38) To have instead of to be

Where we always use the verb ‘to be’ in English, the French occasionally use the verb ‘to have’. So instead of saying ‘John is hungry’, you say ‘John has hunger’. The adjectives that use ‘avoir’ rather than ‘etre’ are below:

To be hungry

To be thirsty

To be sleepy

To be warm

To be cold

To be right

To be wrong

‘Avoir’ is used when talking about your age. Rather than say ‘I am 7 years old’, you say ‘I have 7 years’.

Faim Hungry

J’ai faim I’m hungry

Il a faim He is hungry

Elle a faim She is hungry

Nous avons faim We are hungry

Vous avez faim You are hungry

Ils ont faim They are hungry

Soif Thirsty

J’ai soif I am thirsty

Il a le sommeil He’s sleepy

Elle a chaud She’s warm

Nous avons froid We’re cold

Vous avez raison You are right

Ils ont tort They are wrong

J’avais soif I was thirsty

Je vais avoir soif I’m going to be thirsty

J’aurai soif demain I will be thirsty tomorrow

Sommeil Sleepy

Il avait le sommeil he was sleepy

Il va avoir le sommeil He’s going to be sleepy

Il aura le sommeil ce soir He will be sleepy this evening

Chaud Warm

Elle avait chaud She was warm

Elle va avoir chaud She’s going to be warm

Elle aura chaud ce soir She’ll be warm tonight

Froid Cold

Nous avions froid We were cold

Nous allons avoir froid We’re going to be cold

Nous aurons froid ce soir We’ll be cold this evening

Raison Right

Vous aviez raison You were right

Vous allez avoir raison You’re going to be right

Vous aurez raison la semaine prochaine You’ll be right next week

Tort Wrong

Ils avaient tort They were wrong

Ils vont avoir tort They’re going to be wrong

Ils auront tort demain matin They’ll be wrong tomorrow morning