THE VERB “TO HAVE” IN ITALIAN: WHEN AND HOW TO USE IT

You use the verb “to have” in Italian for many different reasons, like for example to show possession or to express your needs.

Along with “to be”, this verb is definitely one of the most used in Italian, so the sooner you learn it, the better! 

In this lesson you can find all you need to know, in order to use the verb “to have” in your daily conversations.  

You’ll learn: 

• How “to have” is translated in Italian
• The conjugation of the main verb tenses (the most used in spoken Italian)
• Examples on how to use this verb to talk with other people 

As you can see, there’s a lot to cover so let’s start!

THE VERB TO HAVE IN ITALIAN

The verb “to have” in Italian, as well as the verb Essere, is an auxiliary verb. So you can use it alone or with other verbs to form tenses, moods and voices.

To make it simple, though, we’ll only focus on the verb “to have” when used alone. We’ll dedicate a separate lesson to go through the auxiliary verbs.

So how do you say “to have” in Italian?

You can translate it with the term: “AVERE” (infinitive form)

In your daily life, though, you can’t really use the verb at the infinitive form without looking a little bit weird.

So you need to learn its conjugation, but don’t worry as it’s not going to be too complex. As we did with the verb “Essere“, we’ll only focus on the most common verb tenses (for now).

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB “TO HAVE” IN ITALIAN

So, are you ready to learn how to conjugate the verb “to have”?

Of course you are 🙂 Let’s go!

#1 – PRESENTE (INDICATIVO)

You can use the “presente”, if you say something that is happening in the present or to talk about current habits. Sometimes, you can also use this tense referring to the future.

Here you are its conjugation.

Singular:

• IO HO = I have
• TU HAI = you have
• LUI/LEI HA = he/she has

Plural:

• NOI ABBIAMO = we have
• VOI AVETE = you have
• LORO HANNO = they have

Below you can see some examples on how to use the verb “to have” on the present form:

1. Ho due sorelle = I’ve got two sisters 
2. I bambini hanno fame = The kids are hungry

#2 – IMPERFETTO

You can use this tense (Imperfetto) to tell about a continuous action that happened in the past or a past habit.

Have a look at its conjugation below.

Singular:

• IO AVEVO = I had 
• TU AVEVI = you had
• LUI/LEI AVEVA = he/she had

Plural

• NOI AVEVAMO = we had
• VOI AVEVATE = you had
• LORO AVEVANO= they had

The examples below show how you can use “avere” on this past tense. 

1. Lei aveva freddo = She was cold 
2. Avevano due gatti = They used to have two cats

#3 – PASSATO PROSSIMO

This is the tense that you use when you want to talk about something that happened in the past and has ended.

So the main difference with the “imperfetto” is that the event to which you’re referring is completed. In other words, it’s not a continuous action or a habit.

It’s very easy to make this past tense: you only need to use the present form and add the word “avuto” afterwords. For example: Io (subject) + ho (present of “to have”) + avuto 

You can find its conjugation below.

Singular:

• IO HO AVUTO = I have had
• TU HAI AVUTO = you have had
• LUI HA AVUTO/LEI HA AVUTO = he/she has had

Plural:

• NOI ABBIAMO AVUTO = we have had
• VOI AVETE AVUTO = you have had
• LORO HANNO AVUTO = they have had

And now some examples:

1. Il bambino ha avuto paura del temporale = The kid was afraid of the storm
2. Non ho avuto abbastanza tempo oggi = I didn’t have enough time today

#4 – FUTURO

This is the tense that you use to refer to the future and here you have its conjugation.

Singular:

• IO AVRO’ = I will have
• TU AVRAI = you will have 
• LEI/LUI AVRA’ = he/she will have

Plural:

• NOI AVREMO = we will have
• VOI AVRETE = you will have
• LORO AVRANNO = they will have

Below are some examples on situations where you’ll use the future tense:

1. Non avrò molto tempo = I won’t have much time
2.  = Avranno bisogno di aiuto = They’ll need help

WHEN DO YOU USE THE VERB TO HAVE IN ITALIAN

So now you know how to say the verb to have in Italian and also how to conjugate it on the main verb tenses.

But when do you use it in your daily conversations?

Here you can find a list of some common situations where you generally use the verb “to have” in Italian.

#1 – TELL YOUR AGE

In English, you use the verb to be in order to say your age, e.g. I’m 27. In Italian, instead, you’ll have to use the the verb to have.

(Io) ho + [your age]

Example: Io ho 34 anni = I’m 34 years old

Don’t you know already how to count in Italian to say your age? Then check out this lesson to learn the Italian numbers up to 100.

#2 – POSSESSION

Normally, you use the verb to have to express possession. You can refer to the physical ownership of something or just show a figuratively possession.

Let’s have a look a few examples to clarify:

1. (Io) ho una macchina = I have a car
2. Lui ha molta pazienza = He has a lot of patience 

#3 – NEEDS 

You can use the verb to have in Italian to express physical needs, such as hunger, thirst, sleepiness, … 

For example:

1. Ho fame = I’m hungry
2. Hai sete? = Are you thirsty?
3. I bambini hanno sonno = the kids are sleepy

#4 – SENSATIONS 

You can also use the verb to have to express physical sensations or emotional states, like cold, heat, fear, pain, … 

1. Ho freddo = I’m cold
2. Hanno paura del buio = They are afraid of the dark

#5 – DESCRIPTIONS

To describe people, animals or things, you’ll have to use the verb to have in front of a noun.

For example:

1. Ho gli occhi azzurri = I have blue eyes
2. Il tuo cane ha il pelo lungo  = Your dog has long hair 
3. La mia macchina ha cinque posti = My car has five seats

CONCLUSION

Congratulations!

You’ve learnt how to use one of the most common Italian verbs: AVERE.

Let’s wrap up on what we’ve covered so far. 

#1 – CONJUGATION OF THE VERB “TO HAVE”

To be able to have a conversation, you need to know how to conjugate verbs in Italian.

The verb tenses that are most used in conversations are the following:

1. PRESENTE: if you talk about the present
2. IMPERFETTO: when you need to tell about a continuous action in the past or a past habit
3. PASSATO PROSSIMO: it’s the most common past tense in spoken Italian
4. FUTURO: you’ll need it to say something that will happen in the future

Focus on the conjugation of these verb tenses first. It will allow you to start having basic conversations from today!

#2 – USES OF THE VERB “TO HAVE” IN ITALIAN

When do you use the verb “to be” in Italian? 

Here you can find some examples of real situations where you’ll have to use it.

1 – TELL YOUR AGE 
In Italian you use the verb “to have”, instead of “to be”, to tell your age. 
For instance: Ho ventinove anni = I’m twenty nine.

2 – EXPRESS POSSESSION
If you need to show possession (physical or figurative), you’ll use the verb to have.
For example: Ho una macchina = I have a car.

3 – NEEDS
When you talk about needs, you’ll have to tell it with the verb to have, as in the following.
Ho fame = I’m hungry.

4 – SENSATIONS
If you have to express physical sensations or emotional states, you’ll say: “ho” + your feeling.
For example: ho freddo = I’m cold.

5 – DESCRIPTIONS
When you describe people, animal or things, you generally use the verb to have in front of a noun. 
For instance: Ho gli occhi azzurri = I have blue eyes. 

WHAT TO DO NEXT ….

Okay, you’re finally at the end of this class and now what?

We know that Italian verbs are not known for being that easy to learn, but don’t be downhearted!

The secret is to approach them gradually and eventually you’ll be able to use them very naturally in your conversations.

Here you are 3 things that you need to do next:

#1 – DOWNLOAD (FOR FREE) the resume of this lesson, so you can check it out whenever you need!

#2 – Complete the practical activities that you’ll find at the end of the resume

#3 – Go back to this lesson and leave a comment if you have any questions or if you’ve found this article useful!

You can also read:

VERB “TO BE” IN ITALIAN: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW 

LEARN HOW TO COUNT TO 100 IN ITALIAN

VERB TENSES: ARE THEY ALL USED IN SPOKEN ITALIAN?