Where to use the word has and have

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While the verb to have has many different meanings, its primary meaning is “to possess, own, hold for use, or contain.” Have and has indicate possession in the present tense (describing events that are currently happening). Have is used with the pronouns I, you, we, and they, while has is used with he, she, and it.

Where to use has and have with examples?

Have or Has

Where to use have and have been?

The best way to recognise the present perfect tense is to see if the second verb ends in “ed” (like visited). On the other hand, to have been is used in the present perfect continuous tense, which conveys an action which began in the past and is still continuing in the present.

Has have had grammar rules?

Present Tense Uses of Have and Has. Both words are present tense forms of the verb to have. The past-tense form is had, and the present progressive tense (or continuous tense) is having.

Has or have with name?

The easiest way to remember the correct use of has is that it is paired with the pronouns he, she, and it. It can also be used when you are referring to someone by name. John has a bike. Suzy has a car.

36 related questions found

You probably use has and have often, but do you know the grammar rules behind how you use them?

Take this pair of sentences: which one is correct?

Is it, “Peter have a dog” or “Peter has a dog”?

What Is the Difference Between Have and Has?

The words «has» and «have» both come from the verb «to have.»

To have means to possess or hold something. It also means to experience or undergo something. «Has» and «have» both mean the same thing as «to have.»

So why are there two different versions of the word?

When Should I Use Have or Has?

It’s all to do with who we are talking about. Whether you use have or has depends on the point of view you are using. Luckily, you only use has when talking in the third-person singular (that’s grammar jargon for using he, she, or it in a sentence).

If you’re not using he, she, or it, you can almost always use «have.» Keep reading for the exceptions.

First, let’s look at some examples of when to use has and have.

When Do I Use Have?

We use have when talking about ourselves in the first person perspective (using I), when addressing someone else directly in the second person perspective (using you), or when referring to multiple people in the third person plural (using they).

Here are some examples:

• I have a dog.
• You have a cat.
• They have horses.

In all three of the examples above, have is used to indicate ownership.

Now take a look at these:

• I have seen that movie.
• You have been there, right?
• They have worked hard on this project.

In these examples, have is used to show that the subject of the sentence (I, you, they) has been through an experience (seeing the movie, going to a place, working on a project).

To recap: If you’re using I, we, you, or they, use have.

When Do I Use Has?

We use has when talking about someone or something else in the third person singular. That means that if you’re referring to just one person or thing, and you’re not using «I» or «you» to refer to them, you need to use has.

Here are some examples:

• She has red hair.
• He has eight siblings.
• It has many special features.

As before, in all of those examples has indicates ownership.

Now take a look at these:

• She has been to school.
• He has learned how to crochet.
• It has fallen over.

In these examples, has shows that the subject (she, he, or it) have experienced something (been to school) or undergone a change (learned to crochet, fallen over).

Are Has and Have Singular or Plural?

So, to recap:

• Have can be singular (I / you have) or plural (we / they have)
• Has is always singular (he / she / it has)

Seems simple, right? However, this can get tricky when you’re talking about a group of people, a team, or a company.

If you’re referring to a group of people with the pronoun everyone or everybody, you need to use has:

• Everybody has bad days.
• Now that everyone has a booklet, we’ll get started.

But if you’re referring to a general group such as children, people, and the media, you’ll need have:

• Children have struggled during the pandemic.
• It’s hard to tell if people have strong feelings on the subject.
• The media have made the issue worse by causing panic.

Is It «The Team Has» or «The Team Have»?

If you’re using a collective term, like family, team, company, or group, you can use has or have. This is because we can view these terms as one single group, or as a collection of individuals.

• The team has achieved record results this year. (team = single group)
• The team have achieved record results this year. (team = collection of individuals)

Do I Use Has or Have with a Name?

When you refer to an individual by name, you’re using the third person singular—that means you use has.

That’s because names take the place of «he» or «she» (or any other singular pronoun, like the non-binary pronoun, «they») in a sentence.

• He has a dog.
• Peter has a dog.

Now we have the answer to our earlier question. It’s Peter has a dog, not Peter have a dog.

Is It «She Should Have» or «She Should Has»?

It’s she should have. Even though we are using she, which usually goes with has, the verb should has special rules.

That’s because it’s a modal verb. We won’t get into those here, but you should know that if you always use have after a modal verb.

Here are the verbs to look out for:

• Would: I would have gone, but I was held up at work.
• Could: You could have saved him.
• Should: She should have asked me before she sold my bike.
• Shall: You shall have what you are given.
• Will: I will have the risotto, please.
• Might: He might have told me; I can’t remember.
• May: They may have been right about that.
• Can: You can have whatever you want.

What Tense Are Have and Has?

We can use the words have and has to make a few different tenses. This can get a bit complicated, but we’ll start simple.

If you are speaking about someone owning something in the present tense, you’ll use have or has with the same rules as before:

• She has an ice cream.
• I have tickets to the concert.
• They have coconut cream pie on the menu.

This is known as the simple present tense.

If you want to say that someone owned something in the past (but not necessarily now), use had. Had is the past tense version of have/has:

• He had lots of jewellery.
• You had an olive tree at the old house.
• They had excellent WiFi at the hotel.

This is known as the simple past tense.

You can also use has, have, and had to create more complex tenses.

If you want to refer to something that started in the past and continues into the present, use have or has with the same rules as before plus an -ing verb:

• She has always loved running.
• I have been going to ballet class since I was five.

When Do You Use «Was Having» or «Had Been Having»?

If someone began owning or experiencing something in the past, and this was still happening when another event occurred, use was / were having, like this:

• I was having breakfast when he got home.
• John was having a nightmare when he woke up.
• Don’t blame yourself. You were having a terrible time at work already when it happened.

If you want to describe a continuing experience that occurred before a particular time in the past, use had been having:

• I had been having trouble with my car already when I set off on the journey.

Is It Grammatically Correct to Write «Had Had»?

If you or someone else finished doing something before a specific point, you’ll need to use «had» before the action:

• No wonder you’re hungry. You had finished your lunch before 10am!
• I had seen over 50 horror films by the time I was 13.
• She had run a marathon before, but never as fast as she did this time.

This can look a bit weird if you want to say that you or someone else had finished owning or experiencing something before a point:

• They had had their dinner by 7pm.
• You had had that blanket for years before you lost it.
• I had had my prom dress ready for months before the event.

In all of these examples, it is correct to say «had had.»

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What Is the Difference Between Have, Has, and Must?

On their own, have and has don’t mean the same thing as must.

However, the phrases have to or has to do mean the same thing as must. You can use have to / has to and must interchangeably, however sometimes must is more compelling.

• You have to do your homework before you go to the skate park.
• You must do your homework before you go to the skate park.

While these sentences technically mean the same thing, using must in the second example sets a more commanding tone—the speaker is telling the listener what they must do.

Here are some more examples of have to and has to in a sentence:

• I have to leave for work by eight.
• You have to listen to this new band!
• She has to learn her lines for the performance.
• Children have to be accompanied by an adult to ride the rollercoaster.
• The Government has to resolve the issue by the end of the week.
• It has to stop raining before we can play football.

Can I Use Have and Has in the Same Sentence?

Yes, of course! Just use the same rules we’ve already covered.

For example:

• She has red shoes, but I have blue shoes.
• He has seen movies that have not been released yet.

You might also use the phrase «has to have» in your sentence to mean «must have»:

• She has to have the correct uniform to attend school.
• Jane is a perfectionist. She has to have everything planned down to the last detail.

What Is the Difference Between Hasn’t and Haven’t?

Hasn’t and haven’t are negative contractions of has and have. They mean «has not» and «have not» respectively.

When you use hasn’t or haven’t, it is usually to say that you have not experienced or undergone something, rather than to say that you do not own something.

Use hasn’t and haven’t with the same rules we covered before. Hasn’t goes with she / he / it and haven’t goes with I / we / you / they.

• We haven’t got any potatoes left in stock.
• The shop hasn’t got any potatoes left in stock.
• I haven’t been able to get any potatoes.
• How will you cook the dish if you haven’t got any potatoes?

Remember, if you can replace the subject of the sentence (the thing doing the having or not having) with it, use hasn’t—like with «the shop» in the example above.

What Are Some Examples of Has or Have in a Sentence?

Let’s finish up with a quick-fire round of some common phrases that use has or have.

Is It «Does Have» or «Does Has»?

It’s does have. This is because the verb to do (which turns into does, did, etc.) requires you to use the root form of any verb you put after it.

This sounds confusing, but all it means is that you need to use «have» after any version of the word «do» :

• Your plan does have its benefits.
• He does have a point.

Is It «Did It Have» or «Did It Has»?

This follows the same pattern as above. «Did» is the past tense version of the word «do,» so the answer is did it have.

• Did it have to end this way?
• Did she have a haircut?
• Did the hotel have a swimming pool?

Is It «Someone Have» or «Someone Has»?

Someone is a singular pronoun, like he or she. That means that, in most cases, we use has.

• Someone has poisoned the waterhole!

However, if you’re asking a question beginning with «Does,» you need to use have, as above:

• Does someone have time to help me with this?

Is It «Which Have» or «Which Has»?

This depends on the subject of your sentence. Remember, we only use «which» with non-human subjects.

If it is a singular subject, use which has. If it is a plural subject, use which have.

• Plural: Watches, which have always been used to tell the time, now have many other purposes.
• Singular: The bandstand, which has been standing for 100 years, is being demolished this Saturday.

Have You Got It?

Now you know how to use have and has in your sentences. Remember, before you decide which one to use, check your tense and who you’re talking about.

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Have и Has — это формы глагола to have (иметь) в настоящем времени. Правило их употребления простое, тем не менее у начинающих часто бывают трудности с этими словами.

Читайте также: «Do или Does? Правило, примеры и основные ошибки».

Правило употребления has / have следующее:

• Has употребляется с местоимениями в единственном числе третьего лица he, she, it, например:

He has a bike. — У него есть велосипед.

She has a sister. — У нее есть сестра.

This is a tree. It has many branches. — Это дерево. У него есть много веток.

• Has также употребляется с любым подлежащим, которое можно заменить местоимением he, she, it. Это может быть едва ли не любая часть речи, но чаще всего существительное:

John has a kangaroo. — У Джона есть кенгуру.

Swimming has become a popular sport. — Плавание стало популярным видом спорта.

Существительное «John» можно заменить на he, герундий «swimming» — на it.

• Have употребляется со всеми остальными местоимениями в единственном и множественном числе: I, you, we, they.

I have a strange feeling. — У меня странное ощущение.

You have no choice. — У вас нет выбора.

We have two dollars. — У нас есть два доллара.

They have reliable friends. — У них надежные друзья

Иначе говоря, видим «He, She, It», либо слово, которое можно ими заменить, ставим has, с другими словами — have.

Частые ошибки в употреблении Has и Have

1. Has в прошедшем времени

Has и have — это формы глагола to have в настоящем времени. В прошедшем времени глагол to have имеет только одну форму — had. В прошедшем времени has не употребляется ни при каких условиях:

• Правильно:

We had a lot of work. Helen had no work at all. — У нас было много работы. У Хелен работы не было вообще.

• Неправильно:

We had a lot of work. Helen has no work at all.

Во втором, неправильном, варианте из-за has меняется смысл: «У Хелен вообще нет работы (сейчас)».

2. Has в будущем времени

То же самое касается будущего времени: в будущем времени глагол to have имеет форму will have. В будущем времени has не нужен ни при каких условиях.

• Правильно:

He will have enough time for rest. — У него будет достаточно времени для отдыха.

• Неправильно: 

He will has will have enough time for rest.

3. Has и Have после имен людей, названий городов, мест

Начинающие часто путаются, когда эти формы глагола используются с именами собственными. Дело в том, что в учебниках часто даются примеры с именами людей, например:

Maria has two sons. — У Марии два сына.

Может возникнуть привычка, что после любого имени собственного нужен глагол has, но это, разумеется, не так. Если подлежащее можно заменить на he, she, it, тогда ставим has, в других случаях (то есть если это слово во множественном числе) — have.

The Bahamas have changed a lot. — Багамы сильно изменились.

The Johnsons have two sons. — У Джонсонов (чета Джонсонов) два сына.

Maria and John have two sons. — У Марии и Джона два сына

В последнем примере подлежащее выражено словами «Maria and John», то есть речи идет о множественном числе (два человека).

4. Has после существительных типа «people»: People have или People has?

Некоторые существительные могут выглядеть как существительное в единственном числе, а иметь значение множественного числа. В этом случае в выборе между has / have нужно руководствоваться смыслом слова, а не формой.

Сравним два примера:

Some people have thirty three teeth. — У некоторых людей тридцать три зуба.

My people has more honour than yours. — У моего народа больше чести, чем у вашего.

В первом случае «people» значит «люди» и имеет значение множественного числа, поэтому «people have». Во втором случае «people» значит «народ», имеет значение единственного числа, поэтому «has».

5. Have и Has в отрицаниях: He doesn’t has или He doesn’t have?

Частая ошибка — употребление has в отрицательном предложении со вспомогательным глаголом to do, то есть в отрицаниях, где присутствует «do not / don’t», «does not / doesn’t».

Подробнее о глаголе to do и отрицаниях с ним читайте в статье: «Глагол to do в английском языке».

Правило простое: после отрицания don’t или doesn’t всегда используем форму have, даже если подлежащее — это he, she или it. «Doesn’t has» — это в принципе невозможное сочетание.

I do not have any small change. — У меня нет мелочи.

He does not have any place to live. — Ему негде жить.

Дело в том, что в таких отрицательных предложениях при наличии подлежащего, выраженного местоимениями he, she, it или другими словами в третьем лице единственного числа, соответствующую форму принимает глагол to do — он превращается в does, поэтому превращать have в has — это уже как бы излишне.

6. Have и Has в вопросах: Does he has или Does he have?

То же правило касается вопросительных предложений, построенный с помощью to do, то есть вопросов типа «Do you have?», «Does he have?»

В этих вопросах используется does, если подлежащее выражено местоимениями he, she, it или любым другим словом, которое можно заменить одним из этих местоимением. При этом, если в вопросе присутствует глагол to have, он используется только в форме have.

Правило: в вопросе с «do» или «does» всегда используем форму have, даже если подлежащее — это he, she или it. «Does he has» — это в принципе невозможное сочетание.

Do you have a minute? — У вас есть минутка?

Does he have a minute? — У него есть минутка?

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Have and has are different forms of the verb to have. Even though they come from the same word, there are slight differences in the way they’re used.

While the verb to have has many different meanings, its primary meaning is “to possess, own, hold for use, or contain.” Have and has indicate possession in the present tense (describing events that are currently happening).

Have is used with the pronouns I, you, we, and they, while has is used with he, she, and it.

How do you use have?

Have is the conjugation of to have that’s used when:

• speaking in the first person (I, we)
• speaking in the second person (you)
• speaking in the third person plural (they)

Take, for example, the following sentence: “They have two dogs.” Here, have is the correct choice because the subject (they) is a third person plural pronoun.

How do you use has?

Has is the conjugation of to have that’s used when:

• speaking in the third person singular (he, she, and it).

This example from And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini shows has used with a third person singular pronoun (he): “He has a slender nose, a narrow mouth, and tight blond curls.”

As noted, this use of have and has only really applies when you’re speaking in the present tense.

How do you use have and has with other verbs?

Indicating possibility

Now that you’ve mastered the basics of have and has, it’s time to talk about how to use them in combination with other verbs. For every sentence that simply indicates possession (I have a cat), there’s going to be another that uses to have in a more complex way. For example, if you say I have to groom the cat, that’s definitely more complicated of an issue … in more ways than one!

One way have and has combine with other verbs is to describe what could happen (but hasn’t yet):

• You have to call me tonight.
• He has to do his homework before dinner.

These actions have not occurred yet. As before, have is used with the pronouns I, you, we, and they, while has is used with he, she, and it.

Indicating completed action

Have or has can be used to communicate that the action of a verb was completed prior to the present. To do that, you will create what’s called the present perfect tense, which involves more complex time relationships, and combines a verb with has, have, or had:

• We have waited for hours in this line.
• You have finished the job on time.
• She has learned an important lesson.

In the sentence “She has played banjo for four years,” for example, has is an auxiliary verb (a helping verb used in the construction of verb forms), and played is a past participle. As in the examples mentioned before, has is used with a third person singular pronoun.

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This is complex stuff, so don’t feel bad for not memorizing all of these rules. What’s important to remember is that together, has and a past participle like played form the present perfect tense.

Another example of the present perfect tense is seen in this sentence from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: “‘I have invited you all here for a reason,’ Chandresh says, ‘as I’m sure you have surmised by now.’”

In the first part of the sentence, have is used because there is a first person subject (I). In the second part of the sentence, have is used again because there is a second person subject (you).

Here’s a recap

Have is used with the pronouns I, you, we, and they. Has is used with he, she, and it.

• Have and has can indicate possession.
• Have and has can combine with other verbs to indicate more complex relationships with time.

Want to possess an even better grasp on grammar? Then you have to check out this article on the difference between who and whom.