Have or Has?

The verb have has many different meanings. Its primary meaning is to indicate ownership or possession: “I have a bicycle in the garage”.

Had is the past tense of both has and have.

Subject

Present tense

Past tense

Rest of sentence

I / You / We / They

have

had

a big house.

He / She / It

has

had

a big house.

Have

I have a great math teacher.
You have toothpaste on your chin.
We have a meeting at 12.
Nurses (they) have a difficult job.

Has

He has a new haircut.
She has a charming personality.
The house (it) has burnt down.

As demonstrated in the table below, we always use have (and never has) in negative sentences and in questions. Instead, we use do or does depending on the subject.

I, you, we, they = do
he, she, it = does

Subject

Affirmative sentences

Negative sentences

Questions

I / You / We / They

I have to get up early.

I do not have to get up early.

Do I have to get up early?

He / She / It

She has to get up early.

She does not have to get up early.

Does she have to get up early?

QUIZ
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