Verb to have
The verb to have is an irregular verb that translates as “to have something”, “to possess something”. This verb has three forms: have, had, had. The verb to have has the grammatical forms of present (Present Simple), past (Past Simple) and future time (Future Simple), as well as the form of the passive state (Passive Voice). Consider the table with the most frequent use of the verb to have.
| Question | Positive Statement (spoken) | Negative Statement (spoken) |
Singular | ||
| Do I have …? Have I got …? | I have (I’ve) | I have not (I haven’t/I’ve not) |
| Does he / she / it have…? Has he/she/it got …? | He/she/it has (He/she/it ‘s) | He/she/it has not (He/she/it hasn’t) |
| Do you have …? Have you got …? | You have (You’ve) | You have not (You haven’t/You’ve not) |
| Did I / he / she / it have …? Had I / he / she / it / you got…? | I / He / She / It / You had (I’d / He’d / She’d / You’d) | I / He / She / It / You had not (I / He / She / It / You hadn’t) |
Plural | ||
| Do we / you / they have …? Have we / you / they got …? | We / You / They have (We’ve / You’ve / They’ve) | We / You / They have not (We / You / They haven’t // We’ve nof / You’ve not They’ve not) |
| Do you have …? Have you got …? | You have (You’ve) | You have not (You haven’t/You’ve not) |
| Do they have …? Have they got …? | They have (They’ve) | They have not (They haven’t/They’ve not) |
| Did we / you / they have …? Had we / you / they got … ? | We / You / They had (We’d / You’d / They’d) | I / He / She / It / You had not (I / He / She / It / You hadn’t) |
Functions of the verb to have
The verb to have in English can be used as an auxiliary, semantic and modal verb. It can also be used in expressions to indicate an action.
- to have as a semantic verb – it expresses possession relations
- to have as an auxiliary verb – is used when forming the tenses of the Perfect and Perfect Progressive (Continuous) group
- to have as an equivalent of the modal verb must – denotes necessity, advice or recommendation. The compulsion of the action is due to some circumstances, for this the form to have + infinitive with the particle to is used
Affirmative forms of the main verb to have
| Person | 1st / 2nd sing | 3rd sing | Plural |
| Tense | I / you | he, she, etc | we / you / they |
| Present | have | has | have |
| Preterit | had | ||
| Present perfect | have had | has had | have had |
| Past perfect | had had | ||
Negative forms of the main verb to have
| Person | 1st / 2nd sing | 3rd sing | Plural |
| Tense | I / you | he, she, etc | we / you / they |
| Present | do not have / don’t have | does not have/ doesn’t have | don’t have |
| Preterit | did not have / didn’t have | ||
| Present perfect | haven’t had | hasn’t had | haven’t had |
| Past perfect | hadn’t had | ||
Past tense forms with have
| Sample verb “walk” | 1st sing | 2nd sing | 3rd sing | Plural |
| Present perfect | I have walked | you have walked | he / she… has walked | we / you / they have walked |
| Past perfect | I had walked | You had walked | He/ she … had walked | we / you / they had walked |
| Present perfect progressive | I have been walking | You have been walking | He / she… have been walking | we / you / they have been walking |
| Past perfect progressive | I had been walking | You had been walking | he / she … had been walking | We had been walking |
Examples using the verb to have:
- I have read a lot of books.
- I have many beautiful dresses.
- Do you have a car?