To Have: Conjugation and Use of the Verb To Have in English

To have is one of the most used verbs in English. It is used in many ways, both as a main verb and as an auxiliary verb. Its main forms are the present and the past, which are conjugated as follows:

• Verb to have in the present tense: I have, you have, he has, she has, it has, we have, you have, they have.
• Verb to have in the past: I had, you had, he had, she had, it had, we had, you had, they had.

In this conjugation guide, you will learn how to use to have as both a main verb and an auxiliary verb and how to conjugate it in all tenses in English.

The Conjugation of the Verb To Have

Before using the verb to have in sentences, let’s learn how to conjugate it:

The Conjugation Table of the Verb To Have in the Simple Present Tense

Here is the conjugation of the verb to have in English, in the simple present tense:

Pronouns	Present Simple
I	have
You	have
He / She / It	has
We	have
You	have
They	have

Note: Be careful with the third person singular (he/she/it) – it uses has, which is the only exception in this table.

The -ing form of the verb to have is: having. For example: I’m having fun!

Conjugation Table of the Verb To Have in the Present Continuous and Past Continuous

Here is the conjugation of the verb to have in English in the present continuous and past continuous tenses:

Pronouns	Present continuous	Past continuous
I	am having	was having
You	are having	were having
He / She / It	is having	was having
We	are having	were having
You	are having	were having
They	are having	were having

Conjugation Table of the Verb To Have in the Future Tense

The conjugation of the verb in the future tense is formed with will:

Pronouns	Future Tense (with will)
I	will have
You	will have
He / She / It	will have
We	will have
You	will have
They	will have

Conjugation Table of the Verb To Have in the Past Tense

The past form of the verb to have is had.

Pronouns	Past Tense
I	had
You	had
He / She / It	had
We	had
You	had
They	had

Conjugation Table of the Verb To Have in the Present Perfect and Past Perfect

Present perfect: I have had. Past perfect: I had had.

Pronouns	Present perfect	Past perfect
I	have had	had had
You	have had	had had
He / She / It	has had	had had
We	have had	had had
You	have had	had had
They	have had	had had

SUMMARY – Conjugation Tables For Reference

Tense	I	You	He/She/It	We	You	They
Present Tense	have	have	has	have	have	have
Past Tense	had	had	had	had	had	had
Present Continuous	am having	are having	is having	are having	are having	are having
Past Continuous	was having	were having	was having	were having	were having	were having
Future Tense	will have	will have	will have	will have	will have	will have
Present Perfect	have had	have had	has had	have had	have had	have had
Past Perfect	had had	had had	had had	had had	had had	had had

The Difference Between the Verb Have and the Auxiliary Have

In English, have is used in two main ways: 

1. as a main verb to show possession
2. as an auxiliary verb to form past tenses

Example	Case	Audio
I have a car.	Here, have is a main verb, showing possession.
He has eaten an apple.	Here, have is an auxiliary verb, used with eaten to form the past tense.

How to Use the Verb Have in English

Let’s see how to use the verb have. Overall, the verb to have can be used in three main ways:

1. to express ownership 
2. to describe an action
3. to indicate an obligation

1. Express Ownership with Have

The verb to have shows a relationship or possession between a subject and an object.

Example	Audio
I have a computer.
I have three brothers.

You can also use to own instead of to have to show possession, and the meaning stays the same.

Example	Audio
I own a computer.

Note: To talk about age, use the verb to be instead of to have in English. For example:

Example	Audio
I am thirty years old.

And not: I have thirty years old !

2. For an action

The verb to have can also be used to describe certain actions. Here are some examples :

Example	Audio
I will have the lobster.
They had a long chat about it.
Let’s have a nap!

3. Talk About an obligation

The verb to have is used to express an obligation or a requirement with the structure have to + infinitive. This use is similar to must:

Example	Audio
I have to go to the bathroom.
She had to leave her house at 6.

Have and Have Got: How to Differentiate Them

British and American English

You might have noticed the phrase I have got. What does it mean?

Here’s how it differs from have.

I have got expresses possession and is mainly used in British English (UK). It indicates that something belongs to you or that you have acquired something.

I have is used to express possession in both British and American English. It is more common in American English and is also acceptable in British English.

Country	Example	Audio
United Kingdom	I have got a brand new car.
United States	I have a brand new car.

Both phrases mean the same thing but have is more widely used and understood.

Generally speaking, have got is more often used in casual, spoken English, while have is more formal.

Derived Forms of Have Got

Here’s how to use have got in sentences.

Contracted Forms

The contracted forms of have got are: ‘ve got and ‘s got.

Example	Audio
I’ve got a pencil.
She’s got a dog.

Note: It is impossible to use contracted forms without got. The following two sentences are incorrect:

• Incorrect: I’ve a pencil. Correct: I’ve got a pencil.
• Incorrect: She’s a dog. Correct: She’s got a dog.

In the second case, the sentence is unclear and will be understood as She is a dog by an English speaker! So, you should never use the contracted forms of have if they are not followed by got.

Negative Forms

Contracted forms can also help you express negation with haven’t got and hasn’t got.

Example	Audio
They haven’t got a microwave.
He hasn’t got a cellphone.

Interrogative Forms

To ask a question with have got, use the structure: have/has + subject + got + object?

Example	Audio
Have you got a lighter?

To combine a question and a negative, use: haven’t/hasn’t + subject + got + object?

Example	Audio
Hasn’t he got a house?

When NOT to Use Have Got

Although have got can be used in many cases to translate to have, there are exceptions.

Do not use have got in the following situations :

Incorrect Form	Correct Form	Audio
I usually have got lunch at noon. He wants to have got a shower.	I usually have lunch at noon. He wants to have a shower.
I had got a dog when I grew up. I will have got a new TV.	I had a dog when I grew up. I will have a new TV.
I’m having got a fever.	I’ve got a fever.
Here, have got a beer.	Here, have a beer.

Note: Use have got carefully and avoid using it in habitual actions, desires, past tense, future tense, ongoing actions, and commands.

Expressions with Have in English

Here are 10 typical expressions with the verb have in English :

Expression	Explanation	Audio
I don’t have a clue.	To not have an idea or know the answer.
Have a look!	To check something out quickly.
He is having a shower.	Bathing.
They had a blast.	To have a lot of fun.
I have a cold.	To feel sick with a common cold.
I have a headache/stomachache/ fever/cough.	To feel pain or sick.
Have a go!	To try something.
We have a sweet tooth.	love eating sweet things like candy.
She has time to kill.	Having extra time and nothing important to do.
He had his hands tied.	Unable to act.

Using the Verb To Have in English: Conclusion

As you have seen, using the verb to have is not very difficult. It is conjugated easily and can be used in various forms, such as have and have got, or don’t have and haven’t got.

American English tends to be simpler with have, while British English offers more varied grammar with have got, which can sometimes be confusing.

It’s up to you to choose the form that best suits your needs and get into the habit of using the appropriate form in all your conversations to become more fluent.