Errors with “Have”
One of the most common verbs in English is “have,” and today we’ll learn about some mistakes that learners make with this word.
Error #15
Don’t say:
• I haven’t a car.
Say:
• I don’t have a car.
There are two ways to make the negative form of the verb HAVE or HAS:
• don’t have / doesn’t have
• haven’t / hasn’t
When “have” is the main verb (meaning possession), then the negative form is “don’t have / doesn’t have.”
• Positive: I have a car.
• Negative: I don’t have a car.
• Incorrect: I haven’t a car.
Here’s an example with “has”:
• Positive: She has a dog.
• Negative: She doesn’t have a dog.
• Incorrect: She hasn’t a dog
When “have” is the auxiliary verb or the helping verb (like in the present perfect) then we use “haven’t / hasn’t”:
• I haven’t finished my homework yet.
• She hasn’t spoken to me for three weeks.
What about the expression have got or has got?
These are informal ways to talk about possession, when something belongs to someone. You can use have got / has got whenever “have” is the MAIN verb in the sentence:
• I have a pencil.
= I’ve got a pencil.
• She has a lot of work to do this weekend.
= She’s got a lot of work to do this weekend.
These sentences are all correct, and they mean the same thing.
Remember, “have got” can only be used in the case of possession, when you own an object. You CAN’T use “have got” in expressions like “have breakfast” or “have fun,” because these are not objects that you possess:
• Correct: I have breakfast at 6 AM.
• Incorrect: I’ve got breakfast at 6 AM.
• Correct: I had fun at the party.
• Incorrect: I’d got fun at the party.
Error #16
Don’t say:
• I’m having a lot of work to do right now.
Say:
• I have a lot of work to do right now.
When using “have” for possession, or when talking about the status of something, we usually do not use it in continuous form - so the correct sentence would be “I have a lot of work to do right now.”
But it gets tricky because there are some expressions, like “have fun,” that can be used in continuous form - you can say “I’m having fun at the party right now.”
I’ll show you examples of some common expressions that CAN and CAN’T be used in continuous form:
Have/has CAN'T be used in present/past continuous:
• She has black hair.
• We have a new car.
• He has two sisters.
• They have six children. (current status)
• I have an appointment at 10:00.
• I have a headache / a sore throat / the flu / cancer.
Have CAN be used in the present/past continuous:
• She interrupted me while I was having a talk/chat with my boss.
• We're having a look at your proposal right now.
• The marketing department is currently having a meeting.
• The kids are having fun with their new toys.
• We're having a great time at the park.
• We're having a party at our house on Friday night
• She's having a baby next month. (referring to the future)
• I'm having problems/trouble connecting my printer to my computer.
• He's having difficulty / having a hard time understanding this English lesson.
• I hope you're having a good day!
• I'm having breakfast/lunch/dinner with my best friend.
• The medication is definitely having an effect/influence/impact on the disease.
The list above refers to “having” in the present/past continuous verb tenses. However, with ALL the expressions above, it is possible to use “having” in other sentence structures, such as when the verb is the subject of the sentence, or occurs after a preposition:
• I'm having two children. (present continuous – incorrect here)
• I have two children.
• Having children changed my life.
(gerund as the subject of the sentence)
• I'm undecided about having children.
(verb after a preposition is always -ING)
Here's another example:
• She's having a car. (present continuous – incorrect here)
• She has a car.
• Having a car is a big responsibility.
(gerund as the subject of the sentence)
• It's hard to get around town without having a car. (verb after a preposition is always -ING)
The best way to reinforce and remember these rules is to put them into practice! In addition to taking the quiz, you can also try writing your own example sentences with each “have” expression. See you in the next video!
Quiz
Mark each sentence correct or incorrect, and fix any mistakes.
1. Are you having fun on your vacation?
2. Fortunately I haven't any major health problems.
3. I don't have any questions about the lesson.
4. We're having trouble finding a reliable babysitter.
5. I'm having a lot of books in my backpack right now.
6. She's got difficulty breathing due to her allergies.
7. My aunt and uncle have a huge house.
8. No, I haven't seen that movie yet.
9. Sorry, I don't have time to talk right now.
10. They're not having a car so they always take the bus.
11. We used to have a cat, but nowadays we haven't any pets.
12. You're coughing a lot. Are you having a cold?
13. I haven't enough money to buy that TV.
14. He's got a great sense of humor.