Have vs Had

Have vs Had

When do we use have?

Have is an Auxiliary Verb

Have is an auxiliary verb. We use have as an auxiliary verb in present perfect, present perfect continuous, future perfect, and future perfect continuous tenses.

• We have joined a new company recently.
• They have been writing for two hours.
• I will have completed my homework by the time my father comes.
• We will have been discussing the issue for 10 minutes by the time they come.

I want to bring you to one another important point. You may have seen the word “has”. We use the word “has” with similar meanings, but there is just one difference. We use the word “has” with third-person singular nouns or pronouns. It means we use has with third-person singular subjects and have with the others. In future tenses, we use have in both cases.

Have is the Present Tense Form

The word “have” is the present tense form of the verb “to have”. When we use have as a main verb, it shows possession, experience, activities that one performs, or eating and drinking. Remember that having is the present participle form of the verb "to have".

• I have a headache today.
• My wife has a meeting in her office.
• I have many friends in my hometown.
• We have a tea party today at 4 O’clock.
• I am having a great and romantic time with my friend John.

Have to

We use have (followed by to + base form of the verb) to show necessity or obligation.

• I have to inform all of them.
• They have to study hard to get higher marks.

Have is a Causative Verb

Have is one of the causative verbs. We use “have” to cause someone to do something.

• I have Ali do everything for you.
• They have their chairs cleaned.

When do we use had?

Had is an Auxiliary Verb

Had is one of the auxiliary verbs. We use it as an auxiliary verb in past perfect and past perfect continuous tense.

• I had managed everything when he was called.
• We had been learning English for two years when you started going to the English Language Center.

Had is the Past Tense Form

We use the word “had” as the past tense form of the verb “to have”. In this case, we use it as a main verb that shows possession, experience, activities that one performs, or eating and drinking.

• I had three cars last year.
• I had a headache yesterday.
• They had a meeting at our home.
• We had a tea party today at 4 O’clock.
• I had a great and romantic time with my friend John.
• We had a dinner party with the prime minister yesterday.

Had is also used as the past form of have as a causative verb.

• I had him take you to the hospital.
• She had her husband clean the kitchen.

Had is the Past Participle Form of Have

One of the uses of the word “had” is as the third form of the verb “to have”. We use had as the 3^rd form of the verb apart from an auxiliary verb in perfect tenses.

• I have had two surgeries on my leg.
• We will have a meeting before starting the exam.
• They had had a meeting with their boss by the time I was absent.

Had to

When we add “to” to had, it will become a modal verb. We use this modal verb to show past necessity or obligation. It is considered the past form of has/have to and must.

• I have to go out. (Present obligation)
• I had to go out. (Past obligation)
• You must meet me before going there. (Present necessity)
• You had to meet me yesterday. (Past necessity)

What is the difference between have and had?

Have and had are two auxiliary verbs that we use in verb tenses. They are also the forms of the verb “to have”. Have is the present form, and had is the past and past participle form of the verb. Consequently, they are two different auxiliary verbs and forms of the verb “to have”.

 Related Topics:

Use of Had 

Had Been vs Was