Rules for using the verb to have. The verb had in English

If verbs in the grammar of any language denote the performance of an action of an object, then the function of modal verbs is to show the attitude of the speaker to the ongoing action. And it, in turn, will be expressed in various ways.

Everything you need to know about the verb have

The topic of this article is devoted to the verb had, but you cannot start studying the topic without realizing that this verb is only the past form of the verb have. In order to learn about the verb had, you need to have an idea about have. This verb is the most important in English. It is important not only because in conversation we often talk about our property, but also because it is often found in set phrases and is never literally translated. Had is one of the variants of have, which is involved in the formation of some languages. The verb have is used in 4 ways.

1. Has its direct meaning, that is, it acts as it is translated have. For example, to say "I have a lot of friends", the English say I have a lot of friends. That is, literally this sentence can be translated as "I have many friends."

2. Occurs in stable phrases and expressions. Here, this verb no longer has a translation have. This is because set phrases do not have a literal translation. Here are a few expressions that come up quite often.

2.1 Statements about eating:

Have a tea - drink tea, not have tea.

2.2 Expressions related to dates and appointments:

Have a date - make a date, not have a date.

2.3 Statements about appearance:

Have a haircut - cut your hair.

2.4 Communication:

Have a talk - to talk, to have a conversation.

2.5 Health:

Have a baby - give birth to a baby.

Have a headache - a headache.

2.6 Travel:

Have a walk - go for a walk or take a walk.

3. Occurs as a modal verb have to.

The had variant is found in the Past Simple, Perfect and Perfect Continuous tenses.

What are the modal verbs in English

In English, the following must, need, shouldd, have to, may, need, dare, might, be to, shall, ought, have got to are considered modal.

If modal verbs like have, be, and should are auxiliary, then have, get, need, and be are meaningful.

Functions of modal verbs

As you know, modal verbs are intended to indicate the relationship of the narrator to a particular action. So you should consider the functions that modal verbs express during a conversation.

1. Physical possibility. For example, Helen is 20 years old. She can be in full employment. - Elena is 20 years old. She may be employed full time. That is, according to the law, she is allowed, and she has the right to do so.

2. Expresses the inability to perform a certain action. For example, Mike can't swim. - Mike can't (or can't) swim.

3. Expresses the need (duty) for action. - We must respect our parents. We must (must) respect our parents.

4. Expresses lack of necessity. We do not have to buy products. - So we don't have to buy groceries. That is unnecessary.

5. Expresses a ban on action. Jack must not do it. - Jack shouldn't be doing this. That is, he is forbidden to perform a certain action.

6. Expresses confidence in action. He should be glad. - He must be glad. The speaker is sure of it.

7. Expresses probability. They ought to be in now. They are probably inside (the building) now.

8. Expresses a hypothetical possibility. The weather can get cold in October. - It can get colder in October. That is, it is theoretically possible.

9. Express a request for permission to perform an action. Can I open the window? - Can I open the window?

10. Expresses prohibition or permission. She may not use my laptop. - She can't use my laptop. You may use my phone. - You can use my phone.

How the verb had is used in English

In fact, it is have in the past tense. As you know, have to is a modal verb, or to be more precise, the equivalent of must. Must, in turn, has a very strong meaning, which denotes the obligation to perform a certain action. Based on the foregoing, it is concluded that have to, being the equivalent of must, is also one of the rigid verbs. If these verbs are encountered during the conversation, then this is not a request, but an order!

Let's give examples of the use of have to in different tenses, pay attention to the tense in which the verb had is used.

She has to do it. - She has to make time).

She had to do it. - She had to do it (past tense).

She will have to do it. She will have to do it (future tense).

In the second sentence, the modal verb had to is used in the past tense.

Difference between must and have to

The modal verb must is used for personal feelings. Let's give an example: I must do it. I have to do it. This example shows the narrator expressing his feelings about a certain action.

I have to visit my dentist. Here it is shown that the speaker has problems with his dental health and needs to visit his dentist. It shows a fact, but not any personal emotions and feelings.

But often the line when using these two modal verbs is so thin that people start to get confused when using them. In such situations, it is better to use have to.

It should be remembered that, unlike have to, the modal verb must has no past tense. Thus, the equivalent of have to can be used in all forms, including the past tense. In the past tense, have to becomes the modal verb had to.

I had to visit my girlfriend. In this tense, you cannot use the verb must. Since it is past, the verb had is used here.

The use of the verb had in the negative form

The negative form of the verb had becomes have. To understand why had becomes have, it is enough to recall the rule of the past tense. The verb had is used in the past tense, which means that when negated, it is preceded by did not, which means that had turns into have.

In British English, in interrogative sentences, the verb to have almost always comes before the subject, but in American English, the question begins with the word Do. This also applies to the negative form. Let's take a simple example:

Have you two sisters? - here is the British version.

In the American version, this question would begin with Do: Do ​​you have two sisters?

Also, the verb Had can be found in the formation of a sentence in Present Perfect tense. It should be recalled that this tense expresses an action that began in the past and continues or ended at the time of the conversation. As you can see, this rule contains the past tense, which means that the verb Had found its time here.

It should be remembered that in the use of had the tense of the verb should only be past. This means that it cannot be used during a conversation in the present and even more so the future tense.

In what tenses is the verb had used?

The fact that the verb had is used in the past tense is already clear, it is worth analyzing the use of had in the formation of two more English tenses.

To form the Past Perfect tense, the following construction is necessary:

the verb had (past tense) + the verb in the third form, and more simply, the third column of irregular verbs.

Let's take an example, I had never seen him before - hence it is clear that the verb seen is the third form of the verb see - to see.

The Past Perfect Continuous is not the most common of all English tenses. This time can only be found in books. But it is worth studying in order to understand the whole tense system of the English language.

Time is formed using the verb Had been + ing.

For example, We had been feeling well for some time.

That, in fact, is all that concerns the topic of the verb have and its past form had.

To have is one of the most frequently used verbs in the English language, and, unfortunately, is used incorrectly in many cases.

This verb appears at all levels, but in textbooks information is given separately, and the features of the verb to have are almost never understood in detail and systematized.
Therefore, ideas about the verb to have are ambiguous: many believe that this is a very unusual verb, it has some special forms, questions and negations, whether it is semantic, or auxiliary, has different meanings, then it is translated, then not ...

Indeed, the verb to have is endowed with a mass of meanings (which we will soon consider in this article), so it can be translated in different ways. It is true that it can be both semantic and auxiliary (more on that later).

But its forms are very simple: there are only three of them. In the present tense, have has two forms: have for (I, you, we, they) and has for (he, she, it).

I do not have a yacht. - I don't have a yacht.
He does not have a girlfriend. - He doesn't have a girlfriend.
You didn't have much money. - You didn't have much money.

And now attention: typical mistake. In short answers to general questions, we do not use have, but the auxiliary verb of the time in which the question is asked:

Do you have a yacht? - Yes, I do./No, I don't. (So ​​wrong: Yes, I have./No, I haven't.)
Does he have a girlfriend? - Yes, he does./No, he doesn't. (So ​​wrong: Yes, he has./No, I hasn't.)
Did you have much money? - Yes, we did./No, we didn't. (So ​​wrong: Yes, I had./No, I hadn't.)

2. Relationship.

When we talk about people: about our family or loved ones, then this is more of an attitude than a possession, do you agree? Although the translation would be the same as in the first meaning: "someone (has) someone":

I have two sisters. - I have two sisters.
We have a lot of friends. We (have) many friends.
They have a big family. - They (have) a big family.

Again I emphasize that, speaking in the first two meanings, the verb have is state verb (State Verb). This means that he can not be used in the tenses of the Continuous group. We cannot observe action as such. It would be wrong to say: I am having a car or she is having a brother. Remember that in the meaning of "I have" - ​​only I have .

The second important point. The verb have in meanings own, possess, have in colloquial speech is often replaced by the form have got. About the differences have and have got we will talk in a separate article, which will appear on the blog very soon due to numerous requests from our subscribers. I encourage you to check it out, stay tuned!

3. Actions.

Do you know why there are so many set expressions with the verb have?
The fact is that in addition to its basic meanings described above, it can also replace other verbs, and therefore it has “taken root” in speech in these combinations. Consider examples of expressions in which have - does not mean “to have, own, possess”, but replaces another action:

Have in meaning eat (eat) :

Have breakfast/lunch/dinner - have breakfast, lunch, dinner
have a sandwich for breakfast - have a sandwich for breakfast
I will have a salad and some chicken, please. - I will (eat) salad and chicken, please.
What do you have for dinner? - What do you eat for dinner?
He is having his breakfast now. - He's having breakfast now.

Have in meaning drink (to drink) :

Have some coffee / some tea - drink coffee, tea
have a glass of wine - drink a glass of wine
I will have a cup of green tea. - I will (drink) a cup of green tea.
You should have some water if you are hot. - You should drink water if you are hot.

Have in meaning suffer from(suffer from) or experience(experience, experience)

Have a headache - suffer from a headache
have a cold - suffer from a cold
have a cough - suffer from a cough
I am having a terrible toothache! - I have a terrible toothache!
have an accident - survive an accident
have a difficulty - experience difficulties

Have in meaning give birth to(beget):

Have a baby - give birth to a child
She is going to have a baby. - She's going to have a baby.
They want to have three children. - They want to have three children.
Our dog had four puppies. - Our dog gave birth to four puppies.

Have in meaning get(receive, buy):

Have news - get news
have information - get information
have a hometask - get homework
I must have those new shoes! - I have to buy those new shoes!

Have combined with a noun conveys a single short-term action, the meaning of which depends on the noun. It's not hard, see:

Have a walk - take a walk
have a look - look
have a bath / shower - swim
have a talk - talk
have a conversation - talk
have a drink - drink
have a swim - swim
have a ride - ride
have a nap - take a nap

In the above expressions, we have, we mean another verb that is an action verb, so changing the meaning from state to action, the verb have can be used in Continuous group times. What you, by the way, could notice in some examples.

4. Have to - the equivalent of the modal verb must.

If after the verb have there is an infinitive with a particle to, then before you is the equivalent of the modal verb must(should, must). The fact is that must has no forms of past and future tenses.
But after all, we need to talk about obligations not only in the present, but also in the past and in the future tense. And this is where have to comes to the rescue.

It is important to remember that despite the connection with the modal verb and the unusual form, in this sense the verb have continues to be semantic, so it forms negations and questions with the help of the auxiliary verb of the tense you need:

I do not have to work tomorrow. - I don't have to work tomorrow.
We did not have to buy flowers. We didn't have to buy flowers.
He won't have to do much work. He won't have to do a lot of work.
Does she have to pay? - Does she have to pay?
Did you have to cook? - Did you have to cook?

You can learn more about this meaning of the verb have, its use and differences from must.

4. Auxiliary verb in Perfect tenses.

Have in combination with the third form of verbs forms perfect forms. Depending on the time, the form of the verb have, and the third form remains unchanged: in the present tense forms are used (have and has), in the past (had), and in - will have.
You can read in detail about each of these times in the articles devoted to them, but now I would like to clarify the issue of. In the examples that we analyzed above, it was unacceptable to abbreviate the verb have (although sometimes you want to). In the tenses of the Perfect group, since have is an auxiliary verb, it can be abbreviated:

I have - I've - / aɪv /
you have - you've - /juːv/
we have - we've - /wiːv/
they have - they've - /ðeɪv/

He has -he's - /hiːz/
she has - she's - /ʃiːz/

I had - I'd - /aɪd/ (with other pronouns - see above, pronounced by analogy, only the last sound /d/)

In the case of the future tense, have is not abbreviated, we will abbreviate will :
I will have - I'll have - /aɪlhæv/ (with other pronouns - by analogy, just change the pronoun)

And of course, since the verb is auxiliary, have is obligatory for the formation of questions and negations in tenses of the Prefect group, where it is not translated.
How to build questions and negatives, read the thematic articles devoted to each of the tenses.

5. Have something done (Causative).

This paragraph is for more advanced readers, since this construction is usually studied at the Upper-Intermediate level. Here have is again in the role of an auxiliary verb and the whole construction means that something is being done without the participation of the one who acts as the subject. In other words: someone has something done, something is being done for someone.

Here, the present and past and future forms of the verb have are also used, it builds negations and questions and is present in short answers.

Read more about the design.

In conclusion, let's summarize: the use of the verb have is determined by its meaning and role: it is semantic or auxiliary. All important findings are summarized in the table:

Now, when you meet or use the verb to have, you will know why it is used in this way and not otherwise: you will understand why it cannot be shortened or built with it in denial.

Verb have

It is the second most important verb (after the verb be). Its peculiarity is that, due to the frequency of its use, the forms of formation of the third person singular and the past tense have changed over time:

    3rd person singular verb ha ve s deformed into a verb has

    .

    past tense verb ha ve d deformed into a verb had

    .

Present tense of the verb have

Let's look at the forms of the verb have with personal pronouns:

I (you, we, they) have something.- I (you, we, they) have something He (she, it) has something.- He (she, it) has something.

As you can see, the verb have does not change in the plural, but the change occurs only in the third person singular, that is, after the personal pronouns he, she, it, or their corresponding nouns. Therefore, if you are in doubt in which person the verb should be put, look at the noun, and replace it with a suitable personal pronoun:

Mike and I have several logs.
- Me and Mike have several magazines ("Mike and I" - who are we?, so they correspond to the pronoun "we"). Mike has several logs.
- Mike has magazines ("Mike" - who is he?, therefore corresponds to the pronoun "he").

Verb have can be used both with auxiliary verbs do

So he himself performs the function of an auxiliary verb in negative and interrogative sentences. Let's see in which cases the verb follows do, and which do not:

    without a verb do used in the old book style, as well as with single objects, actions or phenomena:

    With a verb do is used in modern language, especially when it comes to habitual actions, the constant presence of some object, phenomenon:

    Statement:You have a house. - You have a home.
    Negation:You do not have a house. - You don't have a home.
    Question:Do you have a house? - Do you have a home?

    Look at the latest offers. They do not translate literally, but in a way that is more convenient for us to perceive. This is due to the optional observance of the order of the members of the sentence in Russian when compiling sentences. See more

    Well, for yourself, it’s better to always use an auxiliary verb do, since even in British English you rarely see the construction of an interrogative or negative sentence, where the role of the auxiliary verb is played by have.

    There are fixed expressions with have(has) in which the formation of interrogative and negative sentences without an auxiliary verb do unacceptable:

For example, consider two sentences:

Do they have tea?
- Do they drink tea? Have they tea?
- Do they have tea?

Looking at these two sentences, you can see how the meaning of the sentence changes dramatically when the auxiliary verb is used incorrectly.

Verb have has abbreviated forms together with personal pronouns:

    "ve- with pronouns, except for pronouns of the third person singular. In this case, the combination of a pronoun with an abbreviated verb is read by adding the end of the sound [v] to the pronunciation of the pronoun, for example:

    we"ve- we have

    "s- with pronouns of the third person singular. In this case, the combination of a pronoun with an abbreviated verb reads:

Notice the abbreviation "s- they also correspond to the contraction of the third person singular of the verb be. And you can understand which verb is possible only by context, for example:

He's clever.- He's smart ("s - the verb is translated "to eat", we can't translate I have smart). He's a car.- He has a car. (we cannot translate He is a machine).

As you can see, the context makes it clear which verb is in the sentence. But in more complex sentences, the difference may not be so obvious, then you need to look at what is being said in neighboring sentences.

There is also a negative shortened form with the verb have:

    have not- haven"t ["hæv.ənt]

    : My parents haven't a car.- My parents don't have a car.

    has not- hasn "t ["hæz.ənt]

    . The door hasn't a ring.- The door has no chime.

    There is another turn have (has) got, which has the same meaning as the verb have, but is used in more informal spoken language in the present tense. Rarely used in the past and never in the future. Second part of turnover got

    (past tense form of the verb get- get) does not carry a semantic load and is not translated into Russian (it is simply part of a compound predicate). When using have (has) got no need to use an auxiliary verb do:

    Statement:Pupils have got their notebooks. - The pupils have their notebooks.
    Negation:Pupils have not got their notebooks. - The pupils do not have their notebooks.
    Question:Have pupils got their notebooks? - Do the pupils have their notebooks?
    with a verb has got: A driver hasn't got a key of the car.- The driver does not have a car key.

    Also often turnover have (has) got used in a sentence as an abbreviated form of a verb have. This is due to the difficulty of listening to the abbreviated form. And lately, in American English, have omitted from the sentence:

    We("ve) got problems.- We have problems. He("s) got a new pen.- She's got a new pen.

    Past tense with verb have

    To form the past tense of a verb have its past tense form is used had

    Which does not change either in persons or in numbers. When forming a sentence, the same rules are used as for the formation of the present tense:

    Shortened form of the verb with personal pronouns - "d, and is pronounced together with the pronoun as an additional sound [d], for example pronoun they with reduction "d reads like this: they "d [ðeid]. They "d beautiful puppy.- They had a beautiful puppy.

    Verb had has an abbreviated form when negated: hadn "t ["hæd.ənt]

    : The driver hadn't his own bus.- The driver did not have his own bus.

    Future tense of the verb have

    An auxiliary verb is used to form the future tense will

    A verb have does not change forms regardless of person or number: My new car will have new wheels.- My car will have new wheels.
    I will have my favorite music album.- I will have my favorite music album.

    Interrogative and negative sentences:

    You will not have this information before tomorrow.- You won't have that information until tomorrow.
    Will she have clients next month?- Will she have clients next month?

    Short answer to a question with a verb have

    In Russian, we can answer a question with a short yes or no, but in English such an answer is considered not quite polite, and a combination of words is used to answer, depending on the context.

    Short answer to a question with a verb have same as with the verb be contains negation or agreement, corresponding personal pronoun with verb have in the same form as a personal pronoun:

    have you any trifle? - No, I have not (No, I haven"t) or Yes, I have
    Do you have change? - No or yes. Has she an evening dress? - No, she has not (No, she has "t) or Yes, she has
    Does she have an evening dress? - No or yes. Had I overweight? - No, you had not (No, you hadn"t) or Yes, you had
    Am I overweight? - No or yes.

    In the future tense instead of a verb have the answer is an auxiliary verb will: Will they have a bank account? - No, they will not (No, they won't) or Yes, they will
    Will they have a bank account? - No or yes.

    Pay attention to questions and answers with personal pronouns I and you. They, as in Russian, should change places in meaning. And also in the question, instead of a personal pronoun, there can be a corresponding noun, and in the answer there is always a personal pronoun:

    Have your friends any work? - No, they have not (No, they haven't) or Yes, they have
    Do your friends have jobs? - No or yes.

    Modal verb have to

    And another feature of the verb have that he is with a particle to forms a modal verb have to. This modal verb has the same meaning as the verb must, but in a less categorical form: it is necessary, must, should be done. And it changes over time.

    The modal verb changes form in the third person singular - has to, in the past time - had to and future tense will have to. Let's look at examples of the use of a modal verb:

    My dog ​​has to go out for a walk every evening.- My dog ​​has to go out for a walk every evening.
    You have to go with us.- You must come with us.
    My uncle had to take me from a hospital.- My uncle was supposed to pick me up from the hospital.
    We will have to pay for bills every month. We will have to pay bills every month.
    See modal verbs for more details.

The verb have/has and the verb have got/has got are translated into Russian as to have or possess. Often these verbs are interchangeable. But there are cases in which the replacement of "hue" and grammatical aspect is simply not possible. It is these cases that we will consider in this article and fully understand the issue of using the verb have got and has got.

When do have/has and have got/has got replace each other?

1. When it comes to belonging of something to someone.

I have (have got) an interesting book.I have an interesting book.

He has (has got) a job. He has a job.

She has (has got) a lot of money.She has a lot of money.

2. When we describe appearance.

She has (has got) blue eyes. She has blue eyes.

I have (have got) slim body. I have a slim body.

3. When the conversation is about relationships and family.

We have (have got) a friendly family.We have a friendly family.

I have (have got) a sister. I have a sister.

4. When it came to the topic of diseases.

He has (has got) a back pain. His back hurts.

I have (have got) a toothache.I have a toothache.

When can only have/has be used?

When the action takes place in the present continuous tense (Present Continuous). The verb have got/has got cannot be used in this tense.

I am having a swim now. I am swimming now.

They are having watch TV at the moment.They are watching TV at the moment.

The use of the verb in the past tense

In the past tense, the verbs have/has, have got/has got are replaced by the verb had.

He has (has got) an apple. He has an apple. In present time.

He had an apple. He had an apple. In the past time.

How are verb abbreviations written in affirmative and negative?

Have/has verbs do not have abbreviations. Have got/Has got, on the contrary, they are often used in shorthand. You can see their abbreviation in detail in the table below.

Statement

Negative Sentence

I
we
you
they
have have got
've got
I
we
you
they
do not have
don't have
have not got
haven't got
he
she
it
has has got
‘s got
he
she
it
does not have
doesn't have
has not got
hasn't got

Questions and answers with the verbs have/has, have got/has got

Remember the golden rule: if the question begins with have / has, then got is needed, if got is not used, then the question begins with the auxiliary verb do, does.

Have you a book? Do you have a book? It's wrong to say so.

Have you got a book? Do you have a book? Correctly!

Do you have a book? Do you have a book? Correctly!

have have got
Do I
we
you
they
have? Yes, I do
No, I don't
have I
we
you
they
got? Yes, I have
No, I haven't
Does he
she
it
Yes, she does
No, she doesn't
Has he
she
it
Yes, she has
No, she has not