avere
to have
verb ah-VEH-reh Common
Origin: Latin habere (to hold, have)
Usage Note
Avere is one of the two main auxiliaries in Italian; it is used with most transitive verbs to form compound tenses — ho mangiato (I have eaten). Unlike essere, the past participle does not agree with the subject unless a direct-object clitic precedes the verb: le ho viste (I saw them, f. pl.). Avere also appears in idiomatic expressions for physical states: ho fame (I'm hungry), ho freddo (I'm cold).
Examples
"Ho due fratelli."
Natural Translation
I have two brothers.
Literal Translation
I-have two brothers.

Free starter pack
Building your Italian vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Italian by topic