A1 Grammar: Chapter 2

The Verb 'To Have'

Learn how to use 'have' and 'has' to talk about possession and family!

Introduction to 'To Have'

We use the verb "to have" to talk about:

Possession: things that belong to someone.
Family members: how many brothers, sisters, etc., you have.
Characteristics: like eye color or hair color.

Like 'to be', 'to have' changes its form depending on the subject.

1. Positive Statements (I have, You have, He has...)

When we want to say something positive about possession, we use these forms:

Subject	Verb Form	Examples
I	have	I have a new phone. I have one sister.
You	have	You have a big family. You have blue eyes.
He	has	He has a dog. He has short hair.
She	has	She has two cats. She has a red car.
It	has	My car has four doors. The house has three bedrooms.
We	have	We have a new teacher. We have an English class.
They	have	They have many friends. They have a big house.

Remember: We use 'has' only for he, she, it (or singular nouns like 'my brother', 'the dog'). For all other subjects (I, you, we, they, or plural nouns), we use 'have'.

2. Negative Statements (I do not have, He does not have...)

To make 'to have' negative, we use 'do not have' or 'does not have'.

Subject	Full Form + not	Short Form	Examples
I	I do not have	I don't have	I don't have a car. I don't have any brothers.
You	You do not have	You don't have	You don't have a pen. You don't have time.
He	He does not have	He doesn't have	He doesn't have a dog. He doesn't have long hair.
She	She does not have	She doesn't have	She doesn't have a sister. She doesn't have blue eyes.
It	It does not have	It doesn't have	The old car doesn't have air conditioning.
We	We do not have	We don't have	We don't have class today. We don't have much money.
They	They do not have	They don't have	They don't have children. They don't have a big house.

Important: In negative sentences, we always use the base form of the verb 'have', even for 'he, she, it'. The 's' is already in 'does'!

3. Yes/No Questions (Do you have...?, Does he have...?)

To ask a question with 'to have', we use 'Do' or 'Does' at the beginning of the sentence.

Question Structure	Example Question	Short Answer (Yes)	Short Answer (No)
Do I have...?	Do I have time?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you have...?	Do you have brothers or sisters?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Does he have...?	Does he have a dog?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she have...?	Does she have blue eyes?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have...?	Does it have a name?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.
Do we have...?	Do we have class today?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they have...?	Do they have children?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.

Remember: We use 'Does' for 'he, she, it' and 'Do' for 'I, you, we, they'. Also, the main verb is always 'have' in questions, even for 'he, she, it'!

Practice Exercise: Complete with 'have' or 'has'

1. I ____ a new phone.

2. She ____ two cats.

3. They ____ many friends.

4. He ____ a big family.

5. We ____ a new teacher.

6. My dog ____ a long tail.

7. You ____ blue eyes.