Published September 5, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Avoir lieu meaning
Avoir lieu is a common French expression meaning “to take place,” “to occur,” or “to happen.” The verb avoir (to have) is conjugated while lieu stays unchanged. For example, “Le festival a lieu en juillet” (The festival takes place in July) or “L’accident a eu lieu hier” (The accident happened yesterday).
Avoir lieu pronunciation
The IPA pronunciation of avoir lieu is /a.vwaʁ ljø/, which sounds approximately like “ah-vwahr lyuh.”
Avoir lieu example sentences
Le festival de musique a lieu chaque année en juillet.
The music festival takes place every year in July.
Les cours de français ont lieu deux fois par semaine.
French classes take place twice a week.
Les élections auront lieu le mois prochain.
The elections will take place next month.
L’accident a eu lieu juste devant la boulangerie.
The accident took place right in front of the bakery.
👉 This expression requires knowledge of the avoir conjugation chart.
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- se dérouler — to take place, to unfold
- se passer — to happen, to take place
- avoir lieu à — to take place in/at
- avoir lieu en — to take place in
- avoir lieu chaque année — to take place every year
- avoir lieu prochainement — to take place soon
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