Hi, I just did a test for dropping the ai part of j'ai when next to a vowel. I got this wrong but these examples were used.
J'ai vingt ans- I am 21
Je suis grand - I am tall
J'habite à Londre
Why does j'ai (i thought this means I have and je suis (I thought this meant I am) both have the translation of " I am
Yes, j'ai does mean "I have". But in French you state your age differently:
J'ai vingt ans. -- I have 20 years. In English you don't "have" 20 years, you "are" 20 years. That's why the French j'ai is translated as "I am" in English. But it's not what it means in French.
Bonjour Nicki,
Chris is correct! Here's a link on "avoir [number] ans = To be [number] years old": Avoir [nombre] ans = To be [number] years old (French Expressions with avoir)
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
Because habiter starts with a silent h and therefore je contracts to j'.
In English you "are" your age, i.e.: I am 20 years old, in French you "have" your age, i.e.: I have 20 years. So to answer your question, you are quite right, Je suis is I am and J'ai is I have, but when translated from French to English the J'ai vingt ans translates to I am 20 years old.
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