avoir peur de = to be afraid of The French phrase avoir peur de is another example of a French expression that uses avoir, to have, where English uses to be. Eg.: Robert a peur des araignées. = Robert is afraid of spiders. See if you can translate the following sentences. J’ai peur de ton … Read more
j’ai faim (zhay* FEH)** = I am hungry In English, we use the phrase “I am hungry” to let someone know we need food. In this sentence “am,” the being word, is used. To make the same statement in French, avoir (the having word) is used. The French phrase for “I am hungry,” j’ai faim, … Read more
French uses the verb avoir to tell how old someone is.
How old are you?
Quel âge as-tu? (kel ahzh* ah tyoo)**
I am ten years old.
J’ai dix ans. (zhay* deez ah)**
Read the question, then answer in French.
Quel âge as-tu?
J’ai…
* zh sounds like “g” in beige or “s” in measure.
** Please keep in mind that these pronunciation guides give only a
crude approximation of the actual French sounds.
For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart’s Avoir Workpages.
j’ai soif (zhay* SWAHF)** = I am thirsty
In English, we use the phrase “I am thirsty” to let someone know we need a drink. In this sentence “am,” the being word, is used. To make the same statement in French, avoir (the having word) is used. The French phrase for “I am thirsty,” j’ai soif, uses the having verb avoir. Even though this phrase literally means “I have thirst,” we would translate it as “I am thirsty,” because that is how we would say it in English.
This is what the different forms of this phrase look like in the
present tense.
| j’ai soif -I am thirsty |
nous avons soif -we are thirsty |
| tu as soif -you are thirsty |
vous avez soif -you are thirsty |
| il a soif -he is thirsty |
ils ont soif -they are thirsty |
| elle a soif -she is thirsty |
elles ont soif -they are thirsty |
For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart’s Avoir Workpages.
Avoir (to have) is used in many common expressions in French. Some of these are quite different from English, so you must memorize them. 1. avoir chaud (a-VWAHR shoh)*- to be hot2. avoir froid (a-VWAHR frwah)- to be cold3. avoir mal (a-VWAHR mal)- to be sick4. avoir faim (a-VWAHR fay)- to be hungry5. avoir soif … Read more