Avere = to have
Avere means to have. It covers more than English to have: in Italian you also have your age and many sensations such as hunger, thirst or cold. The forms are irregular, so you learn them by heart.
avere (to have) — present
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | ho | I have |
| tu | hai | you have |
| lui / lei | ha | he / she has |
| noi | abbiamo | we have |
| voi | avete | you have (plural) |
| loro | hanno | they have |
avere
The silent H
The h in ho, hai, ha and hanno is never pronounced: you say o, ai, a, anno, with no breath at all. In English the h of have is audible, so this takes getting used to. The h exists only in writing and keeps the verb forms apart from words that sound the same.
Pairs that sound the same
ho
[ɔ]
I have
o
[ɔ]
or
hanno
[ˈanno]
they have
anno
[ˈanno]
year
What you use avere for
Possessions and family
Ho una macchina piccola.
I have a small car.
Hai fratelli o sorelle?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Avete già i biglietti?
Do you already have the tickets?
Age
In English you are thirty, in Italian you have thirty years. The word anni is part of it.
Quanti anni hai?
How old are you?
Ho venticinque anni.
I am twenty-five.
Mia figlia ha otto anni.
My daughter is eight.
Hunger, cold, sleep and more
English uses to be plus an adjective (I am hungry, I am cold). Italian uses avere plus a noun, without an article: ho fame, not ho la fame. For “tired” there are two ways: ho sonno means sleepy, sono stanco means worn out.
Ho fame, andiamo a mangiare?
I am hungry, shall we go and eat?
I bambini hanno freddo.
The children are cold.
Abbiamo fretta.
We are in a hurry.
