It’s already time for a new French Listening practice! I usually write everyday French sentences for my listening practices, but I decided to change things today. For this one, I wrote 50 French sentences with AVOIR (to have). Avoir is one of the most versatile verbs in French. It’s used in different situations. Some common, some less common. In this French listening practice, I collected 50 expressions and wrote 50 sentences with Avoir.
In the video lesson, I read each sentence slowly before reading it at a normal pace. Focus on listening but also pay attention to the vocabulary, conjugation, sentence structure, etc. Make the 15 minutes of this lesson count 🙂
Let me know if you would like the next French Listening Practice to be about a specific verb (être, avoir, …) or a specific tense (passé composé, subjunctive, etc)
Free PDF at the bottom of the page ⇩
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1. Avoir __ ans – To be ___ years old
Ma fille a dix ans et mon fils a sept ans.
My daughter is ten years old and my son is seven years old.
2. Avoir beau + infinitive – Despite doing
J’ai beau essayer d’ouvrir le pot de cornichons, je n’y arrive pas.
Despite trying hard to open the jar of pickles, I can’t.
3. Avoir besoin de – To need
L’ingénieur a besoin de plus de temps pour finir son rapport.
The engineer needs more time to finish his report.
4. Avoir chaud – To be hot
Est-ce que tu as trop chaud ?
Are you too hot?
5. Avoir confiance – To trust
J’ai confiance en toi.
I trust you.
6. Avoir de la chance – To be lucky
On a de la chance avec le temps aujourd’hui.
We’re lucky with the weather today.
7. Avoir des choses à faire – To have things to do
J’ai tellement de choses à faire ce week-end.
I have so many things to do this weekend.
8. Avoir deux mains gauches – To be clumsy
Attention, il a deux mains gauches !
Be careful, he is clumsy!
9. Avoir du charme – To have charm
Tu trouves qu’il a du charme ?
Do you think he has charm?
10. Avoir du mal à – To have a hard time – To struggle to
J’ai du mal à comprendre cette règle de français.
I struggle to understand this French rule.
11. Avoir envie de – To want – To feel like
Tu as envie d’aller au cinéma ce soir ?
Do you want to go to the cinema this evening?
12. Avoir eu chaud – To have narrowly escaped something bad – To be lucky
J’ai eu chaud ! La voiture a failli me renverser.
I was lucky! The car almost ran me over.
13. Avoir faim – To be hungry
Les enfants ont toujours faim après l’école.
Children are always hungry after school.
14. Avoir froid – To be cold
Mets un pull si tu as froid.
Wear a sweater if you’re cold.
15. Avoir hâte de + infinitif – I can’t wait to + infinitive
J’ai hâte de partir en vacances.
I can’t wait to go on vacation.
16. Avoir honte de – To be ashamed of
Il a honte de son comportement.
He is ashamed of his behavior.
17. Avoir horreur de – To hate
Ils ont horreur des films d’horreur.
They hate horror films.
18. Avoir l’air – To seem – To look
Tu as l’air fatigué, tu devrais te reposer.
You look tired, you should rest.
19. Avoir l’air fin – To look like a fool
Il a l’air fin avec ce chapeau sur la tête.
He looks like a fool with that hat on his head.
20. Avoir l’habitude de – To be in the habit of – To use to
Je n’ai pas l’habitude de prendre le bus.
I’m not used to taking the bus.
21. Avoir l’heure – To have the time
Est-ce que vous avez l’heure ?
Do you have the time?
22. Avoir l’impression que – To be under the impression that – To feel like
J’ai l’impression que quelque chose ne va pas.
I feel like something is wrong.
23. Avoir l’intention de – To have the intention to – To plan to
Nous avons l’intention de visiter Paris l’année prochaine.
We plan to visit Paris next year.
24. Avoir la conscience tranquille – To have a clear conscience
Elle a la conscience tranquille car elle sait qu’elle a fait de son mieux.
She has a clear conscience because she knows she did her best.
25. Avoir la pêche – To be happy – To feel great
J’ai la pêche ce matin.
I feel great this morning.
26. Avoir le mal de mer – To be seasick
J’ai toujours le mal de mer lorsque je voyage en bateau.
I always get seasick when I travel by boat.
27. Avoir le temps – To have time to
On a le temps de prendre un café avant le rendez-vous.
We have time for a coffee before the meeting.
28. Avoir le trac – To have stage fright
Les acteurs ont souvent le trac avant de monter sur scène.
Actors often get nervous before going on stage.
29. Avoir lieu – To happen – To take place
La réunion aura lieu dans la salle de conférences.
The meeting will take place in the conference room.
30. Avoir mal – To be in pain
Il a mal au dos à cause de son travail.
He has back pain from his work.
31. Avoir mauvaise conscience – To feel guilty
Il a mauvaise conscience après avoir menti à ses parents.
He has a guilty conscience after lying to his parents.
32. Avoir peur (de) – To be afraid (of)
Elle a peur des araignées.
She is afraid of spiders.
33. Avoir quelqu’un dans sa poche – To have someone in the palm of one’s hand
Il a son patron dans sa poche, il peut obtenir ce qu’il veut.
He has his boss in the palm of his hand, he can get what he wants.
34. Avoir (quelque chose) – To have (something)
On a une grande maison.
We have a big house.
35. Avoir quelque chose sur la conscience – To feel guilty of something
Elle a quelque chose sur la conscience, mais elle refuse de nous dire quoi.
She is feeling guilty, but she refuses to tell us what.
36. Avoir raison – To be right
Tu as raison, je me suis trompé.
You are right, I was wrong.
37. Avoir soif – To be thirsty
J’ai tellement soif, est-ce que je peux avoir un verre d’eau ?
I’m so thirsty, can I have a glass of water?
38. Avoir sommeil – To be sleepy – To be tired
Elle a sommeil après une longue journée de travail.
She is sleepy after a long day at work.
39. Avoir tort – To be wrong
Il n’aime pas avoir tort.
He doesn’t like being wrong.
40. Avoir un coup de foudre – To have a crush – To fall in love at first sight
Il a eu un coup de foudre pour elle dès qu’il l’a vue.
He fell in love with her as soon as he saw her.
41. Avoir un fou rire – To laugh – To have the giggles
Ils ont eu un fou rire pendant la réunion, personne ne pouvait s’arrêter de rire.
They had a laugh during the meeting, no one could stop laughing.
42. Avoir un mal de chien à faire quelque chose – To have a hard time doing something
J’ai eu un mal de chien à trouver une place de parking.
I had a hard time finding a parking space.
43. Avoir un petit creux – To be a little bit hungry – To feel peckish
On n’a pas très faim, mais on a un petit creux.
We’re not very hungry, but we’re a little peckish.
44. Avoir un trou (de mémoire) – Can’t remember something – To have forgotten something
Il a eu un trou de mémoire pendant l’examen et il n’a pas pu répondre à la question.
He couldn’t remember something during the exam and was unable to answer the question.
45. Avoir une faim de loup – To be very hungry – Could eat a horse
J’ai une faim de loup ! Qu’est-ce qu’on mange ?
I am so hungry! What are we eating?
46. Avoir une idée de génie – To have a great idea – To have a genius idea
Tu as toujours des idées de génie.
You always have great ideas.
47. En avoir assez – To be fed up with – To have enough of
J’en ai assez de tes excuses.
I’ve had enough of your excuses.
48. En avoir marre – To be fed up with – To have enough of
Elle en a marre de son travail et envisage de démissionner.
She is fed up with her job and plans to quit.
49. Il y a quelque chose qui cloche – Something is wrong
Il y a quelque chose qui cloche dans cette histoire.
There is something wrong with this story.
50. N’avoir qu’à – To only have to do something
Tu n’as qu’à étudier plus si tu veux réussir.
You just have to study more if you want to succeed.
I hope you enjoyed this French Listening Practice. Let me know in the comments if you would like more.
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