Perfect have
In each of the sentences below, the helping verb is a form of have-either have, has, or had- and is underlined.
1. She had greeted me happily.
2. They have eaten dinner early today.
3. He has written many articles about the wealthy.
Sentences with the helping verb have are said to be expressed in the perfect aspect, which adds information to the main verb about real-world time. For example, in sentence 2, using have indicates that the action began in the past and is complete.
Quick tip
One kind of helping verb is the verb have. It has three forms: have, has, and had.
Answers
Answers
The verb have is not used only as a helping verb in English. It can also be the main verb in a sentence. Here are some examples with have used as the main verb. Notice that when have is being used as the main verb, it refers to the notion of possession or ownership.
4. I have a comfortable bed.
5. She has a beautiful home.
6.That family had a lot of problems.
Quick tip
Have can be used as a helping verb or as a main verb. When have is used as the main verb, it refers to the idea of possession. When have is used as the helping verb, it is always followed by another verb.
Answers
You may have noticed that sometimes there are sentences with two occurrences of have. Here are some examples.
7. Jack has had a bad time.
8. The mayor had had a close election.
9. We have had a delicious dinner.
How can we account for this? The first occurrence of have is a helping verb; the second occurrence of have is the main verb (and refers to possession). That is, just as any other main verb can use have as a helping verb, the main verb have can also use have as a helping verb. That results in two forms of have in the same sentence.
