Salut à tous! Hi everyone! Welcome back to the French Made Easy Podcast. This is episode number 16, numéro 16, and today we'll be learning how to conjugate the verb "avoir" ("to have") in the present tense. And you'll also learn the words for a few common pets!

Make sure you have your cheat sheet in front of you or the transcript, so you can follow along. And remember to download your exercises at the end of our lesson, so you can practice what you've learned. And it's free!

Vous êtes prêts? Are you ready? C'est parti. 

Alright, so in our last lesson, we learned that "être" ("to be") and "avoir" ("to have") are two very important verbs to learn. Why's that? Because they are probably the most used French verbs, but also because you'll need to know them to form past tenses, later on. 

So, I might sound like a broken record, but do yourself a favor and learn these two verb conjugations by heart! 

If you don't know how to conjugate "être" ("to be"), you can go and listen to episode 15. 

But for now, let's get straight into it and learn how to conjugate "avoir." ("to have")

Répétez après moi. Repeat after me.

• "J'ai" is "I have." J'ai. J'ai.

For example: "J'ai un chien." (I have a dog.) "J'ai un chien." 🐶

⚠️  By the way, here "je" ("I") changes to "J'" because "ai" starts with a vowel. So we don't say "je ai" but "j'ai."

Très bien. Next one: 

• "Tu as" is "you have." (Singular informal.) "Tu as." "Tu as." 

For example: "Tu as un chat." (You have a cat.) "Tu as un chat." 🐱

Good. Next: 

• "Il a" is "he has" or "it has." (for masculine nouns.) "Il a." "Il a." 

For example: "Il a un poisson rouge." (He has a goldfish.) "Il a un poisson rouge." 🐟

Ok, on passe au suivant, on to the next one: 

• "Elle a" is "she has" or "it has" (for feminine nouns.) "Elle a." "Elle a." 

For example: "Elle a un lapin." (She has a rabbit.) "Elle a un lapin." 🐰

Parfait. 

• "On a" is "one has" or "we have." (informal)

For example: "On a un oiseau." (We have a bird.) "On a un oiseau." 🐦

Bien. Good.

• "Nous avons" is "we have." "Nous avons." "Nous avons." 

For example: "Nous avons un hamster." (We have a hamster.)  "Nous avons un hamster." 🐹

⚠️ By the way, the “H” is silent in French. So even if it’s spelled the same way, “hamster” is pronounced without the “H”.

Parfait. Next. 

• "Vous avez" is "you have." Vous avez." "Vous avez." (plural or singular formal) 

For example: "Vous avez une souris." (You have a mouse.) "Vous avez une souris." 🐭

Great. 

• "Ils ont" is "they have" (masculine.) "Ils ont." "Ils ont."

For example: "Ils ont une tortue." (They have a turtle.) "Ils ont une tortue." 🐢

Le dernier, last one: 

• "Elles ont" is "they have." (feminine.) "Elles ont." "Elles ont."

For example: "Elles ont un serpent." (They have a snake.) "Elles ont un serpent." 🐍

On a presque fini! Almost done guys! Let's now repeat what we've learned. 

• "J'ai"  ("I have.")
• "Tu as" ("you have.") (informal.)
• "Il a" ("he has" or "it has.") (for masculine nouns.)
• "Elle a" ("she has" or "it has") (for feminine nouns.) 
• "On a" ("one has" or "we have.") (informal)
• "Nous avons" ("we have.") 
• "Vous avez" ("you have.") (plural or singular formal) 
• "Ils ont" (They have.") (masculine)
• "Elles ont" ("they have.") (feminine.) 

✍️ Now, it's your turn. Let me know in the comments over at mathildekien.com: est-ce que vous avez un animal de compagnie? (do you have a pet?)

That brings us to the end of our lesson, thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to download your lesson's exercises by clicking the link in the episode's notes. Make sure you hit subscribe, so you don't miss out on any new episodes. And if you are enjoying this podcast, I'd really appreciate a quick rating and review! 

Merci et à bientôt. 💗