, S sound) in pronunciation, which is a very bad mistake!

In informal modern French however, a lot of glidings take place:
"Tu as" is pronounced "ta".

The glidings are very very strong with the expression "il y a":
il y a = ya
il n'y a pas (de) = yapad
il y en a = yan na...

Pronunciation of "eu" - avoir in the Participe Passé (Past Participle)


The past participle of avoir is "eu". It's a single sound, "u", just as in "tu".

Pronunciation of "eus" and "eut" in the Passé Simple


Same thing. They are pronounced "u". "Eûmes" is pronounced u-m, "Eûtes" is pronounced u-t, "Eurent" is pronounced u-r. 

The Verb Avoir and the Tenses of the Past


Avoir is what is called an auxiliary verb. It's used to build other tenses, such as Passé Composé. Most French verbs used "avoir" to build their compound tenses, so it's essential to know "avoir"inside out if you ever want to master these other very common tenses. (See all the links below for information about tenses).

So now, let's see the conjugations of Avoir in every tenses and every moods (what is a mood?)

Avoir Conjugated in the Indicative Mood

Present
Présent
j'ai
tu as
il a
nous avons
vous avez
ils ont
Present Perfect
Passé composé
j'ai eu
tu as eu
il a eu
nous avons eu
vous avez eu
ils ont eu
Imperfect
Imparfait
j'avais
tu avais
il avait
nous avions
vous aviez
ils avaient
Pluperfect
Plus-que-parfait
j'avais eu
tu avais eu
il avait eu
nous avions eu
vous aviez eu
ils avaient eu
Future
Futur
j'aurai
tu auras
il aura
nous aurons
vous aurez
ils auront
Future Perfect
Futur antérieur  
j'aurai eu
tu auras eu
il aura eu
nous aurons eu
vous aurez eu
ils auront eu
Simple Past
Passé simple
j'eus
tu eus
il eut
nous eûmes
vous eûtes
ils eurent
Past Anterior
Passé antérieur
j'eus eu
tu eus eu
il eut eu
nous eûmes eu
vous eûtes eu
ils eurent eu


Avoir Conjugated in the Conditional Mood

Cond. Present
Cond. Présent 
j'aurais
tu aurais
il aurait
nous aurions
vous auriez
ils auraient
Cond. Past
Cond. Passé
j'aurais eu
tu aurais eu
il aurait eu
nous aurions eu
vous auriez eu
ils auraient eu

Avoir Conjugated in the Subjunctive Mood

Subjunctive Present
Subjonctif Présent 
que j'aie
que tu aies
qu'il ait
que nous ayons
que vous ayez
qu'ils aient
Subjunctive Past
Subjonctif Passé 
que j'aie eu
que tu aies eu
qu'il ait eu
que nous ayons eu
que vous ayez eu
qu'ils aient eu
Subj. Imperfect
Subj. Imparfait 
que j'eusse
que tu eusses
qu'il eût
que nous eussions
que vous eussiez
qu'ils eussent
Subj. Pluperfect
Subj. Plus-que-parfait 
que j'eusse eu
que tu eusses eu
qu'il eût eu
que nous eussions eu
que vous eussiez eu
qu'ils eussent eu

Avoir Conjugated in the Imperative Mood 

Imperative Present
Impératif Présent
(tu) aie
(nous) ayons
(vous) ayez
Imperative Past
Impératif Passé
(tu) aie eu
(nous) ayons eu
(vous) ayez eu

Avoir Infinitive Mood


Infinitive Present
Infinitif Présent
avoir

Infinitive Past
Infinitif Passé
avoir eu

Avoir Participle Mood


Present Participle
Participe Présent
ayant

Past Participle
Participe Passé
ayant / ayant eu

Perfect Participle
Participe P.C.
Ayant eu

All about Avoir 


Avoir is also used in many French expressions, some of which we use all the time: "j'ai faim, j'ai soif, j'ai chaud..."

Now, there is much more to be said about Avoir! It's all explained in this article: Using Avoir.

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You may also be interested in the conjugation of the verb "être" - to be.
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