Avere

Arno River, Florence, Italy:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/11/27/20/28/florence-1066307_960_720.jpg

Avere (to have)

Avere looks like this when conjugated in the present tense:

Io ho
Tu hai
Lui ha
Lei ha
Noi abbiamo
Voi avete
Loro hanno

* Don't forget that the "H" is silent in Italian! Don't say "Ho," say "Oh"; don't say "Ha," say "ah" etc.

This verb translates directly into "to have" when we are talking about ownership/ family relations...

• Ho una macchina rossa. (I have a red car)
• Lei ha due figli. (She has two children.)

However, when we get into idiomatic uses, it's often quite different than English.

For example, don't try to use "avere" with expressions such as...

• Have dinner, have fun, have a good time, have lunch, have a party, etc.

In addition, lots of italian expressions use "avere" where we would use the verb "to be"...


Two examples are:

• Ho freddo (I "am" cold)
• Ho 20 anni (I "am" 20 years old)

For more of these common "avere" expressions, check out this Quizlet page...

http://quizlet.com/_8ha87

And here is a YouTube video that runs through the pronunciation of the forms of this verb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bI4og_1JUU

And, if you are feeling a little retro, here is a video of Connie Francis singing at the annual San Remo music festival way back in 1965. It's called "Ho Bisogno di Vederti"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtJml27G9Q&playnext=1&list=PL74D859676CB55412&feature=results_video


Ciao!