English Grammar

Verb To Have: Past, Present, Future

Learn the verb to have with simple explanations, examples, and an interactive tense board for kids and beginner English learners.

What is the verb “to have”?

The verb to have helps us talk about things we own, people in our family, body parts, lessons, meals, and experiences.

ThingsI have a book.
She has a pencil.

FamilyHe has a sister.
They have cousins.

BodyI have two hands.
The dog has a tail.

MealsWe have lunch.
She has breakfast.

SchoolThey have English today.
I have homework.

ExperiencesWe have fun.
He had a good day.

In the present tense, use has only with he, she, and it. Use have with the others.

I / You / We / They → have

He / She / It → has

Past → had

Click a tense, choose a subject, and see how the verb changes.

Used for now, today, or things that are true.

Subject

Verb To Have

have

I have a book.

Use this chart to compare present, past, and future forms.

Subject	Present	Past	Future
I	have	had	will have
You	have	had	will have
He	has	had	will have
She	has	had	will have
It	has	had	will have
We	have	had	will have
They	have	had	will have

For simple beginner English, use do not have, does not have, did not have, and will not have.

I do not haveI do not have a pen.

She does not haveShe does not have a bike.

They did not haveThey did not have homework.

Use do or does in present questions. Use did in past questions.

In friendly writing, English often uses short forms with have in perfect tenses. For this beginner page, these are useful to recognize.