27 Phrases with the verb AVERE

This is a video lesson aimed at learners of Italian. If you're studying or learning Italian, you've come to the right place! I'm Luca and I welcome you to my channel!

In this video lesson I'm going to explain 27 phrases with the verb "avere" which you should definitely know. These phrases are very common, and you must know them.

Specifically, in this podcast I'm going to start from the simplest phrases and then move on to the phrases known only by native speakers and learners at an advanced level.

By watching this video lesson, you'll learn twenty seven phrases with the verb "avere" that you can use when speaking Italian.

But let's not waste time and jump straight into the first set of phrases!

Round one

Chances are, you already know the first three expressions. They are: "avere fame", "avere sete" and "avere sonno".

Let's jump straight into an example with the expression "avere fame"!

"Ho fame, oggi non ho fatto colazione".

Another example could be: "Stamattina non ho mangiato niente e ora ho fame".

An example with "avere sete" could be: "Ho sete, non bevo da stamattina. Mi potresti dare un bicchier d'acqua?"

An example with the phrase "avere sonno" could be: "Ho sonno, ieri non ho dormito".

So far so good. These three phrases are quite simple and are typically taught in Italian language courses for beginners.

However, please note that the nouns "fame" and "sete" are feminine. Therefore, if for example you want to make these phrases stronger, you should use a feminine adjective. For example, you can say: "Ho molta fame". Or: "Ho molta sete".

Incidentally, when I was a kid, I and the other children used to make the following joke. If a child said "Ho sete", the other child replied "Vai dal prete!" If a child said "Ho sonno", the others would reply "Vai dal nonno!". So: "ho sete" - "vai dal prete"; "ho sonno" - "vai dal nonno".

I mean, such rhyming answers were given which in theory were funny for the children. Back in the day, children among themselves replied this way; that is, they gave rhyming answers which they found hilarious.

Similarly, if someone asked "Cos'è successo?", the other children replied: "È caduto il nonno dal cesso!"

Well, when I was a kid, among the children it was trendy to make this type of jokes, which in fact belong to what we call "spirito di patate".

If you are wondering what "spirito di patate" means, up here I'm going to add a card to a video that I made when I was younger. This video is entirely dedicated to the idiom "spirito di patate". So, if you are interested, check it out!

Anyway, let's move on to the next set of phrases with the verb "avere"!

Round two

In Italian there are the expressions "avere ragione" and "avere torto". Specifically, one means the opposite of the other.

I'm going to give you an example right away!

"Hai ragione, sono d'accordo con te. Anche secondo me è meglio fare così".

An example with the expression "avere torto" could be: "Secondo me hai torto. Stai dicendo delle cose sbagliate. Non sono per niente d'accordo con quello che stai dicendo".

As you can see, the expressions "avere ragione" and "avere torto" have opposite meanings. Namely, if someone has "ragione" they don't have "torto", and viceversa.

But let's move on to the next phrases with the verb "avere"!

Round three

You probably know the phrases "avere caldo" and "avere freddo". These expressions too are typically taught early on in Italian language classes.

Often, though, non-native speakers who learned Italian as a foreign language ask me what's the difference between "fa caldo" and "ho caldo".

The difference is this. "Fa caldo" is a more general phrase stating an objective fact, namely: it's hot for everybody. Instead, "Ho caldo" means: for me, in this moment, it's hot. If you will, "fa caldo" is an impersonal phrase, whereas "ho caldo" is a slightly more personal expression.

The same applies to the difference between the expressions "Fa freddo" and "Ho freddo".

But please note that you should say "fa freddo", not "fa frecc". No, because once there was this Italian guy who kept saying "fa frecc", "fa frecc", and it took me a while to understand what he meant.

Round four

Another very common phrase is "avere fretta".

For example, if someone stops you in the streets to ask you something, but you should go somewhere and are already late, and therefore have no time to stop, you can reply to them: "Scusi, ho fretta!"

What does it mean? Excuse me, I can't stop, I don't have time, I'm in a hurry. In other words: I need to proceed fast. The word "fretta" essentially refers to the need or desire to be quick.

You can say "avere fretta" or "essere di fretta" or "andare di fretta". So there are three different ways to say this. You can say: "Ho fretta", "Sono di fretta", "Vado di fretta".

Please note that, if you use the verb "essere", or the verb "andare", you should use the preposition "DI".

If you use the verb "avere", you can also add DI + an infinitive, and you can say, for example: "Ho fretta di tornare a casa". Or: "Ho fretta di finire questo lavoro".

In this pattern with the preposition "DI" plus the infinitive mood, the word "fretta" usually refers to the desire to do something quickly, not to the need to hurry up. So a sentence such as "Ho fretta di tornare a casa" to me means: I want to get back home as soon as possible.

Round five

Another expression with the verb "avere" is "avere fortuna" and its opposite "avere sfortuna".

A more colloquial version of "avere sfortuna" is "avere sfiga". Please note that I said "avere sfiga", not "avere ****". So do be careful: this word starts with an S.

"Fortuna" and "sfortuna" (or "sfiga") are two opposite concepts, meaning that: someone who has "fortuna" doesn't have "sfortuna", and viceversa.

If I say that someone "ha sempre fortuna", I mean that everything always goes well for them. If I say that someone "ha avuto fortuna", I mean that, in a given situation, something went well for this person.

"Avere sfortuna", instead, means the opposite. If I say that someone "ha sempre sfortuna" (or "sfiga") I mean that everything always goes badly for them.

Incidentally, talking about "sfortuna" or "sfiga", in Italian there's a very nice and amusing proverb, which is: "Le sfighe non vengono mai sole". Or: "Le sfighe non vengono mai da sole".

Up here I'm going to add a card to a video lesson that I made about this saying. Check it out, so that you can see how I looked like when I was young!

Round six

Another phrase with the verb AVERE is "avere successo".

Let's jump straight into an example!

"Il progetto ha avuto successo". What does it mean? The project went well.

Similarly, if I tell someone "Sono sicuro che avrai successo", what do I mean? I mean that I think that this person will manage to do what they want to do.

Round seven

Next, there's the phrase "avere importanza".

For example, if I say "Questa cosa non ha importanza", what do I mean? I mean that this thing is not important. I can say "non è importante", or alternatively I can say "non ha importanza". There's no difference whatsoever.

Round eight

Next, there's also the locution "avere luogo".

I'll give you an example right away!

"L'evento avrà luogo martedì alle 22". What does it mean? The event will be on Tuesday at 10 PM.

Another example could be this: "Ultimamente hanno avuto luogo diversi incidenti spiacevoli". What does it mean? Lately, several unpleasant accidents took place.

Round nine

Next, there's the expression "avere giudizio", which essentially means being reasonable, being able to think logically.

If you will, someone who "ha giudizio" is a wise person, who doesn't do stupid or hasty things. It is someone who thinks before they act.

10.

Next, in Italian we also say "avere esperienza".

I'll give you an example straight away!

"Questo avvocato ha molta esperienza in questo settore". What does it mean? It means that this lawyer in the past has already worked in this field and therefore he knows this field well.

11.

Another expression with "avere" is "avere poca memoria".

For example, if I say "Laura ha poca memoria", what do I mean? I mean that Laura doesn't have a good memory, meaning that she remembers things poorly. Or some things "non se le ricorda proprio".

What does "non se le ricorda proprio" mean? It means that not only she doesn't remember the particulars, the details of a given event, but she doesn't even remember that something has happened.

12.

Next, the verb "avere", but you probably already know this, can be used with diseases and different types of illnesses.

I'll give you some examples! "Ho la febbre". "Ho l'influenza". "Ho la tosse". "Ho la bronchite". "Ho mal di testa". "Ho mal di pancia". "Ho mal di gola". And so on. Anyway, you see what I mean. Chances are, you already know some of these expressions.

Clearly, these are the most common. In case of a particular or specific disease, say "Disease X", you should also use the verb "avere".

13.

Another quite common phrase is "avere coraggio".

I'll give you an example!

"Martina è davvero coraggiosa. Ha molto coraggio".

Well, in this case you can use the verb "essere" and say "è coraggiosa", or you can use the verb "avere" and say "ha coraggio".

Another example with the phrase "avere coraggio" could be this: "Claudio non ha avuto coraggio e si è comportato da codardo". What does "da codardo" mean? It means like a coward.

I don't know if you know this use of the preposition "DA". Anyway, with the verb "comportarsi" you can use the preposition DA and say sentences such as: "si è comportato da stupido", "si è comportato da persona intelligente", "si è comportato da vero amico", or, like in this case, "si è comportato da codardo", and so on.

Final round

Lastly, there are three phrases which are used in a similar way: "avere paura", "avere bisogno" and "avere voglia".

Let's jump straight into an example with "avere paura"!

"Ho paura di ammalarmi". Or: "Ho paura di perdere il treno".

An example with "avere bisogno" could be: "Sono troppo stanco. Ieri non ho dormito. Ho bisogno di dormire".

Another example could be: "Ho bisogno di parlare con Luigi. What does it mean? I need to talk with Luigi, I must talk with Luigi, it is necessary that I talk with Luigi.

An example with "avere voglia" could be: "Ho voglia di andare al mare". Another example could be: "Ho voglia di mangiare un gelato".

As you can see, in these examples I have used the preposition "DI" followed by a verb in the infinitive. That's the standard pattern.

Alright! I hope that you liked these phrases! If you liked them, please leave an amazing Like!

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