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In English, we say that someone "is" a certain age. In Italian, you don't "be" an age—you "have" years. You express this using the verb **avere** (to have) followed by the number and the word **anni** (years).

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### Physical States with Avere

Italian also uses **avere** to describe many physical and emotional states where English uses the verb "to be." Instead of saying you *are* hungry or sleepy, you say that you *have* hunger or sleepiness. 

Here are some common expressions with **avere**:
- **avere fame** (to be hungry / to have hunger)
- **avere sonno** (to be sleepy / to have sleepiness)
- **avere fretta** (to be in a hurry / to have haste)
- **avere freddo** (to be cold / to have cold)
- **avere fortuna** (to be lucky / to have luck)

You will often use words like **sempre** (always), **ora** (now), **perché** (why / because), and **quando** (when) to add context to these states.

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You can also use **avere** with a definite article to talk about ailments, such as **avere la febbre** (to have a fever).

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### Needs and Desires

To express that you need or are in the mood for something, Italian combines **avere**, a noun, and the preposition **di** (of):

- **avere bisogno di** (to need / to have need of)
- **avere voglia di** (to want, to be in the mood for / to have desire of)

Simply add the thing you need or want directly after **di**.

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Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Past tense of modal verbs

Question	Answer
My son is three years old.	Mio figlio ha tre anni.
always	sempre
My brother is fifteen years old and he is always hungry.	Mio fratello ha quindici anni e ha sempre fame.
sleepiness	il sonno
to be sleepy	avere sonno
now	ora
Are you sleepy now?	Hai sonno ora?
because, why	perché
The baby is sleepy because it is night.	Il bambino ha sonno perché è notte.
hurry	la fretta
to be in a hurry	avere fretta
Why are you in a hurry?	Perché hai fretta?
My father is always in a hurry.	Mio padre ha sempre fretta.
need	il bisogno
to need	avere bisogno di
Now we need a doctor.	Ora abbiamo bisogno di un medico.
I need a car today.	Oggi ho bisogno di una macchina.
desire	la voglia
to feel like	avere voglia di
I am not hungry, but I am in the mood for a snack.	Non ho fame, ma ho voglia di uno spuntino.
I am not in the mood for this fish.	Non ho voglia di questo pesce.
when	quando
fever	la febbre
to have a fever	avere la febbre
When I have a fever, I am cold.	Quando ho la febbre, ho freddo.
luck	la fortuna
You are lucky today, the shop is not closed.	Oggi hai fortuna, il negozio non è chiuso.
My cousin is always lucky.	Mio cugino ha sempre fortuna.
Anna is sad today because she has a fever.	Oggi Anna è triste perché ha la febbre.
When we are hungry, we need food.	Quando abbiamo fame, abbiamo bisogno di cibo.
to be afraid of	avere paura di
I'm very sleepy because it's nighttime.	Ho molto sonno perché è notte.
The doctor is sleepy, but he has a lot of work.	Il medico ha sonno, ma ha molto lavoro.
I'm in a hurry: the train is here!	Ho fretta: il treno è qui!
Why are you always in a hurry?	Perché hai sempre fretta?
I need a bit of water.	Ho bisogno di un po' d'acqua.
The boy needs a new chair.	Il ragazzo ha bisogno di una sedia nuova.
I feel like having a snack.	Ho voglia di uno spuntino.
Do you feel like an apple or an orange?	Hai voglia di una mela o di un'arancia?
The little girl is afraid of that black dog.	La bambina ha paura di quel cane nero.
Are you afraid of a little insect?	Hai paura di un piccolo insetto?
The child has a fever and is very sleepy.	Il bambino ha la febbre e ha molto sonno.
When I have a fever, I'm not hungry.	Quando ho la febbre, non ho fame.

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