Avere Conjugation: All Italian Tenses and Uses
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Avere is an Italian workhorse. Its main meaning is “to have”, and it is also the auxiliary used to build compound tenses for many verbs. One spelling point matters from the start: ho, hai, ha and hanno all have a silent written h. Leave it out and you write a different Italian word.
This guide gives you the main forms of avere, examples of the most useful tenses, and everyday expressions that use “to have” where English often uses “to be”. Start with the forms you can use today, then return to the less common ones as you need them.
Start with the Present Tense of Avere
You do not need to memorise every tense before you use avere in conversation. Begin with a small set of high-frequency forms.
Begin by learning the presente of avere:
- ho (“I have”), hai (“you have”), ha (“he/she/it has”), abbiamo (“we have”), avete (plural “you have”), hanno (“they have”)
The written h is silent, but standard spelling requires it. It distinguishes ho from o (“or”), hai from ai (“to the”), ha from a (“to/at”), and hanno from anno (“year”).
Those six forms let you talk about possessions, age, family and several everyday states. They also help you build the passato prossimo of verbs that select avere: a present-tense form of the auxiliary plus a past participle.
Here are the other forms you are likely to meet.
Avere at a Glance
| Infinito | avere |
| Gerundio (-ing) | avendo |
| Participio passato | avuto |
| Verb type | irregular |
| English meaning | “to have” |
The compound non-finite forms are avere avuto (perfect infinitive) and avendo avuto (perfect gerund). Here are the subject pronouns used in the finite-tense tables:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| io | I |
| tu | you (informal singular) |
| lui / lei / Lei | he / she / you (formal singular) |
| noi | we |
| voi | you (plural) |
| loro | they |
Avere: Indicative Tenses and Present Conditional
The indicativo is used for statements presented as real or certain. The first four columns below are simple indicative tenses. The last is the present conditional, a separate mood used here for a hypothetical or polite “would have”.
| Pronoun | Presente | Imperfetto | Passato Remoto | Futuro Semplice | Condizionale Presente |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | ho | avevo | ebbi | avrò | avrei |
| tu | hai | avevi | avesti | avrai | avresti |
| lui/lei/Lei | ha | aveva | ebbe | avrà | avrebbe |
| noi | abbiamo | avevamo | avemmo | avremo | avremmo |
| voi | avete | avevate | aveste | avrete | avreste |
| loro | hanno | avevano | ebbero | avranno | avrebbero |
And here's each one in action:
- Presente – Ho due fratelli. – “I have two brothers.”
- Imperfetto (a past description or ongoing state) – Da bambino avevo un cane. – “As a child I had a dog.”
- Passato Remoto (a completed event in a past time presented as separate from the present) – Ebbe un'idea geniale. – “He had a brilliant idea.”
- Futuro Semplice – Domani avrai più tempo. – “Tomorrow you'll have more time.”
- Condizionale Presente – Avrei bisogno di un consiglio. – “I could use some advice.”
Use of the passato remoto varies by region and context. It is common in narrative writing and remains part of speech in some areas, especially in central and southern Italy, while many northern speakers favour the passato prossimo in conversation. Learn to recognise it, then follow the variety of Italian you use.
Avere Conjugation: Indicativo Mood (Compound Tenses)
The compound forms of avere use a conjugated form of avere as the auxiliary plus the past participle avuto. The same auxiliary pattern applies to many other verbs, although Italian also uses essere; check a reliable dictionary when learning a new verb.
| Pronoun | Passato Prossimo | Trapassato Prossimo | Futuro Anteriore | Condizionale Passato |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | ho avuto | avevo avuto | avrò avuto | avrei avuto |
| tu | hai avuto | avevi avuto | avrai avuto | avresti avuto |
| lui/lei/Lei | ha avuto | aveva avuto | avrà avuto | avrebbe avuto |
| noi | abbiamo avuto | avevamo avuto | avremo avuto | avremmo avuto |
| voi | avete avuto | avevate avuto | avrete avuto | avreste avuto |
| loro | hanno avuto | avevano avuto | avranno avuto | avrebbero avuto |
- Passato Prossimo – Ho avuto una giornata pesante. – “I had a hard day.”
- Trapassato Prossimo – Prima di quel viaggio, non avevo mai avuto paura di volare. – “Before that trip, I had never been afraid of flying.”
- Futuro Anteriore – Quando arriverai, avrò già avuto notizie. – “By the time you arrive, I will already have received news.”
- Condizionale Passato – Avrei avuto più successo con più pratica. – “I would have had more success with more practice.”
The rarer trapassato remoto uses the passato remoto of the auxiliary plus avuto: ebbi avuto, avesti avuto, ebbe avuto, avemmo avuto, aveste avuto, ebbero avuto. You are most likely to meet it in formal or literary narrative: Dopo che ebbe avuto la conferma, partì means “After he or she received confirmation, he or she left”.
Avere Conjugation: Congiuntivo Mood (Subjunctive)
The congiuntivo appears in dependent clauses in contexts such as doubt, opinion, emotion, wish and necessity. It often follows expressions such as credo che, penso che and spero che, although mood choice can also depend on meaning and register. These are the two simple subjunctive tenses.
| Pronoun | Congiuntivo Presente | Congiuntivo Imperfetto |
|---|---|---|
| io | abbia | avessi |
| tu | abbia | avessi |
| lui/lei/Lei | abbia | avesse |
| noi | abbiamo | avessimo |
| voi | abbiate | aveste |
| loro | abbiano | avessero |
In the present subjunctive, io, tu and lui/lei/Lei all use abbia. The subject pronoun or context tells you who is meant.
- Congiuntivo Presente – Penso che lei abbia ragione. – “I think she's right.”
- Congiuntivo Imperfetto – Se avessi più tempo, viaggerei di più. – “If I had more time, I would travel more.”
The compound subjunctive forms follow the same auxiliary-plus-participle pattern: abbia avuto (congiuntivo passato) and avessi avuto (congiuntivo trapassato). For example, Penso che abbia avuto ragione means “I think he or she was right”, while Se avessi avuto tempo, sarei venuto means “If I had had time, I would have come” for a male speaker; a female speaker says venuta.
Avere Conjugation: Imperativo Mood (Commands)
The imperative appears in expressions such as “have patience” or “take care”. The informal singular form is abbi; formal Lei uses abbia. The noi and voi forms match the present subjunctive, and formal plural Loro abbiano is uncommon in everyday speech. The negative informal singular is non avere.
| Pronoun | Affirmative |
|---|---|
| tu | abbi |
| Lei | abbia |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | abbiate |
| loro | abbiano |
- Abbi pazienza! – “Have patience!”
- Abbiate cura di voi. – “Take care of yourselves.”
When to Use Avere
Avere has three especially useful roles.
Literal possession. The straightforward use: Ho una macchina nuova. – “I have a new car.”
As an auxiliary. Transitive verbs normally build compound tenses with avere: Ho mangiato (“I ate” or “I have eaten”), Ho visto un film (“I saw a film”), Hai capito? (“Did you understand?”). Reflexive verbs use essere, while auxiliary choice with intransitive verbs must be learned with the verb; “motion verb” is not a reliable rule by itself. With avere, the past participle usually stays unchanged, but it agrees with a preceding third-person direct-object pronoun: Le ho viste means “I saw them” when the people or things are feminine plural.
In everyday expressions. Italian uses avere for several states that English describes with “to be”:
- avere fame – to be hungry – Ho fame, mangiamo? – “I'm hungry, shall we eat?”
- avere sete – to be thirsty
- avere sonno – to be sleepy
- avere caldo / avere freddo – to be hot / to be cold
- avere … anni – to be … years old – Ho trentacinque anni. – “I'm thirty-five.”
- avere ragione / avere torto – to be right / to be wrong
- avere paura – to be afraid – Non avere paura. – “Don't be afraid.”
For these expressions, use avere: ho fame, not sono fame. This does not mean essere caldo is always wrong; it can describe someone or something as warm or hot. To say that you feel hot, use avere caldo.
Why Is Avere So Irregular?
Avere comes from Latin habēre. Its modern forms reflect a long history of sound and spelling change, so it is best learned as an irregular verb.
- The silent written h. In modern standard Italian, the h in ho, hai, ha and hanno is not pronounced. It distinguishes these forms in writing from o, ai, a and anno.
- The future and conditional stem. These forms use avr-, giving avrò, avrai, avrà, avrei and so on. Learn the stem once and use the regular future or conditional endings.
Common Mistakes with Avere
Watch for these common mix-ups:
- Dropping the h. Ho, hai, ha and hanno need their silent h in writing. Without it, you have typed o, ai, a or anno.
- Ha vs a. Lei ha un gatto (“she has a cat”) versus Vado a Roma (“I'm going to Rome”). They sound alike but have different jobs.
- Hanno vs anno. Hanno means “they have”; anno means “year”. A spellchecker may accept both because both are words.
- Translating English expressions word for word. Use ho fame for “I am hungry” and ho caldo for “I feel hot”. Learn each expression as a phrase.
Avere Conjugation FAQ
Is avere regular or irregular? Irregular, though its irregularity is fairly mild compared to a verb like essere. The main quirks are the silent h in the presente and the contracted stem avr- used for the future and conditional.
What are the six present-tense forms of avere? Ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno, which mean “I have, you have, he/she has, we have, you have, they have.”
How do you conjugate avere in the past? Two important past paradigms are the passato prossimo, ho avuto, hai avuto, ha avuto, abbiamo avuto, avete avuto, hanno avuto, and the imperfetto, avevo, avevi, aveva, avevamo, avevate, avevano. Their use depends on how the speaker frames the past situation. The passato remoto is also used, with frequency varying by region and context.
When do Italian verbs use avere instead of essere as the auxiliary? Transitive verbs normally use avere, while reflexive verbs use essere. Intransitive verbs do not follow a dependable one-line rule, and some can take different auxiliaries with different meanings or constructions. Learn the auxiliary with the verb and check a dictionary when unsure.
What are the essential avere expressions? Useful phrases include avere fame (to be hungry), avere sete (to be thirsty), avere sonno (to be sleepy), avere caldo/freddo (to feel hot/cold), avere … anni (to be … years old), avere ragione/torto (to be right/wrong), and avere paura (to be afraid).
Ora hai tutto quello che ti serve
Ora hai tutto quello che ti serve means “now you have everything you need”. You have the present tense, the main past and future forms, the conditional and subjunctive patterns, and the everyday expressions that are most likely to come up first.
Use the forms to make your own sentences. Put a few useful examples into Anki, then say them aloud and get feedback on your pronunciation. You can also pair this guide with our lists of useful Italian words and ways of saying thank you in Italian. For a closer look at one source of Italian listening material, see our ItalianPod101 review.
The tables are preparation for using Italian. Choose three forms, make one true sentence with each, and use them in your next lesson or exchange. If you would like a structured speaking project, you can also explore the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp. Abbi pazienza e comincia: be patient and begin.
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