I. AUXILIARY VERB USES
/həv, STRONG hæv/
( has, having, had)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: In spoken English, forms of 'have' are often shortened, for example 'I have' is shortened to 'I’ve' and 'has not' is shortened to 'hasn’t'.
1.
You use the forms have and has with a past participle to form the present perfect tense of verbs.
Alex has already gone...
My term hasn’t finished yet...
What have you found so far?...
Frankie hasn’t been feeling well for a long time.
AUX : AUX -ed , AUX -ed , AUX -ed , AUX been -ing
2.
You use the form had with a past participle to form the past perfect tense of verbs.
When I met her, she had just returned from a job interview...
AUX : AUX -ed
3.
Have is used in question tags.
You haven’t sent her away, have you?...
AUX : cl AUX n
4.
You use have when you are confirming or contradicting a statement containing ‘have’, ‘has’, or ‘had’, or answering a question.
‘Have you been to York before?’—‘Yes we have.’
AUX : AUX
5.
The form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began.
He arrived in San Francisco, having left New Jersey on January 19th...
AUX : AUX -ed
II. USED WITH NOUNS DESCRIBING ACTIONS
/hæv/
( has, having, had)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: 'Have' is used in combination with a wide range of nouns, where the meaning of the combination is mostly given by the noun.
1.
You can use have followed by a noun to talk about an action or event, when it would be possible to use the same word as a verb. For example, you can say ‘ I had a look at the photos ’ instead of ‘I looked at the photos.’
I went out and had a walk around...
She rested for a while, then had a wash and changed her clothes...
I’ll have a think about that...
VERB : no passive , V n , V n , V n
2.
In normal spoken or written English, people use have with a wide range of nouns to talk about actions and events, often instead of a more specific verb. For example people are more likely to say ‘ we had ice cream ’ or ‘ he’s had a shock ’ than ‘we ate ice cream’, or ‘he’s suffered a shock’.
Come and have a meal with us tonight...
She had an operation on her knee at the clinic...
His visit had a great effect on them.
VERB : no passive , V n , V n , V n
III. OTHER VERB USES AND PHRASES
/hæv/
( has, having, had)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: For meanings 1-4, people often use 'have got' in spoken British English or 'have gotten' in spoken American English, instead of 'have'. In this case, 'have' is pronounced as an auxiliary verb. For more information and examples of the use of ‘have got’ and ‘have gotten’, see 'got'.
Please look at category 19 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
You use have to say that someone or something owns a particular thing, or when you are mentioning one of their qualities or characteristics.
Oscar had a new bicycle...
I want to have my own business...
You have beautiful eyes...
Do you have any brothers and sisters?...
I have no doubt at all in my own mind about this...
Have you any valuables anywhere else in the house?...
VERB : no passive , V n , V n , V n , V n , V n , V n adv / prep
2.
If you have something to do, you are responsible for doing it or must do it.
He had plenty of work to do...
I have some important calls to make.
VERB : no passive , V n to-inf , V n to-inf
3.
You can use have instead of ‘there is’ to say that something exists or happens. For example, you can say ‘ you have no alternative ’ instead of ‘there is no alternative’, or ‘ he had a good view from his window ’ instead of ‘there was a good view from his window’.
He had two tenants living with him...
We haven’t any shops on the island...
VERB : no passive , V n , V n
4.
If you have something such as a part of your body in a particular position or state, it is in that position or state.
Mary had her eyes closed...
As I was working, I had the radio on...
He had his hand on Maria’s shoulder.
VERB : no passive , V n adj / adv / prep , V n adj / adv / prep , V n adj / adv / prep
5.
If you have something done, someone does it for you or you arrange for it to be done.
I had your rooms cleaned and aired...
You’ve had your hair cut, it looks great...
VERB : no passive , V n -ed , V n -ed
6.
If someone has something unpleasant happen to them, it happens to them.
We had our money stolen...
The dance hall once even had its roof blown off in World War II.
VERB : no passive , V n -ed , V n -ed
7.
If you have someone do something, you persuade, cause, or order them to do it.
The bridge is not as impressive as some guides would have you believe...
Mr Gower had had us all working so hard.
VERB : no passive , V n inf , V n -ing
8.
If someone has you by a part of your body, they are holding you there and they are trying to hurt you or force you to go somewhere.
When the police came, Larry had him by the ear and was beating his head against the pavement.
VERB : no passive , V n by n
9.
If you have something from someone, they give it to you.
You can have my ticket...
I had comments from people in all age groups.
VERB : no passive , V n , V n
10.
If you have an illness or disability, you suffer from it.
I had a headache...
He might be having a heart attack...
VERB : no passive , V n , V n
11.
If a woman has a baby, she gives birth to it. If she is having a baby, she is pregnant.
My wife has just had a baby boy...
VERB : no passive , V n
12.
You can use have in expressions such as ‘ I won’t have it ’ or ‘ I’m not having that ’, to mean that you will not allow or put up with something.
I’m not having any of that nonsense...
I will not have the likes of you dragging down my reputation.
VERB : with neg , V n , V n -ing
13.
You can use has it in expressions such as ‘ rumour has it that ’ or ‘ as legend has it ’ when you are quoting something that you have heard, but you do not necessarily think it is true.
Rumour has it that tickets were being sold for £300...
PHRASE : V inflects , oft PHR that [ vagueness ]
14.
If someone has it in for you, they do not like you and they want to make life difficult for you. ( INFORMAL )
He’s always had it in for the Dawkins family.
PHRASE : V inflects , PHR n
15.
If you have it in you, you have abilities and skills which you do not usually use and which only show themselves in a difficult situation.
‘You were brilliant!’ he said. ‘I didn’t know you had it in you.’
PHRASE : V inflects , PHR pron , oft PHR pron to-inf
16.
To have it off with someone or have it away with someone means to have sex with them. ( BRIT INFORMAL, RUDE )
PHRASE : V inflects , PHR with n , pl-n V
17.
If you are having someone on , you are pretending that something is true when it is not true, for example as a joke or in order to tease them. ( BRIT INFORMAL )
Malone’s eyes widened. ‘You’re having me on, Liam.’
PHRASE : be inflects
18.
If you have it out or have things out with someone, you discuss a problem or disagreement very openly with them, even if it means having an argument, because you think this is the best way to solve the problem.
Why not have it out with your critic, discuss the whole thing face to face?
PHRASE : V inflects , oft PHR with n
19.
to be had: see had
to have had it: see had
IV. MODAL PHRASES
/hæv, hæf/
( has, having, had)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use have to when you are saying that something is necessary or required, or must happen. If you do not have to do something, it is not necessary or required.
He had to go to Germany...
They didn’t have to pay tax.
= must
PHRASE
2.
You can use have to in order to say that you feel certain that something is true or will happen.
There has to be some kind of way out...
= must
PHRASE