Has vs Have
Has and Have are two words that are often confused when it comes to their usage as the difference between has and have is not understood clearly. In fact, both these words are used in the present perfect forms of verbs. Is there a connection between has and have? Surely, there is. As we all know every verb has three forms; present, past and past participle. Interestingly, has and have are both the present tense of the verb ‘have.’ Why does have has two forms for the present tense? What is the difference between has and have? These questions will be answered in this article.
What does Has mean?
First of all, has is used as a present tense form of the verb have. Has is used with the third person singular nouns. Look at the following examples:
She has an umbrella.
Marvin has a nice car.
It has only one eye.
As a matter of fact, the word has is used in the present perfect form of a verb in the third person as in the sentences given below:
She has given a report of the meeting to her boss.
He has warned his friend twice.
In both the sentences, you can find that the present perfect forms ‘has given’ and ‘has warned’ are used in the third person, namely, she and he respectively.
The auxiliary verb has is used in present perfect continuous tense as ‘has been’ as in the sentences:
She has been suffering from cancer.
He has been coming late to the class.
In both the sentences, you can see that the verb has is used in present perfect continuous tense.
What does Have mean?
Have is used as the present tense form for plural pronouns and nouns. Look at the following examples:
I have a guitar.
They have some sandwiches with them.
Teachers have a responsible job.
On the other hand, the word have is used in the present perfect form of a verb in the first person and second person as in the sentences:
I have read the lesson twice.
You have shown that book to me.
In both the sentences, you can find that the present perfect forms ‘have read’ and ‘has warned’ are used in the first person and second person, namely, I and You respectively. This is basically the difference between the usages of has and have.
On the other hand, the auxiliary verb have is used in present perfect continuous tense too, and in the case of first and second persons as in the sentences given below:
I have been singing for the club for quite some time now.
You have been finding fault with me.
In both the sentences, you can see that the verb have is used in present perfect continuous tense.
What is the difference between Has and Have?
• Has and have are both the present tense of the verb ‘have.’
• Has is used as a present tense form of the verb have for singular nouns.
• Has is used in the present perfect form of a verb in the third person.
• Have is used as the present tense form for plural pronouns and nouns.
• Have is used in the present perfect form of a verb in the first person and second person.
• Both has and have are used in the present perfect continuous tense too.