Using have and has

“Have you ever been to Malta? Malta has such colourful fishing boats, and you don’t have to walk very far to see them. My sister has never seen them; I’ve got to show her around the island someday!”

There are plenty of ways to use ‘have’ and ‘has’ in the English language.

Let’s start with the basics.

has or have

Has and Have can both be used to show possession. The choice between has or have depends on the subject (the noun that performs the action).

We use has with the third person singular (She, He, It)

• She has a great personality.
• Mark has a new haircut.
• The washing machine has a leak in it.
• My favourite shirt has a stain.

We use have with I, You (singular), and plural pronouns (We, You, They)

I honestly have a great English teacher.

I think you have toothpaste on your chin.

We should have a meeting at 12.

Nurses have a difficult job.

Tip: Singular nouns and uncountable nouns use has

The traffic has made me late.

I heard this shop has the best clothes.

contractions

In present tense sentences we use have with I, You (singular), and plural pronouns (We, You, They)

I have = I’ve

you have = you’ve

we have = we’ve

they have = They’ve

he has = he’s

it has = it’s

negative contractions

has not = hasn’t

have not = haven’t

had not = hadn’t

‘have’ and ‘has’ in questions

When forming sentences, have/has comes before the subject

Have you been to Australia?

Has Andrew left yet?

‘Who has my pen?

Has anyone seen my mobile phone?

Tip: “Anyone” functions as a singular third-person subject, just like all indefinite pronouns. These are pronouns that refer to unspecified persons or things.

‘have got’ and ‘have’

Both ‘have got’ and ‘have’ mean the same thing. There is no difference.

‘I have got an iPhone.’ = ‘I have an iPhone’.

‘You have got a message.’ = ‘You have a message.’

‘She has got no time to sleep.’ = ‘She has no time to sleep.’

‘has’ and ‘have’ verb tenses

Past simple

‘Had’ is the past tense of both ‘has’ and ‘have’.

She had a difficult time moving on from her loss.

They had a lot of fun at the party.

Continuous tense

In the continuous tense, we use having with all pronouns. However, only when have is used as an action verb—not when it’s used to show possession.

Call an ambulance, he is having a heart attack! (Correct)

He is having two brothers (Incorrect)

Perfect tense

Has/have is added to the past participle of the main verb to make the perfect tense.

Present Perfect

She has lived here for a long time.

We have seen this TV show before.

I have cut my finger.

Past Perfect

‘I had already decided not to go before he asked me.’

‘They had finished the race before it started raining.’

‘She had already left when he arrived’

modal verbs: ‘have to’

‘have to’ is used to mean that something is necessary. It is used in the following way in affirmative sentences:

subject + modal (have to / has to) + verb

I have to wash my car today.

He has to write a report.

I had to go to the bank yesterday.

She had a difficult time moving on from her loss.

They had a lot of fun at the party.

negative sentences

In negatives to show that something is not necessary we follow this rule:

subject + doesn’t have to + verb

‘We don’t have to work tomorrow.’

‘She doesn’t have to wear a uniform to school’

‘I didn’t have to make my bed when I was young’