Have and have got

A. Have and have got (= possess, own etc.)

    We often use have got rather than have alone. So you can say:

    * We've got a new car. or We have a new car.

    * Ann has got two sisters. or Ann has two sisters.

      We use have got or have for illnesses, pains etc.:

    * I've got a headache. or I have a headache.

      In questions and negative sentences there are three possible forms:

      Have you got any money?  I haven't got any money.

      Do you have any money?  I don't have any money.

      Have you any money? (less usual)  I haven't any money. (less usual)

      Has she got a car?  She hasn't got a car.

     Does she have a car?  She doesn't have a car.

     Has she a car? (less usual)  She hasn't a car. (less usual)

     When have means 'possess' etc., you cannot use continuous forms (is having/are having

     etc.):

   * I have/I've got a headache. (not 'I'm having')

     For the past we use had (usually without 'got'):

   * Ann had long fair hair when she was a child. (not 'Ann had got')

 

     In past questions and negative sentences we normally use did/didn't:

   * Did they have a car when they were living in London?

   * I didn't have a watch, so I didn't know the time.

   * Ann had long fair hair, didn't she?

B. Have breakfast/have a bath/have a good time etc.

    Have (but not 'have got') is also used for many actions and experiences. For example:

    have breakfast/dinner/a cup of coffee/a cigarette etc.

 

    have a bath/a shower/a swim/a rest/a party/a holiday/a nice time etc.

    have an accident/an experience/a dream etc.

    have a look (at something)/a chat (with somebody)

 

    have a baby (= give birth to a baby)

    have difficulty/trouble/fun

    * Goodbye! I hope you have a nice time.

    * Mary had a baby recently.

  'Have got' is not possible in these expressions. Compare:

  * I usually have a sandwich for my lunch. (have = 'eat' - not 'have got') but

  * I've got some sandwiches. Would you like one?

  In these expressions, have is like other verbs. You can use continuous forms (is having are

  having etc.) where suitable:

  * I had a postcard from Fred this morning. He's on holiday. He says he's having a wonderful

    time. (not 'he has a wonderful time')

 

  * The phone rang while we were having dinner. (not 'while we had')

     In questions and negative sentences we normally use do/does/did:

  * I don't usually have a big breakfast. (not 'I usually haven't')

  * What time does Ann have lunch? (not 'has Ann lunch')

  * Did you have any difficulty finding somewhere to live?

EXERCISES

17.1 Write negative sentences with have. Some are present (can't) and some are past

       (couldn't).

  1. I can't make a phone call. (any change)

      I haven't got any change.

  2. I couldn't read the notice. (my glasses)

   

      I didn't have my glasses.

  3. I can't climb up onto the roof. (a ladder)

      I ---

  4. We couldn't visit the museum. (enough time)

      We ---

  5. He couldn't find his way to our house. (a map)

  6. She can't pay her bills. (any money)

  7. They can't get into the house. (a key)

  8. I couldn't take any photographs. (a camera)

17.2 Complete these questions with have. Some are present and some are past.

  1. Excuse me, have you got a pen I could borrow?

  2. Why are you holding your face like that? --- a toothache?

  3. --- a bicycle when you were a child?

  4. '--- the time, please?' 'Yes, it's ten past seven.'

  5. When you did the exam, --- time to answer all the questions?

  6. I need a stamp for this letter. --- one?

  7. 'It started to rain while I was walking home.' 'Did it? --- an umbrella?

'

17.3 In this exercise you have to write sentences about yourself. Choose four of the following

        things (or you can choose something else):

       a car  a bicycle  a moped  a guitar  a computer  a camera  a driving licence  a job  a dog/a

       cat (or another animal)

       Have you got these things now? Did you have them ten years ago? Write two sentences

       each time using I've got/I haven't got and I had/I didn't have.

       now  ten years ago (or five if you're too young)

  1. I've got a car.  I didn't have a car.

  2. ---  ---

  3. ---  ---

  4. ---  ---

17.4 Complete these sentences. Use an expression from the list and put the verb into the

        correct form where necessary.

        have lunch  have a swim  have a nice time  have a chat  have a cigarette  have a rest

        have a good flight  have a baby  have a shower  have a party  have a look

  1. I don't eat much during the day. I never _have lunch._

 

  2. David likes to keep fit, so he --- every day.

  3. We --- last Saturday. It was great - we invited lots of people.

  4. Excuse me, can I --- at your newspaper, please?

  5. 'Where's Jim?' 'He --- in his room. He's very tired.'

  6. I met Ann in the supermarket yesterday. We stopped and ---.

  7. I haven't seen you since you came back from holiday ---?

  8. Suzanne --- a few weeks ago. It's her second child.

  9. I don't usually smoke but I was feeling very nervous, so I ---.

  10. The phone rang but I couldn't answer it because I ---.

  11. You meet Tom at the airport. He has just arrived. You say:

       Hello, Tom. ---?

Past perfect continuous (I had been doing)

A. Study this example situation:

     Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining but the

     ground was very wet.

     It had been raining.

     It was not raining when I looked out of the window; the sun was shining. But it had been

     raining before. That's why the ground was wet.

    Had been ~ing is the past perfect continuous:

    I/we/you/they had(= I'd etc.) been doing/working/playing etc.

    he/she/it had (= he'd etc.) been doing/working/playing etc.

    Some more examples:

    * When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was untidy and one

      of them had a black eye. They'd been fighting.

    * I was very tired when I arrived home. I'd been working hard all day.

B. You can say that something had been happening for a period of time before something else

     happened:

    * Our game of tennis was interrupted. We'd been playing for about half an hour when it

      started to rain very heavily.

    * Ken gave up smoking two years ago. He'd been smoking for 30 years.

C. Had been ~ing (past Perfect continuous) is the past of have been ~ing (present perfect

     continuous). Compare:

    present perfect continuous

    * I hope the bus comes soon. I've been waiting for 20 minutes. (before now)

    * He's out of breath. He has been running.

      past perfect continuous

    * At last the bus came. I'd been waiting for 20 minutes. (before the bus came)

    * He was out of breath. He had been running.

D. Compare had been doing and was doing (past continuous):

    * It wasn't raining when we went out. The sun was shining. But it had been raining, so the

      ground was wet.

    * Ann was sitting in an armchair watching television. She was tired because she'd been

      working very hard.

E. Some verbs (for example, know and want) are not normally used in the continuous:

    * We were good friends. We had known each other for years. (not 'had been knowing')

      For a list of these verbs, see Unit 4A.

EXERCISES

16.1 Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets.

      1. I was very tired when I arrived home.

         (I/work/hard all day)

         I had been working hard all day.

     2. The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired.

        (they/play/football)

    3. There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes.

        (somebody/smoke/in the room)

    4. Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where she

        was.

        (she/dream)

    5. When I got home, Mike was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off.

       (he/watch/TV)

16.2 Read the situations and complete the sentences.

    1. We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain.

        We had been playing for half an hour when it started to rain.

    2. I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes

        I suddenly realised that I was in the wrong restaurant.

        I --- for 20 minutes when I ---

    3. Sarah got a job in a factory. Five years later the factory closed down.

        At the time the factory ---, Sarah --- there for five years.

    4. I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes

        a man in the audience suddenly began shouting.

       The orchestra --- when ---

    5. This time make your own sentence:

        I began walking along the road. I --- when ---

16.3 Put the verb into the most suitable form, past continuous (I was doing), past perfect (I

        had done) or past perfect continuous (I had been doing).

      1. It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours were having (have) a party.

      2. We were good friends. We had known (know) each other for a long time.

      3. John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because he --- (walk) so

          fast.

      4. Mary was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. She --- (run)

      5. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. They ---

         (eat).

      6. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were

          empty but their stomachs were full. They --- (eat).

      7. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He --- (look) for his contact lens.

 

      8. When I arrived, Kate --- (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me because I was

          late and she --- (wait) for a very long time.

      9. I was sad when I sold my car. I --- (have) it for a very long time.

    10. We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. We --- (travel) for more than 24

          hours.

Past perfect (I had done)

A. Study this example situation:

     Sarah went to a party last week. Paul went to the party too but they didn't see each other.

     Paul went home at 10.30 and Sarah arrived at 11 o'clock. So:

     When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul wasn't there. He had gone home.

     Had gone is the past perfect (simple):

     I/we/they/you or he/she/it had (= I'd etc./he'd etc.) gone/seen/finished etc.

    The past perfect simple is had + past participle (gone/seen/finished etc.). For a list of

     irregular verbs, see Appendix 1.

    Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past:

    * Sarah arrived at the party.

       This is the starting point of the story. Then, if we want to talk about things that happened

       before this time, we use the past perfect (had ... ):

   * When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.

     Some more examples:

   * When we got home last night, we found that somebody had broken into the flat.

   * Karen didn't want to come to the cinema with us because she had already seen the film.

   * At first I thought I'd done the right thing, but I soon realised that I'd made a serious

     mistake.

   * The man sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. He hadn't flown before./He had

     never flown before.

B. Had done (past perfect) is the past of have done (present perfect). Compare:

    present perfect

    * Who is that woman? I've never seen her before.

    * We aren't hungry. We've just had lunch.

    * The house is dirty. They haven't cleaned it for weeks.

    past perfect

    * I didn't know who she was. I'd never seen her before. (= before that time)

    * We weren't hungry. We'd just had lunch.

    * The house was dirty. They hadn't cleaned it for weeks.

C. Compare the past perfect (I had done) and past simple (I did):

    * 'Was Tom at the party when you arrived?' 'No, he had already gone home.'

       but 'Was Tom there when you arrived?' 'Yes, but he went home soon afterwards.'

    * Ann wasn't at home when I phoned. She was in London.

      but Ann had just got home when I phoned. She had been in London.

 

EXERCISES

15.1 Read the situations and write sentences from the words in brackets.

      1. You went to Jill's house but she wasn't there. (she/go/out) She had gone out.

      2. You went back to your home town after many years. It wasn't the same as before.

          (it/change/a lot)

     3. I invited Rachel to the party but she couldn't come.

        (she/arrange/to do something else)

    4. You went to the cinema last night. You arrived at the cinema late.

       (the film/already/begin)

    5. I was very pleased to see tim again after such a long time.

 

       (I/not/see/him for five years)

    6. I offered Sue something to eat but she wasn't hungry.

       (she/just/have/breakfast)

15.2 Read the situations and write sentences ending with before. Use the verb given in

        brackets.

      1. The man sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. It was his first flight.

          (fly) He had never flown before. OR He hadn't flown before.

     2. A woman walked into the room. She was a complete stranger to me.

         (see) I --- before.

     3. Simon played tennis yesterday. He wasn't very good at it because it was his first game.

         (play) He ---

     4. Last year we went to Denmark. It was our first time there (be) We ---

15.3 Use the sentences on the left to complete the paragraphs on the right. These sentences

        are in the order in which they happened - so (1) happened before (2), (2) before (3)  etc.

        But your paragraph begins with the underlined sentence, so sometimes you need the

        past perfect.

       1. (1) Somebody broke into the office during the night.

           (2) _We arrived at work in the morning._

           (3) We called the police

                We arrived at work in the morning and found that somebody had broken into

                the office during the night. So we ---

     2. (1) Ann went out.

         (2) _I tried to phone her_ this morning.

         (3) There was no answer.

               I tried to phone Ann this morning but --- no answer. She --- out.

    3. (1) Jim came back from holiday a few days ago.

       (2) _I met him the same day._

        (3) He looked very well.

              I met Jim a few days ago. He --- just --- He ---

  

 4. (1) Kevin wrote to Sally many times.

     (2) She never replied to his letters.

     (3) _Yesterday he had a phone call from her._

     (4) He was very surprised.

          Yesterday Kevin --- He --- very surprised. He --- many times but she ---

15.4 Put the verb into the correct form, past perfect (I had done etc.) or past simple (I did etc.).

   

     1. 'Was Tom at the party when you arrived?' 'No, he had gone (go) home.'

     2. I felt very tire when I got home, so I --- (go) straight to bed.

     3. The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody --- (go) to bed.

     4. Sorry I'm late. The car --- (break) down on my way here.

     5. We were driving along the road when we --- (see) a car which. --- (break) down, so we ---

        (stop) to see if we could help.