Avere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

avere — to have — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It expresses possession, and it is also the verb Italians use for age, hunger, thirst and many physical states, where English uses 'to be'. It is the auxiliary verb for the passato prossimo of most transitive verbs, so learning its forms pays off in every perfect tense. On this page you will find avere in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the avere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the avere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with avere

In the present tense

  • “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.” — “I have a book”
  • “Tu hai un libro ogni giorno.” — “You have a book”
  • “Lui ha un libro ogni giorno.” — “He has a book”
  • “Noi abbiamo un libro ogni giorno.” — “We have a book”
  • “Voi avete un libro ogni giorno.” — “You have a book”
  • “Loro hanno un libro ogni giorno.” — “They have a book”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have had a book”
  • “Tu hai avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have had a book”
  • “Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book”
  • “Noi abbiamo avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “We have had a book”
  • “Voi avete avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “You have had a book”
  • “Loro hanno avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “They have had a book”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io avevo un libro una volta.” — “I used to have a book”
  • “Tu avrai un libro domani.” — “You will have a book”
  • “Lui avrebbe un libro un giorno.” — “He would have a book”
  • “È importante che noi abbiamo un libro.” — “It is important that we have a book”
  • “Abbi un libro!” — “Have a book!”

How avere is used

The first thing to know about avere is its core meaning: to have. It expresses possession, and it is also the verb Italians use for age, hunger, thirst and many physical states, where English uses 'to be'. It is the auxiliary verb for the passato prossimo of most transitive verbs, so learning its forms pays off in every perfect tense. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company avere keeps. The present io form is ho, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho avuto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what avere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need ho, never avere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho avuto, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle avuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Avere in context

Io ho un libro ogni giorno. Tu hai un libro ogni giorno. Lui ha un libro ogni giorno. Noi abbiamo un libro ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of avere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ho, hai, ha, abbiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to have. Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana. Tu hai avuto un libro questa settimana. Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana. Noi abbiamo avuto un libro questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of avere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to have — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io avere un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.”

The infinitive avere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form ho.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io hai un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.”

hai is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is ho — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io ho un libro ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho avuto here, not the present ho.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono avuto un libro.”

✓ Right: “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.”

avere takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho avuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on avere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of avere in the Present indicative?

    • A) ho
    • B) hai
    • C) ha
    • D) abbiamo

  2. What is the io form of avere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai avuto
    • B) ha avuto
    • C) ho avuto
    • D) abbiamo avuto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of avere in the Imperfect?

    • A) avevo
    • B) avevi
    • C) avevamo
    • D) aveva

  4. What is the noi form of avere in the Future?

    • A) avremo
    • B) avrò
    • C) avrai
    • D) avrà

  5. What is the tu form of avere in the Conditional?

    • A) avrei
    • B) avresti
    • C) avrebbe
    • D) avremmo

  6. What is the io form of avere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) avesti
    • B) ebbe
    • C) ebbi
    • D) avemmo

  7. What is the noi form of avere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) abbia
    • B) abbiate
    • C) abbiano
    • D) abbiamo

  8. What is the gerund of avere?

    • A) avendo
    • B) avuto
    • C) avere
    • D) ho

  9. What is the past participle of avere?

    • A) avendo
    • B) avuto
    • C) avere
    • D) ho

  10. What does avere mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to do, to make
  • C) to have
  • D) to say

Answer key

  1. B) hai — the correct form is hai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho avuto — the correct form is ho avuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) aveva — the correct form is aveva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) avremo — the correct form is avremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) avresti — the correct form is avresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ebbi — the correct form is ebbi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) abbiamo — the correct form is abbiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) avendo — the correct form is avendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) avuto — the correct form is avuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to have — the correct form is to have. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does avere mean in English?

avere means “to have”. You use it whenever you talk about to have in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is avere regular or irregular?

avere is irregular. avere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, imperfect, future, conditional, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, past-participle, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of avere?

The gerund is avendo and the past participle is avuto. The perfect tenses use avere + avuto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of avere?

On the avere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The avere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for avere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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