avons

Avons is the first-person plural present indicative form of the French verb avoir, meaning “we have.” The verb avoir is irregular in the present tense, and its full set of forms includes j’ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. Avons is used in a wide range of contexts to express possession, obligation, existence, or experience, among other senses.

Common uses include expressing possession: Nous avons une voiture (We have a car). Expressions of need or desire: Nous avons faim (We are hungry), Nous avons besoin d’aide (We need help). It also appears in phrases indicating obligation or necessity, such as avoir à faire quelque chose (to have to do something): Nous avons à partir maintenant (We have to leave now) in certain contexts. Avons also functions as the auxiliary verb in passé composé and other compound tenses: Nous avons mangé (We have eaten / We ate), Nous avons terminé le travail (We finished the work).

Grammatical notes include that avoir is typically used as the auxiliary for most verbs in compound tenses in French, and av ons appears only in the present tense for the first-person plural subject. The form is versatile across formal and informal registers, and it interacts with negation and pronouns in standard ways: Nous n’avons pas de pain (We don’t have any bread).

Etymology traces avoir to Old French from Latin habēre, reflecting its long-standing role in expressing possession and action. Avons, as a form, is a key component of everyday French grammar and appears frequently in both speech and writing.