How to Use the Italian Verb Avere

How to Use the Italian Verb Avere Avere: 1 to have (got): Ho molti amici. I have many friends; 2 to have, to own: Ha una villa in campagna. He has a house in the country; 3 to have on, to wear: Maria ha un vestito nuovo. Maria has on a new dress. Like the verb essere (to be), avere is used in myriad grammatical and linguistic situations. Learning the many conjugations and uses of the verb is crucial to the study of the Italian language. Interrogative Verbs To make a verb interrogative (I have - do I have?), add a question mark to the end of the sentence in writing. In speaking, the pitch of the voice rises at the end of the sentence. Avete un buon lavoro.You have a good job. Avete un buon lavoro?Do you have a good job? If a subject (noun or pronoun) is expressed in the interrogative, it can:- stay at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb- go to the end of the sentence- less frequently go immediately after the verb Does Mario have an uncle?Mario ha uno zio?Ha uno zio Mario?Ha Mario uno zio? Avere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a predictable pattern of conjugation. The present tense (il presente) of avere is as follows: CONJUGATING THE ITALIAN VERB AVERE IN THE PRESENT TENSE Singolare Plurale (io) ho I have (noi) abbiamo we have (tu) hai you have (fam.) (voi) avete you have (fam.) (Lei) ha you have (form.) (Loro) hanno you have (form.) (lui) ha he has (loro) sono they have (fam.) he compound tenses are verb tenses, such as the  passato  prossimo, that consist of two words. The appropriate tense of  avere  or  essere  (called the auxiliary or helping verbs) and the past participle of the target verb forms the verb phrase. Transitive Verbs In general, transitive verbs are conjugated with  avere. Transitive verbs express an action that carries over from the subject to the direct object:  The teacher  explains  the lesson. The past participle is invariable when the  passato  prossimo  is constructed with  avere. Oggi Anna non lavora perchà ¨ ha lavorato ieri.Today Anna isnt working because she worked yesterday. The others worked yesterday too.Anche  gli  altri  hanno  lavorato  ieri. Past Participle When the past participle of a verb conjugated with  avere  is preceded by the third person  direct object pronouns  lo, la, le,  or  li,  the past participle agrees with the preceding direct object pronoun in gender and number. The past participle may agree with the direct object pronouns  mi, ti,  ci,  and  vi  when these precede the verb, but the agreement is not mandatory. Ho  mangiato  la frittata.I have eaten the  omelette. L’ho  mangiata.I have eaten it. Ho  comprato  il sale e  il  pepe.I bought the salt and pepper. Li  ho  comprati.  I bought them. Ci  hanno  visto  (visti).They saw us. In negative sentences,  non  is placed before the auxiliary verb. Molti  non  hanno  pagato.Many didnt pay. Hai  ordinato  un  aperitivo?Did you order an aperitif? No,  non  ho  ordinato  un  aperitivo.No, I didnt order an aperitif. Compound and Verb Tenses The compound tenses are verb tenses, such as the  passato  prossimo, that consist of two words. The appropriate tense of  avere  or  essere  (called the auxiliary or helping verbs) and the past participle of the target verb forms the verb phrase. In general, transitive verbs are conjugated with  avere. Transitive verbs express an action that carries over from the subject to the direct object:  The teacher  explains  the lesson. The past participle is invariable when the  passato  prossimo  is constructed with  avere. Oggi Anna non lavora perchà ¨ ha lavorato ieri.Today Anna isnt working because she worked yesterday. The others worked yesterday too.Anche  gli  altri  hanno  lavorato  ieri. When the past participle of a verb conjugated with  avere  is preceded by the third person  direct object pronouns  lo, la, le,  or  li,  the past participle agrees with the preceding direct object pronoun in gender and number. The past participle may agree with the direct object pronouns  mi, ti,  ci,  and  vi  when these precede the verb, but the agreement is not mandatory. Ho  mangiato  la frittata.I have eaten the  omelette. L’ho  mangiata.I have eaten it. Ho  comprato  il sale e  il  pepe.I bought the salt and pepper. Li  ho  comprati.I bought them. Ci  hanno  visto  (visti).They saw us. In negative sentences,  non  is placed before the auxiliary verb. Molti  non  hanno  pagato.Many didnt pay. Hai  ordinato  un  aperitivo?Did you order an aperitif? No,  non  ho  ordinato  un  aperitivo.No, I didnt order an aperitif.