Usage Note
A is the third-person singular present tense of avoir ('to have') and is one of the most frequent words in French. It should not be confused with the preposition à ('to/at'), which carries a grave accent. Il a forms the auxiliary in compound past tenses (il a mangé — 'he ate'), making it foundational to all past narration in French.
Examples
"Elle a un chat noir."
Natural Translation
She has a black cat.

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