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Ls 2. have - present and past tense

Lesson 2. have - present and past tense

"Have" is a verb that has the forms 'has', 'having', and 'had' with have being the base form. It can be either a helping verb or a main verb.

This is a word often used in English, one that will become even more important as your language skills grow. It is important to be able to confidently use have/had. To start you off on the right foot, let's take a closer look at this word.

One way "have/has" is used is to show possession:

He has two sisters I have a small dog We have class tomorrow

You use this word to talk about possessing something. Here's the breakdown of how to use it for different subjects in the present tense:

Present Tense
I haveWe have
You haveYou have
He hasThey have
She has
It has

Talking about something you owned in the past? With this word, it's nice and easy. Just drop the ve/s and add a d:

Past Tense
I hadWe had
You hadYou had
He hadThey had
She had
It had

This word is going to be an important part of your English language abilities. It is the foundation of conversation. You will need it to talk about your family ("I have a brother"), your schedule ("I have class today"), and your tasks ("I have so much homework"). Later, it will become even more important as you use it as a block to build more complex sentences. So, master it now and learn to use it confidently. It will serve you well in the future of your studies.

Examples:

  • I have a garden in my backyard. (present tense)
  • I had a garden in my backyard last year, too. (past tense)
  • You have some schoolwork to do.
  • You also had some work to do yesterday.
  • He has a beehive full of bees.
  • He had a beehive when he was a child
  • Do you have any interest in bees?
  • She has a fear of spiders
  • Do you have a fear of anything?
  • They have fun playing in the water
  • They had a good time in the pool last week, too.

Questions

Present TensePas Tense
Do I have | Do we haveDid I have | Did we have
Do you have | Do you haveDid you have | Did you have
Does he have | Do they haveDid he have | Did they have
Does she haveDid she have
Does it haveDid it have

Negatives Present Tense - Negative do / does + not + main verb Past Tense - Negative did + not + main verb

It's important to understand in the examples above that the main verb is in the simple form: have Be careful when answering questions that include the verb "have."

Below are examples of how to make the present tense and the past tense negative with verbs other than "have"

simplepast
havehad
eatate
seesaw
bewas/were

Today I don't have any work to do (present tense) Yesterday I didn't have any work to do (past tense) I usually don't eat a big breakfast. (present tense) yesterday I didn't eat a big breakfast (past tense) I don't see movies very often (present tense) I didn't see that movie yet (past tense)

The verb "have" is also used as an auxiliary verb (or you can call it a "helping verb") when making the present perfect tense. To make the present perfect:

has or have + the past participle has has finish his beer. There isn't any beer left in the glass.