# avoir conjugation

[Kin](https://learnwithkin.com/) › [French](https://learnwithkin.com/french) › [French verb conjugations](https://learnwithkin.com/french/conjugations)
Updated 2026-11-02 · HTML version: https://learnwithkin.com/french/conjugations/avoir

> *Avoir* means "to have". The present is *j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont*. The passé composé is *j'ai eu*, the imparfait *j'avais*, the future *j'aurai* and the subjunctive *que j'aie*. It's also the helper verb for the passé composé of almost every other verb: *j'ai mangé*, I ate.

**Diagram.** In the present, nous avons and vous avez look regular, and the other four are short and irregular: ai, as, a, ont. The future swaps the stem for aur-, then takes the normal endings.
> The conjugation of avoir as two grids, singular on the left and plural on the right. Present: j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont, with ai, as, a and ont marked as irregular. Future: j'aurai, tu auras, il aura, nous aurons, vous aurez, ils auront, with the stem aur- marked.
- avoir, present: **ai**, **as**, **a**, avons, avez, **ont**.
- avoir, future: **aur**ai, **aur**as, **aur**a, **aur**ons, **aur**ez, **aur**ont.
- Bold marks the letters that break the pattern.
- **Red pencil** is what breaks the pattern, **graphite** is the normal endings.
- *Ils ont* (they have) and *ils sont* (they are) differ by one sound: a *z* for *ont*, an *s* for *sont*.

**avoir** — to have. *J'ai*.

## Present (présent)

*The everyday present: what you do, what's true, what's going on.*


| Pronoun | avoir | Say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| je (j') | ai | zhay |
| tu | as | tew AH |
| il / elle / on | a | eel AH |
| nous | avons | noo za-VOHN |
| vous | avez | voo za-VAY |
| ils / elles | ont | eel ZOHN |

*Je* turns into *j'* before *ai*. *Nous avons* and *vous avez* link with a *z* sound. And listen for *ils ont* (eel ZOHN, they have) against *ils sont* (eel SOHN, they are): one sound apart.

## Past (passé composé)

*The everyday past, for things that happened: "I was", "I had". It's avoir or être plus the past participle.*


| Pronoun | avoir | Say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| je (j') | ai eu | zhay EW |
| tu | as eu | tew ah EW |
| il / elle / on | a eu | eel ah EW |
| nous | avons eu | noo za-vohn ZEW |
| vous | avez eu | voo za-vay ZEW |
| ils / elles | ont eu | eel zohn TEW |

The participle is just *eu*, said like the French *u*: lips rounded, tongue forward. *J'ai eu de la chance* is "I was lucky", literally "I had some luck".

## Imperfect (imparfait)

*The past for how things were or used to be: "I was tired", "we used to have a dog".*


| Pronoun | avoir | Say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| je (j') | avais | zha-VEH |
| tu | avais | tew a-VEH |
| il / elle / on | avait | eel a-VEH |
| nous | avions | noo za-VYOHN |
| vous | aviez | voo za-VYAY |
| ils / elles | avaient | eel za-VEH |

Regular: *av-* plus the imparfait endings. *Il y avait* is "there was" or "there used to be", the opening of half the stories you'll read.

## Future, conditional and subjunctive

*"Will" and "would", plus the subjunctive: the form French uses after il faut que, je veux que and other wishes and doubts.*


| Pronoun | Futur | Conditionnel | Subjonctif |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| je (j') | aurai | aurais | aie |
| tu | auras | aurais | aies |
| il / elle / on | aura | aurait | ait |
| nous | aurons | aurions | ayons |
| vous | aurez | auriez | ayez |
| ils / elles | auront | auraient | aient |

The future and conditional are built on *aur-*: *j'aurai le temps demain* (I'll have time tomorrow). The subjunctive *aie* sounds just like *ai*, so *que j'aie* and *j'ai* are only different on paper.

## Participles

*The "-ing" form (étant, being) and the past participle that makes the passé composé (été, been).*


| Form | avoir | In a sentence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| present participle | ayant | *Ayant fini, il est parti* (having finished, he left) |
| past participle | eu | *J'ai eu peur* (I was scared) |

## Imperative (impératif)

*Commands: telling someone to do something, or not to.*


| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
| --- | --- | --- |
| tu | aie | n'aie pas |
| nous | ayons | n'ayons pas |
| vous | ayez | n'ayez pas |

You'll mostly hear the negative: *n'aie pas peur*, don't be afraid.

## Where French says have and English says be

*Things you have in French*

| French | English |
| --- | --- |
| j'ai 30 ans | I'm 30 |
| j'ai faim | I'm hungry |
| j'ai soif | I'm thirsty |
| j'ai chaud / froid | I'm hot / cold |
| j'ai peur | I'm scared |
| j'ai raison | I'm right |
| il y a | there is, there are |

**Avoir besoin de** is "to need" (*j'ai besoin d'aide*, I need help), and **avoir envie de** is "to feel like" (*j'ai envie d'un café*, I feel like a coffee). And careful with *je suis chaud*: that's not "I'm hot". [Why](https://learnwithkin.com/french/embarrassing-words).

- **Looking a word up once doesn't mean you'll remember it.** The verb you look up today is gone by tomorrow. The one that keeps showing up in stuff you'd read anyway, right when you're about to forget it, is the one that sticks.
- **No streaks, no guilt.** Kin tracks one number: how many words you've got in reach today. It drops when you take a break and comes back when you do.

## Questions

### What is the passé composé of avoir?

*J'ai eu, tu as eu, il a eu, nous avons eu, vous avez eu, ils ont eu*. It's *avoir* plus its own participle, *eu*.

### What is the future of avoir?

*J'aurai, tu auras, il aura, nous aurons, vous aurez, ils auront*. The stem is *aur-*.

### What is the subjunctive of avoir?

*Que j'aie, que tu aies, qu'il ait, que nous ayons, que vous ayez, qu'ils aient*. *Aie* sounds the same as *ai*.

### What is the imparfait of avoir?

*J'avais, tu avais, il avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient*. *Il y avait* means "there was".

### What's the difference between ils ont and ils sont?

*Ils ont* (they have) is said with a *z*: eel ZOHN. *Ils sont* (they are) is said with an *s*: eel SOHN.

## Related

- [être conjugation](https://learnwithkin.com/french/conjugations/etre.md)
- [French verb conjugations](https://learnwithkin.com/french/conjugations.md)
- [French words that will get you laughed at](https://learnwithkin.com/french/embarrassing-words.md)

---

Want this remembered rather than looked up? That's what Kin does: short stories about what you're into, written for your level. Tap any word you don't know, and Kin brings it back right before you'd forget it. Find your level, free: https://learnwithkin.com/start