When to Use Have or Had?
When is it correct to use have, has, or had? Phrased differently, what’s the past tense of have? Let’s go ahead and have a look at the answers.
Have, has, having, + had
First and foremost, let’s see a definition of the verb, to have.
When you have something, you “own, hold, or possess it“. For example, in a sentence, “He had bought a new car and a boat“. I bet he goes sailing all the time now, which he can, since he owns (or ‘had‘ owned) the boat.
When to use have, has, and had
| present | past | future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| simple | I have/has | I had | I will have |
| continuous | I am having | I was having | I will be having |
| perfect | I have had | I had had | I will have had |
| perfect continuous | I have been having | I had been having | I will have been having |
Compare how the verb ‘have’ appears in the following sentences:
- I don’t have that much money on me.
- She has a long way to go before she graduates.
- We had dinner early.
Sentence 1 is in the first-person present singular, sentence 2 is in the third-person present singular, and 3 is the simple past tense.
In other words, use ‘has’ for all third-person subjects in the present tense, ‘have’ for the first-person, second-person, and third-person present plural, and ‘had‘ as the past tense and past participle form for all subjects.
| base verb | past tense | past participle |
|---|---|---|
| have or has | had | had |
| write | wrote | written |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| ride | rode | ridden |
Has vs. had
Compare how the tenses of ‘do’ work in both sentences:
She has supported me all throughout my career.
I had a feeling something bad was going to happen.
Did and does are simply two tenses that we use to denote the past or present time. The simple past tense of do is did for all subjects. The past participle is done, and it also applies to all persons.
Thus, the difference is that did is in the past, and do/does are in the present (in the first/third-person singular). He did a lot of homework today, which is the simple past.
The second sentence with ‘he had done‘ includes the past participle ‘done‘ + the auxiliary verb had to form the past perfect tense. The past perfect, also called the pluperfect, is a form of the past that depicts something that happened before something else that also occurred in the past.
Have/had as auxiliary verbs
To have is one of English’s three auxiliary verbs (along with to be and to do). This means that apart from playing a main role in sentences, have also often plays a supporting role in forming aspects of tense, such as perfect and progressive verb tenses.
- This had been done before.
- We have eaten here many times before.
- We are having a great time!
Thus, when ‘have’ is in sentences with another verb, it’s an auxiliary verb.
“Have” / “has” / “had”, in sentence examples
| Sentence examples: have/having/has, present tenses |
|---|
| Do you have a pencil I can borrow? I have scrubbed the walls. The soup has a savoury flavour. Let’s have a reunion soon. We’re having a great time! She’s got the flu. |
| Sentence examples: had, past tense |
|---|
| We had a great time. I’ve had several meals at that restaurant. The ham had a smoky flavour. In 2018 the party had 10 000 members. |
Worksheet: have/had/has
| Complete the sentence with the correct verb form. | Options: |
|---|---|
| 1. Jack ___ fun at the party last Saturday. | a. has b. had c. have d. having |
| 2. I’m sorry, but I ___ to go now. | a. has b. had c. have d. having |
| 3. ___ you ever been to Canada? | a. has b. had c. have d. having |
| 4. The match ___ already started when we arrived. | a. has b. had c. have d. having |
| 5. My boss never ___ time. | a. has b. had c. have d. having |
| 6. They ___ breakfast at 6:30. | a. has b. are having c. have d. having |
| Select the tense the sentence uses: | |
| 7. Dave had passed his driving test. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect |
| 8. I have one brother and one sister. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect continuous |
| 9. Andrew and Sarah have gotten the flu. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect continuous |
| 10. I’ve had time to think it over, and I don’t think it’s a good idea. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect |
Answers
- b
- c
- c
- b
- a
- b
- d
- a
- b
- d
Origin of have
From etymology online on do (v.):
Old English habban “to own, possess; be subject to, experience,” from Proto-Germanic *habejanan.
Learn more about verbs
| Types of verbs & verb tenses | what’s the past tense of …? |
|---|---|
| forms of ‘to be’ | … seek? |
| auxiliary verbs | … teach? |
| present tense | … catch? |
| future tense | … buy? |
| past tense | … read? |
| perfect tense | … ring? |
| transitive vs. intransitive | … drive? |
| participles | … throw? |
| irregular verbs | … lead? |
| modals | … win? |
Sources
- Merriam-Webster, definition of have.
- Etymology online, origin of have.
