To Have in the Present Tense in English

In Brief

Use have after I, you, we, and they, but has after he, she, and it: I have time; she has time. For ordinary negatives and questions, modern English usually uses do/does: I don't have time; does she have time? British English also commonly uses have got for possession: She's got time.

Overview

To have is one of the most useful verbs in English. At A1 level, its basic job is to express possession: We have a car. It also describes relationships, physical features, illnesses, meals, experiences, and obligations: I have two sisters; he has brown eyes; we have lunch at noon; she has to leave.

The subject (the person or thing that the sentence is about) controls the form of the verb. Most subjects take have. Only the third-person singular—that is, he, she, it, or one singular name or thing—takes has. Unlike many English verbs, have changes internally rather than simply adding -s: the correct form is has, not haves.

English uses have in several different structures. The beginner rule is simple, but negatives, questions, contractions, and have got follow different patterns. Learning each pattern as a complete phrase is more reliable than translating one word at a time.

How It Works

Present forms

Subject	Affirmative form	Example
I	have	I have a question.
you	have	You have a message.
he	has	He has a bicycle.
she	has	She has a meeting.
it	has	It has four legs.
we	have	We have enough food.
they	have	They have two children.

A singular noun works like he, she, or it: Maya has a new job; the house has a garden. A plural noun works like they: My parents have a small apartment.

Affirmatives, negatives, and questions

When have is the main verb, standard modern English usually forms negatives and questions with do-support—using do or does as a helping verb.

Pattern	I/you/we/they	he/she/it
Affirmative	We have time.	She has time.
Negative	We do not have time.	She does not have time.
Short negative	We don't have time.	She doesn't have time.
Question	Do we have time?	Does she have time?
Short answer	Yes, we do. / No, we don't.	Yes, she does. / No, she doesn't.

After does or doesn't, use the base form have, never has. The third-person marker is already carried by does: Does Ben have a key? and Ben doesn't have a key.

More formal writing may use the full forms do not and does not. In conversation, don't and doesn't are normal.

Have got for possession

Have got usually has the same possession meaning as have. It is especially common in British English and is also understood elsewhere.

Function	I/you/we/they	he/she/it
Affirmative	They have got a car.	She has got a car.
Contraction	They**'ve got** a car.	She**'s got** a car.
Negative	They haven't got a car.	She hasn't got a car.
Question	Have they got a car?	Has she got a car?
Short answer	Yes, they have.	No, she hasn't.

Do not combine the two systems. Say Does she have a car? or Has she got a car?, not Does she have got a car? In American English, plain have with do/does is generally more usual; have got remains familiar and occurs in informal speech.

Contractions

With have got, contractions are natural and frequent:

Full form	Contraction	Example
I have got	I've got	I've got an idea.
you have got	you've got	You've got my number.
he has got	he's got	He's got a cold.
she has got	she's got	She's got a dog.
it has got	it's got	It's got a long tail.
we have got	we've got	We've got a problem.
they have got	they've got	They've got a new car.

Contractions such as I've and she's cannot always replace plain lexical have/has. I've a brother occurs in some varieties of British and Irish English, but I have a brother or I've got a brother is safer and more widely natural. In particular, do not say She's blue eyes for possession; say She has blue eyes or She's got blue eyes.

The forms he's, she's, and it's can mean he/she/it is or he/she/it has. The following word resolves the meaning: She's tired means she is tired, while She's got a cold means she has got a cold.

Main meanings of have

Meaning	Typical pattern	Example
possession	have + thing	I have a laptop.
family or relationships	have + person	She has two brothers.
a feature or part	have + feature	The room has three windows.
illness or condition	have + noun phrase	He has a headache.
meals and activities	have + meal/event	We have dinner at seven.
experience	have + experience	They have a good time.
obligation	have to + verb	I have to study.

A noun phrase is a noun together with words that describe or identify it, such as a headache or two younger sisters. A verb after have to stays in its basic form: has to work, have to leave.

Have to for obligation

Have to means that something is necessary. Here, to belongs to the following infinitive (the basic verb form, such as to work or to leave).

Form	Example
Affirmative	He has to work today.
Negative	He doesn't have to work today.
Question	Does he have to work today?

Don't have to means “it is not necessary,” not “it is forbidden”: You don't have to come early means coming early is optional.

Examples in Context

English	Plain meaning	Note
I have a brother.	There is one brother in my family.	Relationship
She has blue eyes.	Her eyes are blue.	Third-person singular
Our apartment has a balcony.	A balcony is part of the apartment.	Singular noun subject
They have a new car.	A new car belongs to them.	Plain have
They've got a new car.	They have a new car.	Contracted have got
We don't have enough chairs.	There are not enough chairs for us.	Negative with do
Does Amir have your address?	Is your address available to Amir?	Question with does + have
Has your phone got a good camera?	Does your phone have a good camera?	Have got question
Mia has a headache today.	Mia's head hurts today.	Illness
We have lunch together on Fridays.	We eat lunch together every Friday.	Regular activity
Are you having a good time?	Are you enjoying yourself?	Activity in progress
He has to work today.	It is necessary for him to work today.	Obligation
You don't have to pay now.	Paying now is not necessary.	No necessity
The hotel has breakfast from seven.	The hotel serves breakfast from seven.	Service or arrangement

Common Mistakes

Using have after he, she, or it

• Wrong: She have two children.
• Right: She has two children.
• Why: Third-person singular subjects take has in an affirmative statement.

Keeping has after does

• Wrong: Does he has a ticket?
• Right: Does he have a ticket?
• Why: Once does marks the third person, the main verb returns to its base form have.

Omitting do in a plain-have question

• Wrong: Have you a car? (not the safest general pattern)
• Right: Do you have a car? / Have you got a car?
• Why: Plain have normally uses do in modern everyday English. Direct Have you a car? exists, especially in some British or formal usage, but learners should not use it as the default.

Mixing have and have got patterns

• Wrong: Do they have got any children?
• Right: Do they have any children? / Have they got any children?
• Why: These are two complete grammatical patterns; choose one.

Contracting has incorrectly for possession

• Wrong: Leo's a new bike.
• Right: Leo has a new bike. / Leo's got a new bike.
• Why: 's is normally clear as has when another element follows, such as got or a past participle. Before the possessed object alone, it sounds like is and does not work here.

Confusing “not necessary” with “not allowed”

• Wrong interpretation: You don't have to wait = “You must not wait.”
• Right interpretation: You don't have to wait = “You may wait, but it is not necessary.”
• Why: Negative have to removes an obligation. Mustn't usually expresses prohibition.

Usage Notes

For possession, have is neutral across English varieties. Have got is particularly frequent in informal British English: Have you got a pen? American speakers are more likely to ask Do you have a pen?, though both forms are understood.

Have got mainly describes a present state: possession, relationships, features, or a current condition. It is not usually used for repeated activities. Say We have lunch at noon every day, not We've got lunch at noon every day when you mean “eat lunch.” However, We've got lunch at noon can mean that lunch is scheduled or available, so context changes the meaning.

For meals and common experiences, English often uses have + noun: have breakfast, have a shower, have a rest, have a conversation, have a problem, and have fun. The natural verb may not be predictable from the noun, so learn these as whole expressions.

In short answers, repeat the helping verb rather than the whole phrase: Do you have time? — Yes, I do. With have got, answer Have you got time? — Yes, I have.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these points at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Stative and dynamic have

Possessive have is usually stative—it describes a state rather than an action—so it normally avoids the continuous form: I have a car, not I'm having a car. But have can describe an activity or experience, and then a continuous form is possible: I'm having lunch; she's having a shower; we're having a difficult week.

Have as a helping verb

In the present perfect, have/has is an auxiliary verb (a helping verb used to build another tense), followed by a past participle (a verb form such as worked, seen, or gone): I have finished; she has arrived. Here contractions are fully normal: I've finished; she's arrived. Questions invert the auxiliary and subject without do: Has she arrived? This is a different job from possession and is covered under the present perfect.

Got and gotten

Informal I've got to leave often means “I have to leave.” In rapid speech it may sound like I gotta leave, but spellings such as gotta belong mainly to highly informal dialogue and are not appropriate in most formal writing.

Do not confuse have got meaning present possession with perfect forms of get. In American English, gotten is common as the past participle of get: She has gotten better means she has become better. She has got a new phone normally means she possesses one, although context can sometimes suggest that she obtained it. British English more often uses got where American English uses gotten.

Formal direct questions with have

Forms such as Have you any questions? and I haven't the slightest idea still occur, especially in British English and in formal or fixed expressions. They are grammatical, but the productive everyday patterns Do you have any questions? and I don't have any idea are easier and more widely usable.

Practice Tips

1. Build a six-line pattern. Choose one noun and say: I have…, she has…, I don't have…, she doesn't have…, do I have…?, does she have…? This makes the change from has to have after does automatic.
2. Sort examples by meaning. During the day, collect examples of possession, relationships, features, meals, experiences, and obligation. Label each one; this helps you notice when have got is possible and when plain have is better.
3. Practise both major question patterns. Pair Do you have a pen? with Have you got a pen? Keep each pattern intact, and listen for which one speakers around you prefer.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — helps you choose between have and has.
• Next step: Present Perfect Simple — uses have or has as a helping verb before a past participle.