French Podcast Transcripts

TEN French expressions with ‘To HAVE’ you need to know

TEN French expressions with ‘AVOIR’ you have to know: Today, I will teach TEN French expressions with ‘AVOIR’ you have to know whereas they use the verb ‘TO BE’ in English. Knowing them will help you communicate better and faster with French people. Maybe you already know that French says “I have hunger” and not “I am hungry’ but do you know any others?

First, the verb ‘AVOIR’ (to have) in French is used just like in English. Avoir is either used to express possession or as an auxiliary when using past tenses. An auxiliary is a verb that helps another verb expressed his tense, voice, or mood.
As a French as a foreign language teacher, I have a lot of student mistakenly using ‘To be’ instead of ‘To have’ when expressing emotions, feelings, and also specific use of to have such as to be lucky in English is ‘to have luck’ in French.

Pour commencer, nous allons apprendre le verbe avoir. To start, we have to know how to use the verb ‘AVOIR’ to have in French. Avoir is a highly irregular verb, meaning that AVOIR don not follow a pattern, and that you need to learn the verbs at present tense for every subject. I know this is tedious but we together we can do it! Now, I assume that you know he French subject pronouns? Subject pronouns are words such as I, She, We… I in French is JE, but Je will turn into J’ in front of a verb starting with a vowel.
Alors, commençons!

J’ai
Tu as
Il a
Elle a
On a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont

Please take time to practice and focus on the right pronunciation. You have to link nous avons, vous avez, ils ont, elles ont with a z sound. The subject pronoun ‘ON” is mostly used in spoken French instead of ‘WE’ and you have to pronounce ‘On A’ by linking on and a.

#1 French expressions: Age

Quel âge as-tu ? Quel âge avez-vous ? When you hear this, someone is asking ‘How old are you? In French we say ‘What age do you have?. When replying, you must use ‘AVOIR’ and you must add the noun ‘Ans’ after your age such as ‘J’ai trente quatre ans’, ‘Elle
a vingt-trois ans…..tu as quarante six ans’ … Of course, you have to know your numbers! Age can be used for people, pets, wines, antiques, and so on….

#2 French expressions: Avoir faim/Avoir soif

To be hungry translates into ’avoir faim’. You don’t voice any ‘M’ sound, and you use the nasal vowel ‘AIM’ with your lips half-closed and stretched and your tongue in the back of your throat.. J’ai faim: I am hungry. Tu as faim ? Are you hungry ?
To be thirsty translates into ‘Avoir soif’ with the sound ‘OI’ same that the wha in ‘what’. J’ai soif : I am thirsty … Nous avons soif : we are thirsty.

#3 French expressions: Avoir chaud/ avoir froid

To be hot translates into ‘avoir chaud’. You don’t pronounce the D sound at the end, and you pronounce like the sh in short, let’s try
J’ai chaud : I am hot …. Il a chaud : he is hot… Please note that if you need to use it to state that something is hot, then you should use ‘C’est chaud” (this is hot or it is hot)
To be cold translates into ‘avoir froid’.. Again don’t pronounce the D at the end, j’ai froid : I am cold… Vous avez froid ? Are you cold (formal)

#4 French expressions: Avoir peur

To be afraid/scared translates into ‘Avoir peur’. Just like in Butter, j’ai peu : I am scared Tu as peur : You are scared.

#5 And know the fifth : Avoir sommeil

To be sleepy translates into ‘Avoir sommeil’.. The sound at the end is ‘y’ like in ‘yes’, J’ai sommeil : I am sleepy … Nous avons sommeil : We are sleepy

#6 French expressions: Avoir de la chance

To be lucky translates into ‘Avoir de la chance’ (to have some luck).. not Chance, but chance, .. J’ai de la chance : I am lucky
Tu as de la chance : You are lucky

#7 French expressions: Avoir l’air

To look like, to seem translates into ‘Avoir l’air+adjective’… This is a very common French expression, say you want to tell someone ‘You look tired’ = Tu as l’air fatiguée , ‘You look happy’ = Tu as l’air content (if masculine), tu as l’air contente (if feminine), ‘You look
Sick” = Tu as l’air malade, and of course, be nice to French people, a little flattery is always appreciated and learn how to tell them ‘You look good’ : Tu as l’air en forme or you can also say ‘Tu as bonne mine’ or vous avez l’air en forme, vous avez bonne mine (if you need to be formal)

#8 French expressions: Avoir besoin de

We don’t have a verb for ‘To need’… the way we say is ‘To have need for’…. To need translates into ‘Avoir besoin de’
Remember to always use the preposition ‘DE’ after..
J’ai besoin de partir : I need to leave
Nous avons besoin de trouver un taxi : We need to find a cab

Now, the ‘DE’ will turn into ‘D’ in front of a word with a vowel such as
J’ai besoin d’argent : I need money
J’ai besoin d’être à la gare à huit heure : I need to be at the train station at eight.

#9 French expressions: Avoir envie de

To feel like/ to want translates into ‘avoir envie de’… This is also a real common expression in French.. And don’t forget to add the ‘DE’ at the end.

J’ai envie de manger des frites : I feel like eating fries or I want to eat fries, Tu as envie d’aller te promener : Do you feel like going for walk? Qu’est-ce que tu as envie de faire ? What do you feel like doing?
J’ai envie de sortir: I want go out/ I feel like going out (depending on the context, going out as partying or exiting) And now the last of the TEN French expressions with ‘AVOIR’ you have to know

#10 And the last one: Avoir raison/avoir tort

To be right translates into ‘avoir raison’… This is one of the most common mistakes from students.. Remember in French, we say ‘I have reason’ when stating ‘I am right’…. J’ai raison, tu as raison (only if you think that the other person is right), nous avons raison….
And if you need to say you are wrong (I am sure this will never happen) ; J’ai tort, don’t pronounce the T at the end. J’ai tort, tu as tort, vous avez tort…

Voilà, you made it to the end, and now you know all these must-know expressions TEN French expressions with ‘AVOIR’ you have to know.. again, practice, practice, practice…. And give yourself a big applause!! Thank you for listening my podcast. I know there were a few sound issues but they are getting fixed. I am here to share my knowledge with you and help you make the most of your travel to France! Merci encore une fois. And if no one has told you today, you are such a terrific person! The next episodes will be centered around the holidays and winter sports! Please share, comment, and subscribe!

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