Distinguishing Between Has & Have

Has vs Have

Has and Have often cause confusion in terms of their usage, as the difference between them is not clearly understood. Both words are used in the present perfect forms of verbs and are present tense forms of the verb ‘have’. The reason ‘have’ has two forms for the present tense, along with the difference between ‘has’ and ‘have’, will be explained in this article.

What does Has mean?

Has is a present tense form of the verb ‘have’ and is used with third person singular nouns. Examples include “She has an umbrella” and “Marvin has a nice car.” Has is also used in the present perfect form of a verb in the third person, such as “She has given a report of the meeting to her boss” and “He has warned his friend twice.” Additionally, the auxiliary verb ‘has’ is used in the present perfect continuous tense as ‘has been’, like in “She has been suffering from cancer” and “He has been coming late to the class.”

What does Have mean?

Have is used as the present tense form for plural pronouns and nouns, as in “I have a guitar,” “They have some sandwiches with them,” and “Teachers have a responsible job.” The word ‘have’ is also used in the present perfect form of a verb in the first and second person, like “I have read the lesson twice” and “You have shown that book to me.” The auxiliary verb ‘have’ is used in the present perfect continuous tense for first and second persons, such as “I have been singing for the club for quite some time now” and “You have been finding fault with me.”

Key Takeaways

• Has and have are both present tense forms of the verb ‘have.’
• Has is used with third person singular nouns, while have is used with plural pronouns and nouns.
• Both has and have are used in the present perfect and present perfect continuous tenses.