Using Have and Has Correctly

REMEMBER:

GREEN for RIGHT
RED for WRONG

WHY IS THERE A PROBLEM?

There is a tendency to say

He have it

instead of

He has it

and

We has it

instead of

We have it.

EXPLANATION of WORDS:

Have is the root VERB and is generally used alongside the PRONOUNS I / You / We / Ye and They and PLURAL  NOUNS. Generally, have is a PRESENT TENSE word.

Has is used alongside the PRONOUNS He / She / It and Who and SINGULAR NOUNS. However, there are some exceptions which will be explained later on in the lesson. In general, has is a PRESENT TENSE word.

Singular refers to one person / animal / thing, etc.

Plural refers to more than one person / animal / thing, etc.

USAGE: has

(a) after NOUNS – Singular:

• Fiona have the money.
• Fiona has the money.
• Liam has the keys.
• Paula has an apple.
• Peter has the pen.
• Gillian has a comic.
• Tony has the ball.
• The dog has the bone.
• The child has the sweets.
• The baby has a bottle.
• The teacher has a laptop.
• The referee has the whistle.

(b) after PRONOUNS – He / She / It  & Who:

• He have the bike.
• He has the bike.
• He has the jug.
• He has a blue car.
• He has a black coat.
• She has the remote control.
• She has the tickets.
• She has an umbrella.
• She has the sandwiches.
• She has the photos.
• It has stopped raining.
• It has arrived safely.
• Who has the ball?
• Who has eaten the chocolate?

While who is included with he, she and it – the has words – in the examples above, be aware that have comes after who in the following sentences:

• Who have we got in the next round?
• Who have ye arranged to meet later on?
• Who have they coming over for dinner?

In these three examples, have is associated with we, ye and they.

USAGE: have

(a) after NOUNS – Plural:

• The boys has the white hats.
• The boys have the white hats.
• The girls have the green bags.
• The men have the grey shirts.
• The women have the brown shoes.
• The children have old toys.
• The grandparents have the buckets.
• My cousins have a new house.
• My aunts have new computers.
• Some new cars have satnavs.
• Those bikes haven’t any bells.

(b) after PRONOUNS – I, You, We, Ye and They:

• We has €5.
• We have €5.
• I have €5.
• You have €10.
• Ye have €20
• They have €100.
• I have it.
• You have it.
• We have it.
• Ye have it.
• They have it.

QUICK REVISION:

Generally, has follows he, she and SINGULAR NOUNS.

He has it.
She has it.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. When he and she – regarded separately as singular – are combined to form one plural:

Both he and she have the right answer. (He and she are together and are regarded as PLURAL)
Both he and she can have it now.
She and he have them. (She and he are together and are regarded as PLURAL)

2. When a question is asked:

Does he have the football?
Can she have the pen, please?
Would she have scored if she had taken the penalty?

Generally, have follows the PRONOUNS I, You, We, Ye, They and PLURAL NOUNS.

TEST:

Write has or have in these sentences:

1. He ____________ the fruit.
2. She ____________ the vegetables.
3. Mark and Darren _____________ exams next week.
4. The children ____________ new books.
5. She _________________ no money.
6. Pat ____________ a new car.
7. Kylie ____________ €5.
8. We _________  two computer classes every week.
9. The girl ____________ a new doll.
10. Does the girl ________ a new doll?

ANSWERS:

1. has 2. has 3. have 4. have 5. has 6. has 7. has 8. have 9. has 10. have

KEY ELEMENT OF LESSON:

Generally, has follows the PRONOUNS he and she and nearly all SINGULAR NOUNS. With regard to nouns, generally and nearly are the key words here because now and again we come across nouns which can take both a SINGULAR and a PLURAL VERB. For example, take the NOUN group.

The group (as a whole) has gone away.
The group (individuals within the group) have gone to different night clubs.

DON’T FORGET:

He has it.
We have it.