Why 'avoir' instead of 'etre' before 'raison'

Question

I saw in one of the examples the following sentence.

Je crois que mon ami a raison.

why is 'a' used before 'raison'. Shouldn't it be 'est' if we speak literally?

Answer

If we look at the phrase "He is right"  this translates as "il a raison".  I too had an issue with this at the onset; however, I have learned to accept the use of avoir as an idiosyncracy of the French language.  I feel quite sure that there is a grammar rule that explains the use of avoir in this phrase.

Answer

If we look at the phrase "He is right"  this translates as "il a raison".  I too had an issue with this at the onset; however, I have learned to accept the use of avoir as an idiosyncracy of the French language.  I feel quite sure that there is a grammar rule that explains the use of avoir in this phrase.  
***https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/virr3.html
This is another reference page that shows several idiomatic phrases that use the verb avoir.

Answer

Hi Surenda - it will make more intuitive sense if you translate 'raison' as meaning 'cause' or 'reason' rather than 'right'. One is right, but one has cause or reason. Having said this, it's never a good idea to try to translate literally or word for word between languages as usually work differently and logic in one won't necessarily apply in the other.

French often translates more closely to old English, than modern English, but knowing this can be helpful in establishing an intuition for how things are said.

Answer

Thanks Ron and gruff for your advice, it makes it makes more sense now.

Answer

Surendra, de rien.

Answer

the problem is with the english not with the french. English suses the verb to be when other european languages use the verb have. we feel cold we do not change to become all cold it is something we have or feel not become totally

Answer

I agree that English uses the verb to be and French uses to have "avoir".  One of my French teachers explained it thusly:  "We use avoir because it is a temporary condition, i.e.  j'ai faim, j'ai soif, j'ai froid.  All 3 phrases use avoir.  As soon as one eats, drinks  something or puts on a coat, the condition is alleviated.  The sense of être, intuitively, gives more permanence to the condition.

J'espère que cela vous aide.