French learners are faced with the need to memorize many verbs, their endings and tenses. One of the most used is the representative of the 3 avoir group. It is necessary to know its conjugation, because, firstly, it is used in many stable turns, and secondly, it is an auxiliary verb for the formation of several temporary forms.
The meaning of the verb
Its main meaning is “to have, to possess something”
- As-tu un chat? - Do you have a cat?
- Cet enfant a beaucoup de jouets. - This child (has) a lot of toys.
In this sense, it is equivalent to English to have . In the translation, the word "is", as a rule, is omitted.
Another meaning is “get, own something”
- J'aimerais avoir un colier d'or. - I would like to get a gold necklace.
Conjugation of the verb avoir in the indicative and conditional subjunctive
Consider how the verb forms change in tenses such as the present (Présent), the incomplete past (Imparfait), the future simple (Futur Simple), the past complex (Passé composé), as well as in the conditional (Subjonctif) and the subjunctive (Subjonctif) moods.
In the Présent de l'indicatif, the conjugation of the French verb avoir should be remembered. The task is facilitated by the fact that in almost all forms, except for the 3 plural, there is an initial vowel infinitive, and the pronunciation of all forms occurs according to the rules. Imparfait has the following pattern: two initial letters (-av) are taken from the infinitive, the corresponding endings starting with –ai (-ais, -ais, -ait, -aient), and the vowel -i (-ions, - iez).
In Futur, the conjugation of the verb avoir is characterized by the presence of the consonant -r before the ending, with the stem changing to -aur. By carefully looking at the table, you can see that the endings in Futur Simple are identical to the endings in Présent, only the basics change.
In the present conditional mood (Présent du conditionnel) the basis is the same as in the future simple (-aur), and the endings coincide with Imparfait. In the present tense subjunctive (Présent du subjonctif) before the unpronounceable endings, the basis -ai is used (for 1,2.3 singular and 3 plural), and -ay is used before the pronounced (for 2 and 3 plural).
Finally, the Passé Composé, without which the French cannot spoken or written, requires the participation of both the main verb in the form of the past participle and the auxiliary conjugation verb. In the case of avoir, you need to use this verb twice: first as an auxiliary verb (forms will coincide with conjugation in the present tense), then its participle eu .
Using the verb as an auxiliary
To form Passé Composé, you need to know the conjugation of the verb avoir in the present tense. It is to him (less often to être) that the participles of semantic verbs will be attached. The image shows how the Passé Composé formation process takes place. The participles needed for conjugation can be found in dictionaries and reference books. For the correct verbs of groups 1 and 2, it is enough just to discard the final consonant -r from the infinitive, and in the first group additionally put the accent aigu (é) over the final vowel -e.
Example: parler - j'ai parlé (1 group); rougir - tu as rougi (group 2); être - elle a été; mettre - nous avons mis (group 3), etc.
Persistent Phrases
For learners of French, conjugation of the verb avoir is needed to replenish their lexical baggage. In the following expressions presented in the table, nouns without articles are added to the verb.
avoir | faim / soif froid / chaud besoin de mal à (+ body part) honte de envie de sommeil lieu peur de | to experience hunger and thirst, respectively to freeze (about a person or an animal) and, conversely, feel the heat have a need, need something have pain in a particular place be ashamed of want something, feel like possessing something or doing something feel drowsy take place (about the event) to be afraid, afraid |
Combinations in which a noun is used with a specific article can also be added to this list. As a rule, the preposition de and the infinitive continue them.
- Avoir le temps - keep up, have time.
- Avoir l'habitude - have a habit.
- Avoir la chance - to work out.
- Avoir l'idée - come up, think.
These and other constructions will decorate colloquial and written speech, and after learning the conjugation of the verb avoir , they will be easy to apply in any situation.