avoir
French
Alternative forms
- havoir
Etymology
From Middle French avoir, from Old French avoir, aveir, aver, from Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“have, hold, possess”), probably from a Proto-Italic *habēō or *haβēō, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰ- (“to grab, to take”). Influenced and reinforced by similar (yet etymologically unrelated) verbs in Germanic; compare Frankish *habēn, Frankish *hebōn (“to have”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (haban, “to have”).
See closer cognates in regional languages in France: Angevin avouèr, Bourbonnais-Berrichon avoér, Bourguignon aivoi, Champenois aouâr, Corsican avè, Franco-Provençal avêr, Franc-Comtois aivoi, Gallo avair, Lorrain ahoir, Norman avaer, Occitan aver, Picard avoèr, Tourangeau avouèr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.vwaʁ/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -waʁ
Noun
avoir m (plural avoirs)
- asset, possession
Verb
avoir
- (transitive) to have (to own; to possess)
- J'aimerais avoir 20 dollars. ― I would like to have 20 dollars.
- (intransitive) to have (to), must [+ à (object)]
- J'ai à vous parler. ― I have to talk to you.
- (auxiliary) to have (auxiliary verb to form compound past tenses of most verbs)
- J'ai parlé. ― I have spoken, I spoke.
- Qu'est-ce que vous m'avez fait ? ― What have you done to me?
- (transitive) to have (a condition)
- J'ai faim. ― I'm hungry. (literally, “I have hunger.”)
- J'ai froid. ― I'm cold. (literally, “I have cold.”)
- (transitive) to have (a measure or age)
- Elle a 19 ans. ― She is 19 years old. (literally, “She has 19 years.”)
- to have (to trick)
- Tu t'es fait avoir. ― You've been had.
- to have (to participate in an experience)
- avoir des relations sexuelles
- to have sexual relations
Usage notes
Avoir is often used with nouns like chaud (“heat”), faim (“hunger”), soif (“thirst”), peur (“fear”), etc. to express a personal condition or feeling, as shown in examples above. While constructions like être affamé (“to be starving/starved”) and être assoiffé (“to be thirsty”) exist, they are almost always used figuratively. It is always more natural to use avoir rather than être in the examples listed above, and other similar cases. In some cases, both verbs can be used, but with vastly different meanings:
- J'ai chaud. ― I'm hot. (I feel hot) (literally, “I have heat.”)
- Je suis chaud. ― I'm horny.
Conjugation
Conjugation of avoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | avoir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | ayant /ɛ.jɑ̃/ or /e.jɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | eu /y/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | ai /e/ | as /a/ | a /a/ | avons /a.vɔ̃/ | avez /a.ve/ | ont /ɔ̃/ |
| imperfect | avais /a.vɛ/ | avais /a.vɛ/ | avait /a.vɛ/ | avions /a.vjɔ̃/ | aviez /a.vje/ | avaient /a.vɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | eus /y/ | eus /y/ | eut /y/ | eûmes /ym/ | eûtes /yt/ | eurent /yʁ/ | |
| future | aurai or aurai /ɔ.ʁe/ or /o.ʁe/ | auras or auras /ɔ.ʁa/ or /o.ʁa/ | aura or aura /ɔ.ʁa/ or /o.ʁa/ | aurons or aurons /ɔ.ʁɔ̃/ or /o.ʁɔ̃/ | aurez or aurez /ɔ.ʁe/ or /o.ʁe/ | auront or auront /ɔ.ʁɔ̃/ or /o.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | aurais or aurais /ɔ.ʁɛ/ or /o.ʁɛ/ | aurais or aurais /ɔ.ʁɛ/ or /o.ʁɛ/ | aurait or aurait /ɔ.ʁɛ/ or /o.ʁɛ/ | aurions or aurions /ɔ.ʁjɔ̃/ or /o.ʁjɔ̃/ | auriez or auriez /ɔ.ʁje/ or /o.ʁje/ | auraient or auraient /ɔ.ʁɛ/ or /o.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | aie /ɛ/ | aies /ɛ/ | ait /ɛ/ | ayons /ɛ.jɔ̃/ or /e.jɔ̃/ | ayez /ɛ.je/ or /e.je/ | aient /ɛ/ |
| imperfect2 | eusse /ys/ | eusses /ys/ | eût /y/ | eussions /y.sjɔ̃/ | eussiez /y.sje/ | eussent /ys/ | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | aie /ɛ/ | — | ayons /ɛ.jɔ̃/ or /e.jɔ̃/ | ayez /ɛ.je/ or /e.je/ | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
Pages starting with “avoir”.
- en avoir plus qu'assez
- il y a
- l'avoir mauvaise
- n'avoir que faire
- n'y a-t-il
- un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras
- y a-t-il
- y avoir
See also
- être
Further reading
- “avoir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle French
Alternative forms
- avoyr
Etymology
From Old French avoir, aveir, from Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō (“have, hold, possess”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰ- (“to grab, to take”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aˈvwɛr/
Verb
avoir
- to have
- (auxiliary) to have (verb used to form the perfect tense)
Conjugation
- Like Modern French avoir, highly irregular
- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of avoir
| infinitive | simple | avoir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle1 or gerund2 | simple | ayant | |||||
| compound | present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | eu | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ie (i’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | ai, ay | as | a | avons | avez | ont |
| imperfect | avais | avais | avait | avions | aviez | avoient, avoyent | |
| past historic | eus | eus | eut | eusmes | eustes | eurent | |
| future | auroie, auroye | auras | aura | aurons | aurez | auront | |
| conditional | aurois | aurois | aurait | aurions | auriez | auroient, auroyent | |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ie (i’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ilz, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) | present | aie | aies | ait | ayons | ayez | aient, ayent |
| imperfect | eusse | eusses | eust | eussions | eussiez | eussent | |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | aie | — | ayons, aions | ayez, aiez | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679. | |||||||
| 2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180). | |||||||
Descendants
- French: avoir
References
- avoir on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
Old French
Alternative forms
- aveir, aver (archaic or northern)
- avoyr (alternative spelling)
Etymology
From Latin habēre.
Pronunciation
- (archaic) IPA(key): /aˈvei̯r/
- (classical) IPA(key): /aˈvoi̯r/
- (late) IPA(key): /aˈvo̯ɛr/
Verb
avoir
- to have
- (auxiliary) to have (verb used to form the perfect tense)
- to exist (there is/there are)
- c. 1200, Author unknown, Les quatres sohais Saint Martin:
- Un vilain ot en Normendie
- There was a peasant in Normandy
-
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
Conjugation of avoir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | avoir | avoir eü, eüṭ, oü, oüṭ | |||||
| gerund | en aiant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | aiant | ||||||
| past participle | eü, eüṭ, oü, oüṭ | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses | present | ai | as | a, aṭ | avons | avez | ont |
| imperfect | avoie, aveie | avoies, aveies | avoit, aveit | aviiens, aviens | aviiez, aviez | avoient, aveient | |
| preterite | oi | eüs, oüs | ot, out | eümes, oümes | eüstes, oüstes | orent | |
| future | avrai, arai | avras, aras | avra, ara | avrons, arons | avroiz, avreiz, avrez, aroiz, areiz, arez | avront, aront | |
| conditional | avroie, avreie, aroie, areie | avroies, avreies, aroies, areies | avroit, avreit, aroit, areit | avriiens, avriens, ariiens, ariens | avriiez, avriez, ariiez, ariez | avroient, avreient, aroient, areient | |
| compound tenses | present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses | present | aie | aies | aie, aieṭ, ait | aiiens, aions | aiiez | aient |
| imperfect | eüsse, oüsse | eüsses, oüsses | eüst, oüst | eüssons, eüssiens, oüssons, oüssiens | eüssoiz, eüssez, eüssiez, oüssoiz, oüssez, oüssiez | eüssent, oüssent | |
| compound tenses | past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | aies | — | aiiens, aions | aiiez | — | ||
Noun
avoir m (oblique plural avoirs, nominative singular avoirs, nominative plural avoir)
- possession; good
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- C'est mes avoirs, c'est mes tresorz.
- It is my possession, it is my treasure.
- C'est mes avoirs, c'est mes tresorz.
- circa 1250, Rutebeuf, Ci encoumence la vie de Sainte Marie l'Egypcienne:
- Robes, deniers ne autre avoir
Ne voloit de l'autrui avoir.- Not clothing, nor money, nor other possessions
Did she want to have from others.
- Not clothing, nor money, nor other possessions
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
Descendants
Several via the form aveir.
- Bourguignon: aivoi
- Gallo: aveir
- Middle French: avoir
- French: avoir
- Norman: aveir, aver
- Picard: avoèr
- Tourangeau: aveirĕ
- Walloon: aveur
- → Middle English: aver
- English: aver