Well, unfortunately not! You’ll frequently find the Italian verb for ‘to have’ (avere) used where we would use ‘to be’ (essere) in English, e.g. ‘I am thirsty’ translates as ‘ho sete’ (literally: I have thirst), and ‘they are right’ translates as ‘hanno ragione’ (literally: they have reason)
Here’s a list of the most common idiomatic expressions with avere and some examples of their usage. N.B. you’ll often find avere shortened to aver before a consonant, as seen in the examples below.

1. avere … anni = to be … old: Lucia ha quattro anni = Lucia is four years old

2. aver bisogno (di) = to need: Serena ha bisogno di una mano = Serena needs a hand

3. aver caldo = to be (feel) warm/hot: mi tolgo questo maglione, ho troppo caldo = I’m going to take off this sweater, I’m too warm

4. aver freddo = to be (feel) cold: se hai freddo possiamo accendere la stufa = if you’re cold we can light the stove

5. aver sonno = to be (feel) sleepy = ora ho sonno, vado a letto presto = I’m tired now, I’m going to bed early

6. aver fretta = to be in a hurry: Su, Luca, sbrigati che ho fretta! = come on Luca, get a move on, I’m in a hurry!

7. avere intenzione (di) = to intend: = Marco aveva intenzione di andare al mare oggi = Marco intended to go to the sea today

8. aver paura (di) = to be afraid: avevamo paura di perderci = we were afraid of getting lost

9. aver vergogna = to be (feel) ashamed: oddio, che scemo che sono, ho proprio vergogna: Oh God, what an idiot I am, I feel really ashamed

10. aver fame = to be hungry: avete fame ragazzi? Dai, andiamo in pizzeria = are you hungry guys? come on, let’s go to the pizzeria

11. aver sete = to be thirsty: mi dai un bicchiere d’acqua per favore, ho proprio sete = could you give me a glass of water please, I’m really thirsty

12. aver ragione = to be right: sì, sono completamente d’accordo, hai ragione tu! = yes, I completely agree, you’re right!

13. aver torto  = to be wrong: avevi torto a non accettare il suo invito = you were wrong not to accept his invitation

14. aver voglia di = to feel like doing: che bella giornata, hai voglia di fare una passeggiata con me? = what a lovely day, do you feel like going for a walk with me?

Next time I’ll be taking a look at idiomatic expressions with the verb fare … ce ne sono tante! (there are loads of them!)

A presto!