Lesson 9: I Have & Telling Your Age (avoir)
Avoir — I Have, and Telling Your Age · A0 → A1 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life
You will learn the whole verb AVOIR (to have) and the most important difference from English and Urdu: in French you say your age with AVOIR, so 'I am 20' becomes 'I have 20 years'. You will also learn eight everyday expressions with avoir, like avoir faim, avoir soif and avoir besoin de.
In this lesson
- le verbe avoir
- j'ai / tu as / il a
- age with avoir
- avoir expressions
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| j'ai | I have | zhay ژے | je + ai join into ONE smooth sound: 'zhay'. Never say 'zhuh ay'. |
| tu as | you have (informal) | tü a تُو اَ | The tight French ü, then a clean 'a'. |
| il a | he has / it has | ee-la اِیلا | Link the words: ee-la, like one word. |
| elle a | she has / it has | el-a ایلا | Link the words the same way: el-a. |
| nous avons | we have | noo za-von نو زاووں | Liaison: the silent s of nous becomes a z — noo-ZA-von. |
| vous avez | you have (polite / plural) | voo za-vay وو زاوے | Liaison again: voo-ZA-vay. |
| ils ont | they have | eel zon اِیل زوں | Liaison: eel-ZON. The t of ont is always silent. |
| elles ont | they have (women only) | el zon ایل زوں | Same liaison: el-ZON. |
| avoir faim | to be hungry | a-vwar fan اوار فاں | Literally 'to have hunger'. The n of faim is a nasal — no tongue contact. |
| avoir soif | to be thirsty | a-vwar swaf اوار سواف | Literally 'to have thirst'. The f IS pronounced — soif sounds like 'swaf'. |
| avoir chaud | to be hot (a person feels hot) | a-vwar sho اوار شو | Literally 'to have heat'. The d of chaud is silent. |
| avoir froid | to be cold (a person feels cold) | a-vwar frwa اوار فروا | Literally 'to have cold'. The d is silent: 'frwa'. |
| avoir peur | to be afraid | a-vwar puhr اوار پُور | The final r is a soft French throat r. |
| avoir besoin de | to need | a-vwar buh-zwan duh اوار بُوزواں دُہ | Literally 'to have need of'. In 'j'ai besoin d'un café' the de becomes d' before a vowel. |
| avoir raison | to be right | a-vwar reh-zon اوار رے زوں | Literally 'to have reason'. Used about opinions, not directions. |
| avoir tort | to be wrong | a-vwar tor اوار تور | Literally 'to have wrong'. The final t is silent. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| j'ai | zhay | zh ... ay | One syllable only. The e of je disappears completely. If you can hear two separate words, you are doing it wrong. |
| il a | ee-la | eel ... a | No pause between the words. French links the l straight onto the a: ee-la. |
| nous avons | noo-za-von | noo ... za-von | Liaison: the silent s of nous wakes up as a z sound before the vowel. The 'on' of avons is nasal. |
| ils ont | eel-zon | eel ... zon | Liaison: eel-ZON. Never say the t of ont — it is silent forever. |
| avoir faim | a-vwar fan | a ... vwar ... fan | The 'in' spelling of faim is a nasal sound like the 'an' in 'an'. Do not close it with an n. |
| avoir froid | a-vwar frwa | a ... vwar ... frwa | froid is one syllable, 'frwa'. The d is silent and the oi is always 'wa' in French. |
The single most important habit in this lesson is the j'ai contraction. Say 'zhay', never 'zhuh ay'. Everything else is liaison practice.
Grammar
Le verbe AVOIR (to have) — and the magic of j'ai
AVOIR means 'to have'. You use it for owning things (j'ai un livre), for age (j'ai vingt ans) and for a big family of feelings that English expresses with 'to be' (j'ai faim, j'ai froid). Look at the table. Four forms are very short: j'ai, tu as, il a, elle a. Two forms need liaison: nous avons becomes noo-ZA-von and vous avez becomes voo-ZA-vay. One important spelling point: je + ai does not stay apart. They join and drop the e, and the result is j'ai — one single sound, 'zhay'. If you say 'zhuh ay' you sound like a robot; if you say 'zhay' you sound French. AVOIR is irregular, so learn the table as a rhythm and not by rules.
Age uses AVOIR — and the eight expressions you will use every day
This is the point that surprises Urdu and English speakers most. In English you say 'I am 20'. In Urdu you say 'meri umar 20 saal hai'. In French you say something different again: J'ai vingt ans — literally 'I have twenty years'. There is no way around it: age always uses AVOIR, never ÊTRE. So 'Je suis vingt ans' is a classic mistake. The pattern is: j'ai + number + ans. For twenty-one years old and above you keep the same pattern: j'ai vingt et un ans. The rule also tells you something about how French thinks: hunger, thirst, heat, cold and fear are things you 'have', not things you 'are'. That is why you say j'ai faim, not 'je suis faim'. The tens (trente 30, quarante 40, cinquante 50, soixante 60) are taught in lesson 21. For now remember vingt = 20 from lesson 5.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| J'ai un livre. | I have a book. | zhay uhn lee-vruh |
| Tu as un café ? | Do you have a coffee? | tü a uhn ka-fay ↗ |
| Il a une table. | He has a table. | ee-la ün tab-luh |
| Elle a une amie. | She has a friend. | el-a ün a-mee |
| Nous avons faim. | We are hungry. | noo za-von fan |
| Vous avez soif ? | Are you thirsty? (polite) | voo za-vay swaf ↗ |
| Ils ont froid. | They are cold. | eel zon frwa |
| On a faim ! | We're hungry! (spoken) | on na fan |
| J'ai vingt ans. | I am 20 years old. | zhay van tahn |
| Amelie a dix-huit ans. | Amelie is 18 years old. | a-may-lee a dee-zwee-tahn |
| J'ai faim et j'ai soif. | I am hungry and thirsty. | zhay fan eh zhay swaf |
| J'ai besoin d'un café. | I need a coffee. | zhay buh-zwan duhn ka-fay |
| Tu as peur ? | Are you afraid? | tü a puhr ↗ |
| Vous avez raison. | You are right. | voo za-vay reh-zon |
| Non, j'ai tort. | No, I am wrong. | non, zhay tor |
| Il a chaud, mais il a soif aussi. | He is hot, but he is also thirsty. | ee-la sho, meh ee-la swaf o-see |
Dialogue: J'ai faim ! — At a small café
French people say j'ai faim rather than 'I am hungry' in English style. Listen for how short the sentences are.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Bonjour, madame ! | Hello, madam! | bon-zhoor, ma-dam |
| B | Bonjour, monsieur ! Ça va ? | Hello, sir! How are you? | bon-zhoor, muh-syuh, sa va ↗ |
| A | Ça va bien, mais j'ai faim et j'ai soif. | I'm fine, but I'm hungry and thirsty. | sa va byan, meh zhay fan eh zhay swaf |
| B | Voilà une table et un café. | Here is a table and a coffee. | vwa-la ün tab-luh eh uhn ka-fay |
| A | Merci beaucoup, madame ! C'est bon ! | Thank you very much, madam! That's good! | mehr-see bo-koo, ma-dam, seh bon |
| B | Vous avez raison. De rien ! Au revoir, à bientôt ! | You're right. You're welcome! Goodbye, see you soon! | voo za-vay reh-zon, duh ryan, o ruh-vwar, a byan-to |
Say it out loud
- J'ai vingt ans. — I am 20 years old. Say your real age — j'ai trente ans, j'ai quarante ans.
- J'ai faim. — I am hungry. Keep faim nasal — no n sound at the end.
- J'ai soif. — I am thirsty. The f of soif IS pronounced.
- J'ai froid. — I am cold. froid = one syllable: frwa.
- Tu as un livre ? — Do you have a book? Rising voice at the end.
- Nous avons faim. — We are hungry. Link nous + avons into noo-za-von.
- Vous avez soif ? — Are you thirsty? Liaison: voo-ZA-vay.
- Ils ont peur. — They are afraid. eel-ZON, one smooth unit.
- J'ai besoin d'un café, s'il vous plaît. — I need a coffee, please. de + un join into d'un — one sound.
Listening practice: Alice and Ali talk about age
Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Alice. J'ai vingt ans. Voilà Ali. Il a dix-huit ans. Nous avons faim et nous avons soif. Nous avons froid aussi. Voilà un café ! C'est bon. Merci beaucoup ! Au revoir, à bientôt !
Hello! My name is Alice. I am 20 years old. Here is Ali. He is 18 years old. We are hungry and we are thirsty. We are cold too. Here is a coffee! That's good. Thank you very much! Goodbye, see you soon!
Questions
- How old is Alice? 18 / 20 / 22 → 20
- How old is Ali? 18 / 20 / 30 → 18
- Which two feelings do they have first? Hungry and thirsty / Cold and afraid / Happy and tired → Hungry and thirsty
- What else do they feel? Afraid / Cold / Hot → Cold
- What do they get at the end? A coffee / A book / A car → A coffee
Remember this
- AVOIR = to have: j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont.
- je + ai always contract: j'ai — said 'zhay', one single sound.
- Age ALWAYS uses AVOIR: J'ai vingt ans = I am 20 years old.
- The pattern for age is: j'ai + number + ans.
- Liaison: nous avons = noo-ZA-von, vous avez = voo-ZA-vay, ils ont = eel-ZON.
- avoir faim = hungry, avoir soif = thirsty, avoir chaud = hot, avoir froid = cold.
- avoir peur = afraid, avoir besoin de = to need, avoir raison = to be right, avoir tort = to be wrong.
- Never translate word by word — learn j'ai faim as one block.
- Both ÊTRE and AVOIR are irregular, so the tables must be memorised, not guessed.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Je suis vingt ans. | J'ai vingt ans. | Age uses AVOIR in French. English says 'I am twenty'; French says 'I have twenty years'. |
| Je ai faim. | J'ai faim. | je + ai always contract to j'ai — one smooth sound, 'zhay'. |
| Je suis faim. | J'ai faim. | Hunger is something you 'have' in French, not something you 'are'. |
| Nous avant faim. | Nous avons faim. | The form is avons, not avant. avant is a different word (before). |
| Je suis froid. | J'ai froid. | Je suis froid means 'I am a cold person' (cold in character). To say your body feels cold, use j'ai froid. |
Practice questions
- Complete: J'___ vingt ans. ai / as / a / avons — ai
- Complete: Nous ___ faim. avons / avez / ont / a — avons
- Complete: Tu ___ soif ? a / as / ai / avez — as
- How do you say 'I am 20 years old'? Je suis vingt ans. / J'ai vingt ans. / Je vais vingt ans. / J'ai vingt. — J'ai vingt ans.
- 'avoir faim' literally means: to have hunger / to be hungry / to eat food / to be full — to have hunger
- 'J'ai froid' means: I'm hot / I'm cold / I'm hungry / I'm thirsty — I'm cold
- 'avoir besoin de' means: to be afraid / to need / to be right / to be hot — to need
- Complete: Ils ___ soif. a / ont / avez / as — ont
- Which is NOT a correct form of AVOIR? j'ai / vous avez / tu as / je ai — je ai
- How do you say 'I am wrong'? J'ai tort. / J'ai raison. / Je suis tort. / J'ai peur. — J'ai tort.
Homework (15 minutes)
1) Write the full AVOIR table from memory. 2) Write five true sentences about yourself: your age (j'ai ... ans), one thing you have (j'ai un/une ...), and three feelings (j'ai faim / j'ai soif / j'ai froid). 3) Say j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont out loud ten times, concentrating on the liaisons. 4) Record yourself saying J'ai vingt ans and check that it sounds like 'zhay', not 'zhuh ay'.
Lesson 9 of 45 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2