avere
The verb to have — irregular, silent h, and the key to the past tense.
The present tense of avere is irregular: ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno. The h is never pronounced and exists only to distinguish the forms from o, ai, a and anno in writing.
Italian uses avere where English uses to be in several everyday expressions: avere fame (to be hungry, literally to have hunger), avere sete (to be thirsty), avere freddo (to be cold), avere paura (to be afraid), avere ragione (to be right) and avere ... anni (to be ... years old).
Avere is the auxiliary that builds the passato prossimo for most verbs: ho parlato (I spoke), hai mangiato (you ate). Its own past participle is avuto: ho avuto tempo (I had time).
Examples
- Ho una domanda. I have a question. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Ho una domanda.
- Hai fame? Are you hungry? Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Hai fame?
- Quanti anni hai? — Ho trent'anni. How old are you? — I am thirty. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Quanti anni hai? — Ho trent'anni.
- Abbiamo freddo. We are cold. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Abbiamo freddo.
- Hanno parlato con Marco. They spoke with Marco. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Hanno parlato con Marco.
Common mistake
Translating I am hungry as sono fame — Italian says ho fame. With hunger, thirst, cold, fear and age, use avere, not essere.