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The Italian Verb to Have

The verb to have in Italian is avere. It’s one of the most commonly used verbs in the language and an essential part of everyday conversation. Avere expresses possession, relationships, feelings, and many physical or emotional states. Like all Italian verbs, it must be conjugated depending on the subject of the sentence. You’ll also encounter avere as an auxiliary verb in compound tenses, so mastering it early will help you form more complex sentences later.

Conjugation of Avere in the Present Tense

The present tense forms of avere are irregular and must be memorized. Notice that some forms begin with an h, such as ho, hai, ha, and hanno. The letter h is completely silent in Italian, but it’s written to distinguish these forms from other short words like o (or) and a (to).

Italian	English
Io ho	I have
Tu hai	You have (informal)
Lui/Lei ha	He/She has
Lei ha	You have (formal)
Noi abbiamo	We have
Voi avete	You have (plural)
Loro hanno	They have

When pronouncing abbiamo and hanno, pay attention to the double consonants bb and nn. In Italian, double consonants are slightly longer and stronger than single ones.

Examples with Avere

The most common use of avere is to express possessionm things you own or have. Let’s start with some basic examples:

Ho un fratello e una sorella.

I have a brother and a sister.

Tu hai un gatto.

You have a cat.

Silvia ha tanti amici.

Silvia has many friends.

Noi abbiamo un grande appartamento.

We have a big apartment.

Lei ha molti vestiti.

She has many clothes.

Avere is also used in many everyday expressions related to age, health, and emotions. In these cases, English uses the verb to be, but Italian uses to have. For example:

Ho fame.

I am hungry. (literally: I have hunger.)

Lei ha sonno.

She is sleepy. (literally: She has sleep.)

Noi abbiamo freddo.

We are cold. (literally: We have cold.)

Hai ragione!

You are right! (literally: You have reason!)

Negative Form

To make a sentence negative with avere, simply place non directly before the verb. The structure is straightforward, and nothing else in the sentence changes.

Non ho molto tempo.

I do not have much time.

Non ho un cane.

I do not have a dog.

Non ho molti soldi.

I do not have a lot of money.

Remember: non always goes right before the verb. This rule applies to all Italian verbs, not just avere.

Questions with Avere

Asking questions with avere is easy, just raise your voice at the end of the sentence. There’s no need to change the word order like in English. In writing, simply add a question mark.

Hai dei fratelli?

Do you have any brothers?

Avete una macchina?

Do you have a car?

Lui ha un fidanzato?

Does he have a boyfriend?

Avere as an Auxiliary Verb

Besides its meaning to have, avere also serves as an auxiliary (helping) verb when forming compound tenses, such as the past tense (passato prossimo). For example: Ho mangiato means I have eaten, where ho comes from avere. Most Italian verbs use avere in compou