Avere Conjugation in Italian
avere means “to have” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 2 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. 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. This page gives you the complete conjugation of avere — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.” — “I have a book.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: avere
- English: to have
- Verb type: Irregular -ere verb
- 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
- Gerund: avendo
- Present participle: avente
- Past participle: avuto
- Auxiliary: avere (all perfect tenses are formed with avere + the past participle)
- Ending: -ere verbs; pattern ere in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read avere in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about avere
- It is irregular in 15 tense(s): 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 instead of guessing them from the infinitive, because the stem changes in ways no rule predicts.
- The perfect tenses use avere: the passato prossimo is formed with avere in the present plus the past participle avuto. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The participles are avente and avuto: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for avere. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho |
| tu | hai |
| lui/lei | ha |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | avete |
| loro | hanno |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.” — “I have a book”
Passato remoto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ebbi |
| tu | avesti |
| lui/lei | ebbe |
| noi | avemmo |
| voi | aveste |
| loro | ebbero |
The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io ebbi un libro ieri.” — “I had a book”
Imperfect (imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo |
| tu | avevi |
| lui/lei | aveva |
| noi | avevamo |
| voi | avevate |
| loro | avevano |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io avevo un libro una volta.” — “I used to have a book”
Future (futuro semplice)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò |
| tu | avrai |
| lui/lei | avrà |
| noi | avremo |
| voi | avrete |
| loro | avranno |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io avrò un libro domani.” — “I will have a book”
Conditional (condizionale)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei |
| tu | avresti |
| lui/lei | avrebbe |
| noi | avremmo |
| voi | avreste |
| loro | avrebbero |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io avrei un libro un giorno.” — “I would have a book”
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho avuto |
| tu | hai avuto |
| lui/lei | ha avuto |
| noi | abbiamo avuto |
| voi | avete avuto |
| loro | hanno avuto |
The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book”
Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avevo avuto |
| tu | avevi avuto |
| lui/lei | aveva avuto |
| noi | avevamo avuto |
| voi | avevate avuto |
| loro | avevano avuto |
The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io avevo avuto un libro prima della festa.” — “I had had a book”
Future perfect (futuro anteriore)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrò avuto |
| tu | avrai avuto |
| lui/lei | avrà avuto |
| noi | avremo avuto |
| voi | avrete avuto |
| loro | avranno avuto |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io avrò avuto un libro per domani.” — “I will have had a book”
Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avrei avuto |
| tu | avresti avuto |
| lui/lei | avrebbe avuto |
| noi | avremmo avuto |
| voi | avreste avuto |
| loro | avrebbero avuto |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io avrei avuto un libro ieri.” — “I would have had a book”
Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | abbia |
| tu | abbia |
| lui/lei | abbia |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | abbiate |
| loro | abbiano |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io abbia un libro.” — “It is important that I have a book”
Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | avessi |
| tu | avessi |
| lui/lei | avesse |
| noi | avessimo |
| voi | aveste |
| loro | avessero |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io avessi un libro.” — “It was important that I have a book”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | abbi |
| lui/lei | abbia |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | abbiate |
| loro | abbiano |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Abbi un libro!” — “Have a book!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | avere |
| lui/lei | abbia |
| noi | abbiamo |
| voi | abbiate |
| loro | abbiano |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non avere un libro.” — “Do not have a book.”
Gerund
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Gerund | avendo |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Avendo un libro, imparo molto.” — “While having a book, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Present participle | avente |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle avente is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.
Past participle
| Form | Italian |
|---|---|
| Past participle | avuto |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “I have had a book.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with avere, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.
- “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.” — “I have a book”
- “Tu avesti un libro ieri.” — “You had a book”
- “Lui aveva un libro una volta.” — “He used to have a book”
- “Io avrò un libro domani.” — “I will have a book”
- “Tu avresti un libro un giorno.” — “You would have a book”
- “Lui ha avuto un libro questa settimana.” — “He has had a book”
- “Io avevo avuto un libro prima della festa.” — “I had had a book”
- “Tu avrai avuto un libro per domani.” — “You will have had a book”
- “È importante che io abbia un libro.” — “It is important that I have a book”
- “Abbi un libro!” — “Have a book!”
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’s form
✗ Wrong: “Io hai un libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.”
hai is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with ho.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Io ho un libro ieri.”
✓ Right: “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.”
Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho avuto for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo
✗ Wrong: “Io sono avuto un libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.”
The passato prossimo of avere is formed with avere plus the past participle avuto: the io form is ho avuto. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “È importante che io ho un libro.”
✓ Right: “È importante che io abbia un libro.”
After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use abbia here, not the indicative ho.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Io ho avendo un libro.”
✓ Right: “Io ho avuto un libro questa settimana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle avuto, not the gerund avendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on avere. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the io form of avere in the Present indicative?
- A) hai
- B) ho
- C) ha
- D) abbiamo
What is the lui/lei form of avere in the Passato remoto?
- A) ebbi
- B) avesti
- C) ebbe
- D) avemmo
What is the noi form of avere in the Imperfect?
- A) avevo
- B) avevi
- C) aveva
- D) avevamo
What is the tu form of avere in the Future?
- A) avrai
- B) avrò
- C) avrà
- D) avremo
What is the io form of avere in the Conditional?
- A) avresti
- B) avrei
- C) avrebbe
- D) avremmo
What is the lui/lei form of avere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho avuto
- B) hai avuto
- C) ha avuto
- D) abbiamo avuto
What is the lui/lei form of avere in the Present subjunctive?
- A) abbiamo
- B) abbiate
- C) abbiano
- D) abbia
What is the io form of avere in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) avessi
- B) avesse
- C) avessimo
- D) aveste
What is the gerund of avere?
- A) avuto
- B) avendo
- C) avere
- D) ho
What does avere mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to do, to make
- C) to have
- D) to say
Answer key
- B) ho — the correct form is ho. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ebbe — the correct form is ebbe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) avevamo — the correct form is avevamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) avrai — the correct form is avrai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) avrei — the correct form is avrei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) ha avuto — the correct form is ha avuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) abbia — the correct form is abbia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) avessi — the correct form is avessi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) avendo — the correct form is avendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- 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”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is avere regular or irregular?
avere is irregular: it 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. The gerund is avendo and the past participle is avuto.
What are the gerund and past participle of avere?
The gerund is avendo — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is avuto — use it with avere for the perfect tenses, as in ho avuto.
Which auxiliary does avere take in the passato prossimo?
avere takes avere in the passato prossimo: the io form is ho avuto. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avere plus the past participle avuto.
How do I say “I have” in Italian?
Say “Io ho un libro ogni giorno.” — “I have a book” The io form of the present is ho, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of avere — every tense of avere in one place.
- Avere in the passato prossimo tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Avere examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Potere conjugation — another everyday Italian verb.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise avere with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise avere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise avere with the interactive tool.