I can say how old I am, what I have, and that I'm thirsty or in a hurry — in Italian, all of this is said with the verb avere.
Avere: what you have and how old you are
Avere: what you have and how old you are
Avere is how you say your age, what you have, and how you feel.
Avere changes with the person: io ho, tu hai, lui/lei ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro hanno.
Four forms start with h: written, never pronounced, unlike English h. ho sounds like o (“or”), hanno like anno (“year”). Never drop the h in writing; by ear, only the meaning tells these pairs apart.
Age: Quanti anni hai? — Ho vent'anni. English says “I'm twenty” with be; Italian uses avere, “I have twenty years”. Before anni, venti and trenta drop their last vowel: vent'anni, trent'anni.
Hunger, thirst, heat, cold, sleepiness, fear, and hurry work the same way: in English you are hungry or cold; in Italian you “have” hunger or cold: Ho fame, Ho freddo.
“I have a brother” — Ho un fratello, “I have a sister” — Ho una sorella (un and una are part of the set phrase here; the rule comes later).
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Sono trenta anni” → “Ho trent'anni”.
• NOT “Sono freddo” → “Ho freddo” (otherwise it means “I'm a cold person”).
• NOT “o fame” → “ho fame” (always write the h).
• NOT “Lui hanno fretta” → “Lui ha fretta”.
Avere in the present tense
The letter h is written but never pronounced: ho ≠ o, hanno ≠ anno.
| Pronoun | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| io | ho | Ho un fratello. |
| tu | hai | Hai fame? |
| lui / lei / Lei | ha | Signora, quanti anni ha? |
| noi | abbiamo | Abbiamo sete. |
| voi | avete | Avete freddo? |
| loro | hanno | Hanno fretta. |
States with avere
English uses “be” for these states (I'm hungry); Italian requires avere.
| In Italian | Literally | In English |
|---|---|---|
| avere fame | to have hunger | to be hungry |
| avere sete | to have thirst | to be thirsty |
| avere caldo | to have heat | to be hot |
| avere freddo | to have cold | to be cold |
| avere sonno | to have sleep | to be sleepy |
| avere paura | to have fear | to be afraid |
| avere fretta | to have hurry | to be in a hurry |
Lesson notes
Avere: what you have and how old you are
Avere is how you say your age, what you have, and how you feel.
Avere changes with the person: io ho, tu hai, lui/lei ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro hanno.
Four forms start with h: written, never pronounced, unlike English h. ho sounds like o (“or”), hanno like anno (“year”). Never drop the h in writing; by ear, only the meaning tells these pairs apart.
Age: Quanti anni hai? — Ho vent'anni. English says “I'm twenty” with be; Italian uses avere, “I have twenty years”. Before anni, venti and trenta drop their last vowel: vent'anni, trent'anni.
Hunger, thirst, heat, cold, sleepiness, fear, and hurry work the same way: in English you are hungry or cold; in Italian you “have” hunger or cold: Ho fame, Ho freddo.
“I have a brother” — Ho un fratello, “I have a sister” — Ho una sorella (un and una are part of the set phrase here; the rule comes later).
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Sono trenta anni” → “Ho trent'anni”.
• NOT “Sono freddo” → “Ho freddo” (otherwise it means “I'm a cold person”).
• NOT “o fame” → “ho fame” (always write the h).
• NOT “Lui hanno fretta” → “Lui ha fretta”.