Written by Federica in Italian language, Italian verbs
Avere is one of the most prevalent Italian verbs, and translates into English as to have, to own and, sometimes, to get. Avere is irregular in some tenses, such as the present indicative tense, and regular in others. It belongs to the Italian second conjugation, where the infinitive form ends in -ere.
Avere is an essential verb to know in your Italian learning journey. Keep reading to find out more on its conjugation and usage.
Present indicative conjugation of avere (indicativo presente)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the present indicative tense.
| Avere in the present indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the present indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io ho | I have |
| Tu hai | You have |
| Lui/ lei ha | He/ she has |
| Noi abbiamo | We have |
| Voi avete | You (pl) have |
| Loro hanno | They have |
Avere in the present tense is used to talk about things that you have right now or that you will, with certainty, have in the future.
Use avere in the present tense:
- To express possession or ownership of physical things right now
- Hanno una casa in Italia (they have a house in Italy)
- To express possession or ownership of abstract things right now
- Ha molto coraggio (he/ she has a lot of courage)
- To express possession or ownership in the future
- Domani abbiamo una lezione di Italiano (we have an Italian lesson tomorrow)
Present perfect indicative conjugation of avere (passato prossimo)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the present perfect indicative tense.
| Avere in the present perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the present perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io ho avuto | I have had | I had |
| Tu hai avuto | You have had | You had |
| Lui/ lei ha avuto | He/ she has had | He/ she had |
| Noi abbiamo avuto | We have had | We had |
| Voi avete avuto | You (pl.) have had | You had |
| Loro hanno avuto | They have had | They had |
Should I use an essere or avere auxiliary with avere?
To form the present perfect tense in Italian, you need to know whether to use the essere or avere auxiliary. Avere, in itself, is also an auxiliary verb, but this does not prevent it from being used in conjunction with an auxiliary like all other Italian verbs in the present perfect.
The verb avere takes the avere auxiliary all the time, making it easier than other Italian verbs which can take different auxiliaries. This means that, in the present perfect, the verb avere is repeated twice: in its conjugated form for the first part of the verb and in the past participle form (avuto) for the second part of the verb.
How to use the present perfect tense of avere
The present perfect tense of avere is used to talk about having or owning something, physical or abstract in nature, at a certain point in the past. By using the present perfect tense, you emphasise a particular moment in the past, rather than a continuous or ongoing action.
Use the Italian verb avere in the present perfect tense:
- To talk about when you had, or owned, a physical object
- Non hanno mai avuto un gatto (they’ve never had a cat / they never had a cat)
- To talk about when you had, or owned, something abstract
- Mi dispiace, non ho avuto tempo (I’m sorry, I didn’t have time)
Imperfect indicative conjugation of avere (imperfetto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the imperfect indicative tense.
| Avere in the imperfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the imperfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avevo | I had | I used to have |
| Tu avevi | You had | You used to have |
| Lui/ lei aveva | He/she had | He/she used to have |
| Noi avevamo | We had | We used to have |
| Voi avevate | You (pl.) had | You used to have |
| Loro avevano | They had | They used to have |
The Italian verb avere in the imperfect tense is used to talk about physical or abstract things that you used to have or own over a period of time or routinely in the past.
Use avere in the imperfect tense:
- To talk about physical things that you used have in the past
- Da giovane avevo una macchina molto vecchia (when I was young I had a very old car)
- To talk about abstract things you used to have in the past
- Quando era piccola aveva spesso il raffreddore (when she was little she often had a cold)
Past perfect indicative conjugation of avere (trapassato prossimo)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the past perfect indicative tense.
| Avere in the past perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the past perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avevo avuto | I had had |
| Tu avevi avuto | You had had |
| Lui/ lei aveva avuto | He/ she had had |
| Noi avevamo avuto | We had had |
| Voi avevate avuto | You had had |
| Loro avevano avuto | They had had |
Use avere in the past perfect tense to set the action of having or owning something further back in the past than another event in the sentence:
- To talk about something you had before a certain event which happened in the past
- Ho dovuto fare tutto il lavoro la notte scorsa perchè nei giorni precedenti non avevo avuto tempo (I had to do all the work last night because in the days before I hadn’t had time)
Remote past indicative conjugation of avere (passato remoto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the remote past indicative tense.
| Avere in the remote past indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the remote past indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io ebbi | I had |
| Tu avesti | You had |
| Lui/ lei ebbe | He/ she had |
| Noi avemmo | We had |
| Voi aveste | You (pl.) had |
| Loro ebbero | They had |
The remote past indicative of avere is most likely to be found in written language, such as novels, articles or essays. This tense is mostly used to talk about facts in history or as part of a story.
Use the remote past tense of avere:
- To describe having something, physical or abstract, as part of history or within a story
- Durante il terremoto ebbe molta paura (during the earthquake, he/ she was very scared) – note that, in Italian, we say “to have fear” rather than “to be scared”, so this sentence requires the verb avere.
Preterite perfect indicative conjugation of avere (trapassato remoto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the preterite perfect indicative tense.
| Avere in the preterite perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the preterite perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io ebbi avuto | I had had |
| Tu avesti avuto | You had had |
| Lui/ lei ebbe avuto | He/ she had had |
| Noi avemmo avuto | We had had |
| Voi aveste avuto | You (pl.) had had |
| Loro ebbero avuto | They had had |
The preterite perfect tense of avere is most likely to be found in written language such as novels, articles and essays, and is rarely used in spoken Italian today. The Italian preterite perfect is used to set an action further back in the past than another action in the remote past.
Use the preterite perfect indicative of avere:
- To describe having something, physical or abstract, prior to other actions in the sentence which are in the remote past
- Raccontò ai suoi figli che ebbe avuto molta paura durante il terremoto (he/ she told his children that he/ she was very scared during the hearthquake)
Simple future indicative conjugation of avere (futuro semplice)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the simple future indicative tense.
| Avere in the simple future indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the simple future indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avrò | I will have |
| Tu avrai | You will have |
| Lui/ lei avrà | He/ she will have |
| Noi avremo | We will have |
| Voi avrete | You (pl.) will have |
| Loro avranno | They will have |
The simple future tense of the verb avere in Italian is used to describe the action of having something, physical or abstract, with certainty in the future.
Use the simple future tense of avere:
- To talk about physical things that you will have in the near or distant future
- Quando saremo ricchi avremo una casa più grande (when we’ll be rich, we’ll have a bigger house)
- To talk about abstract things that you will have in the near or distant future
- Quando saremo ricchi avremo la possibilità di comprare una casa più grande (when we’ll be rich, we’ll have the possibility of buying a larger house)
- To make a hypothesis or guess about having something, physical or abstract. This best translates into English as “must be”.
- I ragazzi avranno al massimo diciotto anni (the boys must be eighteen years old at most)
Future perfect indicative conjugation of avere (futuro anteriore)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the future perfect indicative tense.
| Avere in the future perfect indicative (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the future perfect indicative (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avrò avuto | I will have had |
| Tu avrai avuto | You will have had |
| Lui/ lei avrà avuto | He/ she will have had |
| Noi avremo avuto | We will have had |
| Voi avrete avuto | You (pl.) will have had |
| Loro avranno avuto | They will have had |
The future perfect tense of avere in Italian is used when the future action of having something, physical or abstract, will happen before other future actions or events.
Use the future perfect tense of avere:
- To make a hypothesis or guess about having something which relates to an event or situation in the past. This best translates into English as “must have been”.
- I ragazzi avranno avuto al massimo diciotto anni (the boys must have been eighteen years old, at most). Note that in Italian we say “to have eighteen years old” rather than “to be eighteen years old”
Present conditional conjugation of avere (condizionale presente)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the present conditional tense.
| Avere in the present conditional tense (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the present conditional tense (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avrei | I would have |
| Tu avresti | You would have |
| Lui/ lei avrebbe | He/ she would have |
| Noi avremmo | We would have |
| Voi avreste | You would have |
| Loro avrebbero | They would have |
Use the present conditional tense of avere in Italian to express the possibility of having something and to make if clauses. In Italian if clauses, the present conditional tense is used in combination with the present subjunctive.
You can use the present conditional tense of avere:
- To make a hypothetical sentence about having something, physical or abstract
- Se fosse una persona più responsabile, avrei più fiducia in lui (if he were a more responsible person, I would have more confidence in him)
- To ask a polite question or make a polite statement about having something. The politeness comes from phrasing your sentence as a possibility
- Avresti un fazzoletto? (would you have a tissue?) Note, this is a polite way of asking for something
Past perfect conditional conjugation of avere (condizionale passato)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the past perfect conditional tense.
| Avere in the past perfect conditional tense (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the past perfect conditional tense (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Io avrei avuto | I would have had |
| Tu avresti avuto | You would have had |
| Lui/ lei avrebbe avuto | He/ she would have had |
| Noi avremmo avuto | We would have had |
| Voi avreste avuto | You would have had |
| Loro avrebbero avuto | They would have had |
You can use the past perfect conditional tense of avere in Italian to describe something you would have had in the past, or to indicate ownership of something within a sentence in the past. For if clauses in the past, the past perfect conditional tense is used in combination with the past perfect subjunctive.
Here is how you can use the past perfect conditional tense of avere:
- To talk about the past possibility of having something, physical or abstract
- Se non si fosse stancato tanto ieri, oggi avrebbe avuto più energia (If he hadn’t got so tired yesteday, he would have had more energy today) The past perfect here conveys that the sentence is looking back on how today went.
- To indicate having something in the future within a sentence in the past
- Non sapevamo che avrebbe avuto così poca energia oggi (We didn’t know that he/she would have so little energy today) – Here the past perfect avrebbe avuto indicates an action in the future from the perspective of non sapevamo.
Imperative conjugation of avere (imperativo)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the imperative mood. Avere in the imperative mood is best translated into English as “get to know” or “know”.
| Avere in the imperative mood (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the imperative mood (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Tu) abbi | Have |
| (Noi) abbiamo | Let’s have |
| (Voi) abbiate | Have (pl) |
You can use the imperative mood of the verb avere in Italian to make an invitation (“let’s” in English) or give an order.
For example:
- To invite someone to have something, physical or abstract
- Abbi fede (have faith)
Present and past infinitive conjugation of avere (infinito presente e passato)
The table below shows the infinitive form of the verb avere in the present and past tense.
| Avere in the infinitive mood, past and present tense (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the infinitive mood, past and present tense (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Avere | To have / having |
| Avere avuto | Having had |
The infinitive form of the verb avere in Italian, both past and present tense, can be used:
- To indicate whether you like or don’t like having something (after the verb “mi piace”)
- Ci piacerebbe avere più tempo (we’d like to have more time)
- After a verb-preposition combination which requires to be followed by a verb in the infinitive form, such as “cercare di…”
- Cerca di avere più fiducia in te stesso (try to have more confidence in yourself)
- After a verb which requires to be followed by a verb in the infinitive form, such as “voglio”, “posso”, “devo”
- Posso avere delle indicazioni? (can I get some directions?)
- In general, as the subject or object of a sentence
- Avere un giardino grande è bello ma richiede molto lavoro (having a big garden is nice but requires a lot of work)
Past participle tense of avere (participio passato)
The past participle tense of avere is avuto. This is used in conjunction with the auxiliary avere to form the present perfect tense:
For example:
- Hai avuto notizie? (have you had any news?)
The present participle tense of avere is avente. This is a term used in legal documents to mean “the person who has”, but does not feature in everyday Italian.
Present and past gerund conjugation of avere (gerundio presente e passato)
The table below shows the gerund mood of the Italian verb avere in the present and past tense forms.
| Avere in the present and past gerund (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the present and past gerund (English translation) |
|---|---|
| Avendo | Having |
| Avendo avuto | Having had |
The present and past tense of avere are used to talk about something you have right now or in this period of time (preceded by the verb “stare”), or to express causality in a sentence.
Use the gerund of avere:
- To talk about having something right now or in this period of time
- In questi giorni stiamo avendo delle difficoltà al lavoro (these days we are having difficulties at work)
- In a phrase that is connected to another phrase and expresses causality
- Avendo molto freddo, hanno acceso il riscaldamento (as they were cold, they put the heating on)
Present subjunctive conjugation of avere (congiuntivo presente)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the present subjunctive tense.
| Avere in the present subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the present subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io abbia | (That) I have |
| (Che) tu abbia | (That) you have |
| (Che) lui/ lei abbia | (That) he/she has |
| (Che) noi abbiamo | (That) we have |
| (Che) voi abbiate | (That) you (pl.) have |
| (Che) loro abbiano | (That) they have |
The present tense subjunctive of avere is used within a dependent clause that contains an action in the present or future. This can often be introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because), so, if you start a dependent clause with “che” or “perchè”, it’s likely that, within it, you might need to use the subjunctive.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, vorrei che tu abbia più fiducia in te stesso (I’d like you to have more confidence in yourself).
To be grammatically correct in Italian, there are several cases where use of the subjunctive is needed. If you are learning Italian, it can be tricky to understand when to use the subjunctive. It might be helpful to bear in mind, however, that more and more Italians now choose to not use the subjunctive in spoken informal Italian, and limit it to writing or more formal situations.
Use the present subjunctive of avere:
- To talk about having something, physical or abstract, within a dependent clause
- Penso che abbiano un po’ di problemi in questo momento (I think they may have some issues right now) Note that, because the subjunctive expresses a possibility, rather than a certainty, the best English translation is “may have”.
Present perfect subjunctive conjugation of avere (congiuntivo passato)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the present perfect subjunctive tense.
| Avere in the perfect subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the perfect subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io abbia avuto | (That) I had / have had |
| (Che) tu abbia avuto | (That) you had / have had |
| (Che) lui/ lei abbia avuto | (That) he/she had / have had |
| (Che) noi abbiamo avuto | (That) we had / have had |
| (Che) voi abbiate avuto | (That) you (pl.) had / have had |
| (Che) loro abbiano avuto | (That) they had / have had |
The present perfect subjunctive of avere is used within a dependent clause which contains a past action. This can often be introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because), so, if you start a dependent clause with “che” or “perchè”, it’s likely that, within it, you might need to use the subjunctive mode.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, non saprei se lui abbia avuto problemi al lavoro (I wouldn’t know if he had issues at work).
Use the present perfect subjunctive of avere:
- To talk about having something within a dependent clause which contains a past action
- Mi dispiace che abbia avuto problemi al lavoro (I’m sorry that he had problems at work)
Note: in today’s spoken Italian, many might choose to use the present perfect indicative instead of the subjunctive: “Mi dispiace che ha avuto problemi al lavoro“.
Imperfect subjunctive conjugation of avere (congiuntivo imperfetto)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the imperfect subjunctive tense.
| Avere in the imperfect subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the imperfect subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io avessi | (That) I would have |
| (Che) tu avessi | (That) you would have |
| (Che) lui/ lei avesse | (That) he/ she would have |
| (Che) noi avessimo | (That) we would have |
| (Che) voi aveste | (That) you (pl.) would have |
| (Che) loro avessero | (That) they would have |
The imperfect subjunctive of avere is used within a dependent clause when the action of the main clause is in the past. This is often introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because). A second use of the imperfect subjunctive is to make the first part of an if clause.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, non vorrei che tu avessi problemi al lavoro (I wouldn’t want you to have problems at work).
Use the imperfect subjunctive of avere:
- To talk about having something within a dependent clause when the main clause is in the past
- Non volevo che tu avessi problemi al lavoro (I didn’t want you to have problems at work)
In today’s spoken Italian, many might not use the subjunctive in this case, and use the imperfect tense in both the main and dependent sentences: “Non volevo che tu avevi problemi al lavoro”.
- To make a hypothesis about having something, physical or abstract
- Non so cosa farei se non avessi una macchina (I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have a car).
In today’s spoken Italian, many might choose to put both parts of the if clause in the imperfect tense: “Non so cosa facevo se non avevo una macchina”. Although this wouldn’t hinder someone’s understanding of this sentence, the tense usage is grammatically incorrect.
Past perfect subjunctive conjugation of avere (congiuntivo trapassato)
The table below shows the conjugation of the verb avere in the past perfect subjunctive tense.
| Avere in the past perfect subjunctive (Italian conjugation) | Avere in the past perfect subjunctive (English translation) |
|---|---|
| (Che) io avessi avuto | (That) I had had |
| (Che) tu avessi avuto | (That) you had had |
| (Che) lui/ lei avesse avuto | (That) he/ she had had |
| (Che) noi avessimo avuto | (That) we had had |
| (Che) voi aveste avuto | (That) you (pl.) had had |
| (Che) loro avessero avuto | (That) they had had |
The past perfect subjunctive of avere is used within a dependent clause, often introduced by the conjunction “che” (that) or “perchè” (because), when both the main clause and the dependent clause are in the past. A second use of the past perfect subjunctive is to make the first part of an if clause placed in the past.
Note: the subjunctive mood is also used in a dependent clause when the main clause is in the conditional mood. For example, vorrei che non avessi avuto problemi al lavoro (I wish you hadn’t had problems at work).
Use the past perfect subjunctive of avere in Italian:
- To talk about having something within a dependent sentence when both the main and dependent clauses are in the past
- Credevo che tu avessi avuto problemi al lavoro (I thought you had had problems at work)
Note: in today’s spoken Italian, many might choose to use the past perfect tense in the dependent clause “Speravo che tu avevi avuto problemi al lavoro“. Although this swap is grammatically incorrect, it is commonly used in today’s spoken Italian, and does not sound “wrong” to a native ear.
Usage of the verb avere
The verb avere is used with a number of nouns, and noun-preposition combinations, to form some very useful expressions. Some of these are different to English, and therefore would not make sense if translated literally, so they are well worth knowing if you are learning Italian.
Expressions with avere followed by a noun
- Ho fame (I’m hungry)
- Ho sete (I’m thirsty)
- Ho caldo (I’m hot/ warm)
- Ho freddo (I’m cold)
- Ho paura (I’m afraid)
- Ho sonno (I’m tired)
- Ho ragione (I’m right)
- Ho torto (I’m wrong)
- Ho fretta (I’m in a hurry)
- Ho pazienza (I’m patient)
- Ho….anni (I’m….old)
Expressions with avere followed by a noun and preposition
- Ho paura di… (I’m scared of/ I’m afraid of)
- Ho paura di nuotare dove l’ acqua è profonda (I’m afraid of swimming where the water is deep)
- Ho paura che… (I’m scared that…)
- Ho paura che non facciamo in tempo (I’m afraid we won’t make it in time)
- Ho voglia di... (I fancy…)
- Abbiamo voglia di andare al mare (we fancy going to the sea)
- Ho interesse a… (I have an interest in…)
- Hanno interesse a vendere i loro prodotti (they have an interest in selling their products)
- Ho fiducia in… (I have trust/ confidence in..)
- Non hanno fiducia in loro stessi (they don’t have confidence in themselves)
- Ho fretta di… (I am in a rush to…)
- Ho fretta di finire questa parte del lavoro (I’m in a rush to finish this part of the job)
- Ho bisogno di… (I need…)
- Hanno bisogno di un po’ di aiuto (they need a little bit of help)
Concluding thoughts on the verb avere
Avere is an essential verb to know if you are learning Italian, and almost certainly one of the first five verbs you have learned, or will learn, in your Italian learning journey. Avere is also an auxiliary verb, and so knowing its conjugation will be helpful in conjugating a large number of Italian verbs in the present perfect and past perfect.
