Avais (en. Had)

[avɛ]

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

To have in the imperfect tense, used to indicate past possession.

When I was young, I had a dog.

Quand j'étais jeune, j'avais un chien.

Expressed in a conditional sentence to indicate a hypothesis.

If you had studied, you would have succeeded.

Si tu avais étudié, tu aurais réussi.

Used to describe an ongoing action in the past.

Two years ago, I had a red car.

Il y a deux ans, j'avais une voiture rouge.

Comes from the Latin verb 'habere', which means 'to have'.

to have something to say

To be able to express an opinion or an observation.

avoir quelque chose à dire

to be in good shape

To be fit, full of energy.

avoir la pêche

to have a heart of gold

To be very generous.

avoir le cœur sur la main

have

To possess, to hold, or to be able to do something.

avoir

possession

The action of possessing something.

possession

held

One who possesses or has the responsibility for something.

détenu

To have something on one's mind.

I had an idea in mind for our project.

J'avais une idée en tête pour notre projet.

To be in a relationship.

They had something going on.

Ils avaient un truc ensemble.

To be successful.

He has everything to succeed; he already had good grades.

Il a tout pour réussir, il avait déjà de bonnes notes.