Have
Have: forms
Have is an irregular verb. Its three forms are have, had, had. The present simple third person singular is has: We usually have breakfast at about eight.
I had a strange dream last night.
She has quite dark hair.
Have: uses
We use have as a main verb and an auxiliary verb.
See also:
Have as a main verb
Have as an auxiliary verb
Have: typical error
We don’t use have in the third person singular of the present simple:
A meeting has been set up for Monday, 4pm.
Not: A meeting have been …
Have as a main verb
The main verb have has lots of uses.
Possession
We use have to talk about things that we own or possess: Do you have a car?
They have two dogs, Scruffy and Milly.
See also:
Have got and have
Events, actions, experiences and activities
I’m going to have a bath.
Let’s have a party to celebrate your birthday!
We have a break at 10 am.
Did you have a nice time in London?
Eating food and meals
We had a wonderful meal in the new restaurant on Elm Street.
A:
Two coffees, please.
B:
Large or small?
A:
Er large. You want a large one, do you?
C:
Mhm. Can Ihavea cake as well?
Shall we have lunch together sometime?
Days or parts of days
Have a nice day!
I had such a tough day.
Did you have a nice morning (or afternoon, evening, birthday, holiday)?
Hygiene routines and therapies
I had a shower and got ready to go out.
He needs to have a shave both in the morning and in the evening.
The doctor recommended that I should have massages every week on my back.
Conversations and interactions
I need to have a chat with Joan about your hours.
They had a big argument about money.
The chef and the manager had a row in the kitchen and everyone in the restaurant could hear them shouting.
Sleeping
She had a rest in the afternoon.
Did you have a good night’s sleep?
I used to have terrible dreams when I was young.
Accidents and problems with cars
She had an accident when she was young. She fell off a horse.
They had a crash but luckily no one was injured.
We had a breakdown on the motorway once.
Thankfully, I have never had a puncture.
Travel
They have a 15-hour flight from Rome.
Have a safe trip.
Did you have a pleasant journey?
Other common expressions with have
have a baby | have a think | have a try | have a problem | have a go | have a feeling/sense | have an operation | have a clue/idea | have a long wait | have a laugh (informal, a good time) | have a shock | have a surprise |
See also:
Have got and have
Have: using the continuous form
We can use the continuous form to talk about an activity that is happening: She’s having a bath right now. She’ll call you back.
We use the continuous form to talk about an activity that is planned for a future time: I’m having lunch with Miriam on Wednesday.
They’re having a surprise party for Mike on Saturday night.
She’s having a baby in June.
We use the continuous form of have when the event or action is ongoing or repeated: She was having nightmares for a year after the accident. (A nightmare is a bad dream.)
I’ve been having discussions with my boss about a transfer to Edinburgh. I think he’s going to agree.
He’s having trouble with his car.
See also:
Present continuous (I am working)
Present perfect continuous (I have been working)
Past continuous (I was working)
Past perfect continuous (I had been working)
Have as an auxiliary verb
Have is one of three auxiliary verbs in English: be, do and have. We use havebefore -ed forms to make the present perfect and past perfect.
Present perfect | Past perfect | have + -ed form | had + -ed form | They have moved house.
| We had paid in advance.
| He’s studied a lot. (full form: has)
| I’d known her for years. (full form: had)
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We use have, not do, to make questions and negatives of perfect verb forms.
Present perfect | Past perfect | Have you seen Maria?
| Had they been waiting for long?
| Not: Do you have …
| Not: Did they had …
| I haven’t eaten yet.
| We hadn’t brought a map.
| Not: I don’t have …
| Not: We didn’t had …
|
See also:
Verbs: types
Present perfect simple (I have worked)
Past perfect simple (I had worked)
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