Напишите нам: mail@lingo.com.ru

The Italian verb avere (to have, to possess)

The verb avere is one of the most important verbs in Italian. It can be translated as «to have, to possess».

Avere is an irregular verb. Here is the conjugation of the verb avere in Present tense (Presente):

io ho – I have
tu hai – you have
lui/lei/Lei ha – he / she has
noi abbiamo – we have
voi avete – you have (2nd person plural)
loro hanno – they have

When do we use the verb avere?

1
When we own or possess something:
Но una macchina. – I have a car.
2
As an auxiliary verb:
Abbiamo comprato una macchina. – We bought a car.
3
In some expressions that indicate a state of mind or physical condition:
Но freddo. – I'm cold, I'm freezing.
Abbiamo paura del buio. – We are afraid of the dark.
4
Meaning «to get, to buy:
Ho avuto queste scarpe per poco prezzo. – I got these shoes for little money.
Abbiamo avuto un lavoro. – We got a job.
5
The verb avere is also used to indicate age:
avere vent'anni – to be twenty years old
avere cinquant'anni – to be fifty years old
Quanti anni hai? – Ho vent'anni.
Сколько тебе лет? – I am twenty years old.

To form a negative sentence, we just need to place the particle «non» in front of the desired form of the verb avere.

For example:
io + non ho = I don't have
noi + non abbiamo = we don't have

Personal pronouns + the verb avere

The personal pronoun (io, tu, lui, etc.) is omitted in the sentence, as it is already clear who it is about (depending on the form of the verb used or due to the context).
Non ho la tua borsa. – I don't have your bag.
Non abbiamo nulla. — We don't have anything / We have nothing.

The verb avere in interrogative sentences

To form an interrogative sentence, it is enough to change the intonation:
Hai dieci euro? – Do you have ten euros?

To form an interrogative sentence, it is enough to change the intonation:

avere fame – to be hungry
avere sete – to be thirsty
avere caldo – to feel warm, hot
avere freddo – to feel cold, chilly
avere sonno – to feel sleepy, to want to sleep
avere paura di – to fear, to be afraid
avere fretta – to be in a hurry
avere tempo – to have (free) time
avere ragione – to be right
avere torto – to be wrong
avere bisogno di – to feel the need (to)
avere da fare – to be busy
avere mal di testa/di dente – to have a headache / toothache
avere febbre – to have a fever
avere voglia di – to want
avere in mente di – to be about to (do something)
avere senso – to make sense
avere pazienza – to have patience
avere vergogna – to be ashamed
avere successo – to have success

The verb avere can also be used in idioms:

avere un cervello di gallina – to be birdbrained / to have a birdbrain
avere una bella faccia tosta – to be a saucebox / smart aleck
avere i peli sul cuore – to have a heart of stone
avere la coda di paglia – to have one's face in the trough
avere la testa tra le nuvole – to have one's head in the clouds