[English] H3 (Have, Had, Has)

The following idioms and expressions use the verb 'have'. Each idiom or expression has a definition and two example sentences to help understanding of these common idiomatic expressions with 'have'.  have a big mouth Definition: somebody who tells secrets, who is a gossip Don't talk to Mary she has a big mouth. If you didn't have such a big mouth, I'd tell you my secrets. have a bee in your bonnet Definition: have an obsession, something that always remains in your thoughts and efforts She has a bee in her bonnet that health care must change. If I have a bee in my bonnet, I have to do everything I can until I can make it happen. have a bone to pick with someone Definition: have something (usually a complaint) that you want to discuss with someone I have a bone to pick with you. Just a moment, let's talk. Tom's looking for Pete because he's got a bone to pick with him. have a brush with something Definition: have brief contact, or experience with someone or something I had a brief brush with Jack and I didn't like it. He's had a brief brush with unemployment. have a chip on your shoulder Definition: be in a bad mood and challenging people to fight Don't take him seriously, he just has a chip on his shoulder. Yes, I have a chip on my shoulder! What are YOU going to do about it?! have a close call Definition: be close to danger I had a close call yesterday and was almost in an accident. She's had a few close calls in her life. have a familiar ring Definition: sound familiar, as if you've heard it before That story has a familiar ring. Did we read that last year? Her experiences have a familiar ring. I guess everybody goes through that. have a good head on your shoulders Definition: have common sense, be sensible Jack has a good head on his shoulders. Don't worry about him. I think you have a good head on your shoulders. You should trust your decision. have a green thumb Definition: be very good at gardening Alice obviously has a green thumb. Look at that garden! My wife has a green thumb, so I let her do all the gardening. have a heart Definition: be compassionate or generous and forgiving with somebody Don't hold that against her. Have a heart! I think he'll have a heart and forgive you. have a heart of gold Definition: be generous and sincere Mary has a heart of gold. I just love her. The teacher has a heart of gold with her students. have a heart of stone Definition: be cold and unresponsive, unforgiving Don't make him angry. He has a heart of stone. I can't believe how he treats his children. He's got a heart of stone. have an ax to grind Definition: complain about something often He has an ax to grind against his health care provider. I know you have an ax to grind against Agatha, but stop complaining! have an in with someone Definition: have special access to someone (often used at work) She has an in with the boss. Let her ask him for permission. I wish I had an in with the director so I could get a promotion. have a one-track mind Definition: always thinking about one thing He has a one track mind. He can't talk about anything besides golf. Do you have a one-track mind? have a soft spot in your heart for someone or something Definition: love or adore a thing or person I've got a soft spot in my heart for Maria Callas. He has a soft spot in his heart for pinball! have a sweet tooth Definition: like sweets too much I know you have a sweet tooth, but you need to be careful. I need to watch my weight, especially because I have a sweet tooth. have clean hands Definition: to without guilt, guiltless Don't blame him, he has clean hands. The man claimed to have clean hands in the crime. have egg on one's face Definition: be embarrassed after having done something very stupid I had egg on my face after I asked that stupid question. I don't think he realizes he has egg on his face.   have eyes in the back of your head Definition: seem able to follow everything that is going on, even though you do not focus on it She has eyes in the back of her head. Be careful! The students believed their teacher had eyes in the back his head. have mixed feelings Definition: to be uncertain about something or someone Janice has mixed feelings about Ken. Brad has mixed feelings about buying a new car. have money to burn Definition: have an excess of money Don't worry about it! She's got money to burn. Do you think I have money to burn?! Of course, I can't buy you a diamond ring. have your hands tied Definition: be prevented from doing something I'm afraid I have my hands tied and can't help you. Peter told me he had his hands tied on the Franklin deal. have your head in the clouds Definition: to not pay attention to what is going on around you Doug had his head in the clouds all the time he was at university. Do you have you head in the clouds?! Pay attention! have your tail between your leg Definition: be afraid of something, not have courage to do something He just couldn't approach her. He seemed to have his tail between his legs. Janet went to her father with her tail between her legs and asked for forgiveness. have other fish to fry Definition: have more important things to do, have other opportunities Look. I have other fish to fry, so just say yes or no. Susan had other fish to fry and left her position at the bank. have someone or something in your hands Definition: have the responsibility for someone or something I have the project in my hands. If you have any questions, come to me. She had her boyfriend in her hands. She could do anything. have the Midas touch Definition: have the ability to easily be successful He'll succeed. He's got the Midas touch. Ask her to approach those difficult clients. She has the Midas touch. have the presence of mind to do something Definition: stay calm in a dangerous or frightening, or emergency situation He had the presence of mind to cover her up before he went to find help. Alice has the presence of mind to take along some extra food before setting out on the hike.       HAVE / HAS Present perfect and present perfect continuous: How long have you lived here? I've been working since seven this morning. HAD Past perfect and past perfect continuous: He had eaten by the time I arrived. She had been studying for two hours when he finally telephoned.     Present Perfect The present perfect is used to say what has happened recently and has an effect on the present moment. We often use 'just', 'yet' and 'already' to express the relationship to the present moment. Examples Have you seen Mary yet? They've already had dinner. She's just been to the dentist's. The present perfect is also used to express something which has happened up to the present moment of time. Examples Have you worked here for a long time? Peter's lived here since 1987. She hasn't had much fun this week. Positive Form Subject + have + past participle + object(s) Examples Peter's lived here since 1987. We've been very busy today. Negative Form Subject + have + not + past participle + object(s) Examples I haven't been to class very often this month. She hasn't had much fun this week. Question Form (Wh?) + have + subject + past participle? Examples Have you worked here for a long time? Where have you been? Present Perfect for Unspecified Past When speaking about an experience that has happened at an UNSPECIFIED point in time before the present moment use the present perfect. Examples I've been to New York three times. They've lived in many places. She's studied in London. NOTE: In this use of the present perfect, we are talking about things that have happened up to the present moment. Whenever you speak about something that has happened up to now without giving a precise point in time, use the present perfect. Use of 'For', 'Since' and 'How long' Use 'for' to indicate a duration or period of time. Examples He has lived here for seven years. We have been here for six weeks. Shirley has played tennis for a long time. Use 'since' to indicate a specific point in time. Examples I've worked here since 2004. She's gone to dancing lessons since April. They've been unhappy since they left college. Use 'How long' in the question form to ask about duration. Examples How long have you played the piano? How long has he worked here? How long has she been with you?     Listed below are examples, uses and structure of the Present Perfect followed by a quiz. Examples Usage Fred Meyers has had excellent profits this quarter. The class's understanding has increased greatly this semester. Have they finished the report yet? Giving or asking for news or recent events. The study of irregular verbs has improved test scores. They have bought a new car. I've already eaten lunch. US/English exception: It is also accepted in US English to ask "Did you phone her yet?" as opposed to the more common "Have you phoned her yet?" Past actions with results in the present. She's traveled in many parts of the world. Have you ever been to France? They've never seen a mountain. Life experience He's lived in San Francisco for 10 years. How long have you worked for this company? They've studied English for 3 years. I don't want to live in Texas. Unfinished actions (action still in progress). In this respect the present perfect and present perfect continuous are very similar. See contrast with Present Perfect Continuous Common present perfect time expressions include: for (with a period of time), since (with an exact point in time), ever, never, yet, already, this week (month, year)   Structure Conjugate the verb 'have' (have or has) past participle. Regular verbs end in -ed. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ied. Irregular verbs must be studied. See chart for most common irregular verbs. I You We They have lived in Seattle since 1978. He She It has worked for many years. Conjugate the verb 'have' (have or has) not past participle. Regular verbs end in -ed. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ied. Irregular verbs must be studied. See chart for most common irregular verbs. I You We They haven't seen Tom. He She It hasn't left yet. Conjugate the verb 'have' (have or has) Subject past participle. Regular verbs end in -ed. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ied. Irregular verbs must be studied. See chart for most common irregular verbs. Have I You We They been to Paris? Has He She It finished yet?   Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous The Basics: Past Perfect : There are two past tenses used to describe things that happen before another point in time in the past. Use the past perfect to talk about an event which had happened at some point in time before something took place. Tom had interviewed five times before he got his first job. She had already eaten by the time they arrived. The Basics: Past Perfect Continuous: The past perfect continuous is used to express how long something had been going on before something important happened in the past. Jane had been studying for four hours when he came home. Jack had been driving four over six hours when he finally pulled over to have lunch. Past Perfect Structure: Positive Subject + had + past participle I, You, He, She, We, They had finished before I arrived. Negative Subject + had + not (hadn't) + past participle I, You, He, She, We, They hadn't eaten before he finished the job. Questions Question word + had + subject + past participle What -> had he, she, you, we, they thought before I asked the question? Past Perfect Continuous Structure: Positive Subject + had + been + verb + ing I, You, He, She, We, They had been working for two hours when she telephoned. Negative Subject + had + not (hadn't) + been + verb + ing I, You, He, She, We, They hadn't been paying attention for long when he asked the question. Questions Question word (often 'How long') + had + been + subject + verb + ing How long -> had he, she, you, we, they been working before he arrived?     Past Perfect Listed below are uses with examples, and the structure of the past perfect tense. Something that had happened before something else took place I had eaten lunch before they arrived. Susan had already finished the project when he asked for help. Something that had happened over a period of time in the past before another point in the of past I had lived abroad for twenty years when I received the transfer. Jane had studied in England before she did her master's at Harvard. Something that had happened as a precondition to something else I had prepared for the exams and was ready to do well. Tom had lost twenty pounds and could begin anew. In the third conditional to express imagined conditions If I had known that, I would have acted differently. She would have come to the party if she had been invited. With wish to express a desire about the past I wish you had told me. She wishes she had known about his problems. Common time expressions used with the past perfect: already, just, before, when Structure Positive Subject + had + past participle I, You, He, She, We, They had finished before I arrived. Negative Subject + had + not (hadn't) + past participle I, You, He, She, We, They hadn't eaten before he finished the job. Questions Question word + had + subject + past participle What -> had he, she, you, we, they thought before I asked the question?     Past Perfect Continuous Listed below are uses with examples, and the structure of the past perfect continuous tense. Something that had been happening before something else took place I had been working for three hours when you arrived. Susan had been thinking about the idea for a while when he made the suggestion. Something that had been happening over a period of time in the past up until another point in the of past I had been playing tennis for two hours when I sprained my ankle. Jane had been studying for two years when he was drafted into the army. Something that had been happening in preparation for something else I had been practicing for three days and was ready for the concert. Tom had been studying hard and felt good about the test he was about to take. In the third conditional to express imagined conditions If I had been working on that project, we would have been successful. She would have been ready for the test if she had been preparing diligently. Common time expressions used with the past perfect continuous: before, when Structure Positive Subject + had + been + verb + ing I, You, He, She, We, They had been working for two hours when she telephoned. Negative Subject + had + not (hadn't) + been + verb + ing I, You, He, She, We, They hadn't been paying attention for long when he asked the question. Questions Question word (often 'How long') + had + been + subject + verb + ing How long -> had he, she, you, we, they been working before he arrived?

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