What are idiomatic expressions French?

General French Idioms

• Ça marche. Literal translation: it walks.
• Être dans la lune. Literal translation: to be in the moon.
• Ça coûte un bras. Literal translation: It costs an arm.
• Faire la grasse matinée. Literal translation: to do a fat morning.
• Coup de foudre.
• Être sage comme une image.
• Boire comme un trou.

What is avoir?

Avoir (to have) – a very useful verb Avoir (to have) is a very useful verb and is used whenever we would say ‘have’ in English. It ‎is also used to form other tenses, such as the passé composé (the perfect tense).

How do you use avoir in a sentence?

Have a listen to these examples:

1. J’ai un chien. I have a dog.
2. Tu as une sœur. You have a sister.
3. Il a les yeux bleus. He has blue eyes.
4. Nous avons deux chats. We have two cats.
5. Vous avez les mêmes yeux. You have the same eyes.
6. Ils ont un bébé. They have a baby.

What are the avoir verbs?

Avoir is the French verb that means “to have”. But it has so much more than that going for it! For one thing, as you probably know already, avoir is the most common auxiliary (helping) verb in French. It’s used to conjugate most other French verbs in the passé composé and other compound tenses.

What is the difference between être and Avoir?

Être and Avoir: The 2 Most Important Verbs in French For starters, on their own, the verb être means “to be” and the verb avoir means “to have.” These two verbs are used in this simple sense to say things like je suis professeur (I am a teacher) or elle a une tasse (she has a cup).

How do you use avoir expressions?

Common Idiomatic Avoir Expressions

1. avoir l’air (to appear)
2. avoir . . . ans (to be . . . years old)
3. avoir besoin de (to need)
4. avoir de la chance (to be lucky)
5. avoir la chance de (to be lucky to)
6. avoir chaud (to be hot)
7. avoir envie (to feel like)
8. avoir faim (to be hungry)

How do you use avoir and être in a sentence?

When to use avoir and être as main verbs

1. to express ownership or possession. Example: Il a une voiture. He has a car.
2. to describe a condition or state that refers to a noun. Example: J’ai le temps. I have the time. Tu as une soeur. You have a sister.
3. to talk about age. Example: J’ai 23 ans. I am 23 years old.

What are some of the French expressions with etre?

Learn how to say that’s right, here goes, so be it, and more with this list of expressions with être. être à côté de la plaque. to be way off the mark, to not have a clue. être bien dans sa peau. to be at ease/comfortable with oneself. être bouche bée. to be flabbergasted.

When do you use avoir expressions in French?

Avoir expressions are very often used to express different feelings. Again, instead of using “to be scared” or “to be ashamed,” in French, you’ll be using avoir. Some of these expressions are fairly easy to calque onto your English, for example, avoir peur de.

When do you use avoir in impersonal terms?

Avoir is used in the impersonal expression il y a, which means either ‘there is’ or ‘there are.’ Il y a is used to express the existence of a person or a thing, or to make a list or inventory of persons or things. The indefinite article ( un, une, des) is usually used with il y a.

Are there any English equivalents of avoir horreur?

Avoir horreur de — to have horror of (to hate) Some of these expressions are fairly easy to calque onto your English, for example, avoir peur de. But the three others are used far more commonly in French than as their English equivalents.