Un 3.3

Idiomatic Expressions with ‘avoir’

On its own, the verb ‘avoir’ usually translates into English as ‘to have’, but in other contexts, it can have many different meanings.

Explication

Exercices

Idiomatic Expressions – Les expressions idiomatiques

Idiomatic expressions are sayings with meanings that cannot be (clearly) understood from the words in the saying.

e.g.

We went on a wild goose chase.	We did not actually go hunting feathered animals.
Break a leg!	I don’t actually want you to hurt yourself (or someone else) during the performance.

These sayings are plentiful in all languages, and add to their uniqueness. For language learners, idiomatic expressions can be a challenge, however, as word-for-word translating won’t help. It’s necessary to pay special attention to these expressions and memorize the most common and useful ones.

Idiomatic Expressions with ‘avoir’ – Expressions idiomatiques avec le verbe ‘avoir’

The verb ‘avoir’ is used in many idiomatic expressions, including:

avoir besoin de	to need (to)
avoir chaud	to feel hot
avoir de la chance	to be lucky
avoir de la patience	to be patient
avoir du sens	to make sense
avoir envie de	to want (to)
avoir faim	to be hungry
avoir froid	to feel cold
avoir honte (de)	to be ashamed (of)
avoir lieu	to take place; to occur; to happen
avoir peur (de)	to be afraid (of)
avoir mal	to hurt/be in pain
avoir raison	to be correct (about an answer to a question)
avoir soif	to be thirsty
avoir sommeil	to be sleepy
avoir tort	to be wrong (about an answer to a question)
avoir X ans	to be X years old
il y a	there is/are

The verb ‘avoir’ in these expressions changes form depending on the sentence, as it would when on its own.

e.g.

J’ai vingt ans.	I’m twenty (years old).
Nous avons besoin d’une grande fête.	We need a big party.

In the expression ‘il y a’, only the 3rd person singular is used, with the meaning ‘there is/are’. The singular is used, regardless of the singular/plural nature of the described objects.

e.g.