38) To have instead of to be

Where we always use the verb ‘to be’ in English, the French occasionally use the verb ‘to have’. So instead of saying ‘John is hungry’, you say ‘John has hunger’. The adjectives that use ‘avoir’ rather than ‘etre’ are below: To be hungry To be thirsty To be sleepy To be warm To be cold To be right To be wrong ‘Avoir’ is used when talking about your age. Rather than say ‘I am 7 years old’, you say ‘I have 7 years’. Faim Hungry J’ai faim I’m hungry Il a faim He is hungry Elle a faim She is hungry Nous avons faim We are hungry Vous avez faim You are hungry Ils ont faim They are hungry Soif Thirsty J’ai soif I am thirsty Il a le sommeil He’s sleepy Elle a chaud She’s warm Nous avons froid We’re cold Vous avez raison You are right Ils ont tort They are wrong J’avais soif I was thirsty Je vais avoir soif I’m going to be thirsty J’aurai soif demain I will be thirsty tomorrow Sommeil Sleepy Il avait le sommeil he was sleepy Il va avoir le sommeil He’s going to be sleepy Il aura le sommeil ce soir He will be sleepy this evening Chaud Warm Elle avait chaud She was warm Elle va avoir chaud She’s going to be warm Elle aura chaud ce soir She’ll be warm tonight Froid Cold Nous avions froid We were cold Nous allons avoir froid We’re going to be cold Nous aurons froid ce soir We’ll be cold this evening Raison Right Vous aviez raison You were right Vous allez avoir raison You’re going to be right Vous aurez raison la semaine prochaine You’ll be right next week Tort Wrong Ils avaient tort They were wrong Ils vont avoir tort They’re going to be wrong Ils auront tort demain matin They’ll be wrong tomorrow morning