You've mastered family vocabulary and possessives — now it's time to learn the verb 'avoir' (to have), one of the two most essential French verbs. Unlike English, which says 'I am 30 years old', French says 'I have 30 years': J'ai trente ans. This lesson teaches you to conjugate avoir in the present tense and use it to talk about age. Camille and Lucas are getting to know each other's extended families and ages — a very natural conversation topic in French culture.
Learning tips
- French uses 'avoir' (to have) to express age, not 'être' (to be). Say j'ai trente ans, never je suis trente ans. This is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make.
- The word 'ans' (years) is mandatory when stating age in French. You cannot just say j'ai trente — you must say j'ai trente ans.
- Notice that j'ai is a contraction of je + ai. Whenever je is followed by a verb starting with a vowel, je becomes j'.
- A useful number shortcut: learn the tens (dix, vingt, trente, quarante, cinquante) and you can count to 59 by combining them with the units you already know.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mon | my (masc. singular) |
| ma | my (fem. singular) |
| mes | my (plural) |
| ton | your (masc. singular, informal) |
| ta | your (fem. singular, informal) |
| tes | your (plural, informal) |
| son | his / her (masc. singular) |
| sa | his / her (fem. singular) |
| ses | his / her (plural) |
| le mari | the husband |
Dialog
Camille and Lucas are comparing ages across their families. This is a common casual conversation in France. Notice how every age statement uses avoir + number + ans.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| avoir | /a.vwaʁ/ | to have | One of the two most important French verbs. Also used to form compound past tenses later. |
| j'ai | /ʒe/ | I have | Je + ai contracts to j'ai. Used for age: j'ai vingt ans (I am twenty). |
| tu as | /ty a/ | you have (informal) | Note the liaison: tu as is pronounced /ty a/ — the s in tu is silent. |
| il a | /il a/ | he has | Liaison: il a — pronounced /il a/, the l in il is pronounced. |
| elle a | /ɛl a/ | she has | Elle a — both words clearly separate: /ɛl a/. |
| l' l'âge | /laʒ/ | the age | Starts with a vowel — always l'âge, never le âge. The â has a circumflex accent. |
| ans | /ɑ̃/ | years (of age) | Always used with a number when stating age: j'ai vingt ans. |
| l' l'oncle | /lɔ̃kl/ | the uncle | Starts with a vowel — l'oncle, not le oncle. |
| la tante | /la tɑ̃t/ | the aunt | Feminine. Plural: les tantes. |
| le cousin | /lə ku.zɛ̃/ | the cousin (male) | Masculine form. The feminine form is la cousine (passive word this lesson). |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| la cousine | /la ku.zin/ | ||
| le neveu | /lə nə.vø/ | ||
| la nièce | /la njɛs/ | ||
| combien | /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/ | ||
| environ | /ɑ̃.vi.ʁɔ̃/ | ||
| plus | /ply/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| quel âge as-tu ? | how old are you? (informal) |
| j'ai trente ans | I'm thirty (years old) |
Grammar: Present tense of avoir and expressing age
| Pronom | avoir |
|---|---|
| je | ai |
| tu | as |
| il/elle | a |
| nous | avons |
| vous | avez |
| ils/elles | ont |
Avoir (to have) is an irregular verb — its forms do not follow the regular pattern, so each one must be memorised. The present tense forms are: j'ai (I have), tu as (you have, informal), il/elle a (he/she has), nous avons (we have), vous avez (you have, formal/plural), ils/elles ont (they have). Notice that the nous form adds -ons, which is a pattern you will see in many other verbs. The key cultural and linguistic point for this lesson is that French expresses age differently from English. While English says 'I am 30 years old' using the verb 'to be', French says j'ai trente ans — literally 'I have 30 years' — using avoir. You must never use être (to be) to express age in French; that is a direct translation error. The structure is always: subject + avoir (conjugated) + number + ans. For example: J'ai vingt ans. Il a trente-cinq ans. Elle a seize ans. You can ask someone's age with: Quel âge tu as? (informal) or Quel âge avez-vous? (formal). Both use avoir, not être.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct form of avoir or the missing word.
- J' trente ans.(first person singular of avoir)
- Tu quel âge ?(second person singular informal of avoir)
- Mon oncle cinquante ans.(third person singular — mon oncle = il)
- Elle vingt-cinq .(third person singular feminine form of avoir; then the word for 'years')
- Quel tu as ?(the question word that means 'age')
Grammar Application
Conjugate avoir or choose the correct verb (être or avoir) for each sentence.
- Conjugue : Nous (avoir) deux enfants.(nous + avoir — add -ons)
- Conjugue : Vous (avoir) quel âge ?(vous + avoir — add -ez)
- Conjugue : Ils (avoir) trente ans.(ils + avoir — irregular form)
- être ou avoir ? J' vingt ans.(expressing age always uses avoir)
- être ou avoir ? Je français.(expressing nationality uses être)
Translate into French
Translate each English sentence into French.
- I'm thirty years old.
- How old are you? (informal)
- My uncle is fifty years old.
- She is twenty-five years old.
- Do you have a cousin? (informal)
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 3–4 French sentences giving the ages of different family members (real or imaginary). Use at least three different subjects (je, il, elle, mon/ma + noun).
Takeaway
In French, age is expressed with 'avoir' not 'être': j'ai trente ans — literally 'I have thirty years' — never 'je suis trente ans'.