Word Chest - Week 8 | Have vs Has | What are the rules?
Hello, Scholars!
Welcome to Word Chest. In the last few weeks, we studied some confusing English words and homonyms. You also learned how to use these words properly when speaking or writing. Unfortunately, the turn-in of assignments has been poor lately and that is quite understandable since you are approaching the end of the term and it can be challenging to juggle school work and other activities. Be rest assured that these lessons will always be available for you here on Steemit. I have provided you with these quick links so you can always access them whenever you want to.
| The Name of Young Animals | Week 4 - There, their and they're |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Week 5 - Election |
| Week 1 -Music | Week 6 - Every day vs Everyday |
| Week 2 -Homonym | Week 7 - It's vs Its |
| Week 3 - Street | - |
O-kay! Let's understand the differences between ‘have’ and ‘has’.
‘Have’ is a type of irregular verb because it has two different forms — ‘has’ and ‘had’.
This verb can be used for various reasons.
a. To show possession
Goody has a ski.
The twins have cute puppies.
b. Used as an auxiliary or helping verb
Helping verbs are verbs that help the main verb by adding meaning to a sentence.
I have fixed the lamp.
He has arranged his suitcase.
When do you use ‘have’ and ‘has’?
You are only allowed to use 'has' when the subject of your discussion is singular and 'have' when the subject is plural. There are some exceptions though. Want to find out more? Let me explain this better.
If we have these sentences:
- The girl has come.✔
- The girls have come.✔
You will notice that both sentences are grammatical because:
The subject and verb of the first sentence are both singular. Here, ‘the girl’ refers to one girl, therefore, it must take a singular verb. In this case, the verb used is the singular verb 'has'.
The second sentence, on the other hand, has a different subject. It is important to note that a subject is a word or word group (usually a noun phrase) that is dealt with. It usually precedes the predicator which is the verb. This time, the subject is plural. 'The girls' refers to more than one girl. The verb in this case will no longer be 'has' which is a singular verb but rather 'have' which is a plural verb.
The reason for this is because one of the rules of concord in the English language simply states that a singular subject requires a singular verb and a plural subject requires a plural verb.
Simply put, the singular verb ‘has’ is used commonly when the subject is singular. This way we will have “Sarah has”, “He has”, “She has”, “It has”, “The boy has”, “An ostrich has” etc.
‘Have’ is used when the subject is plural such as:
Donkeys have
They have
We have
Romeo and Juliet have
Macho men have
Exception
This rule does not apply to the pronoun ‘I’. So you can only have ‘I have...’ but never ‘I has...’
Do you understand?
Should I treat more rules of concord in subsequent posts? Should I?
Take a test
You are provided with some sentences and you are required to fill the blank spaces with either ‘has’ or ‘have’. Leave your answers in the comment section. I will try to review them but if other learners get notified before me, then they will review your answers too.
- I ______ a piggybank.
- Romeo ______ a puppy.
- Angela and Michael ______ purchased a book.
- He ______ four puppies.
- The placenta will be delivered after the baby ______ been born.
Special thanks to @patjewell and @ubongudofot for their encouraging words last week. Steem on, Steemians!
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Thank you! Another great lesson!
I taught my stepson the following;
"he/she/it -> ate IS and HAS for breakfast
we/you/they -> ate ARE and HAVE for breakfast" (•ิ‿•ิ)
Keep up the good work!!
This has been a challenge for most kids. A young friend of mine inspired me to create this post. I hope to discuss extensively on this in subsequent posts to aid better understanding of these rules in grammar.
I hope that each reader can view your comment too. It simplifies everything.
Singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs.
There is always some catch in English grammar.
Best of, I am also guilty. I read and check my posts before I post them but still, I will often find grammar mistakes after I have made the post. How? I came to the conclusion that our eyes read what our mind wants to see. (•ิ‿•ิ)
Hello @ukpono, Your post has been selected as one of the quality posts for the day by steemkids community. Congratulations! Please keep making quality and original contents with us here. We love you so much and will like to read more of your posts.
Please endeavour to resteem, vote and comment on the post of selection. Thank you!
Great news!
Thank you so much, ma'am.
Hello teacher her us my humble participation for your assignment.
I have a piggybank.
Romeo has a puppy.
Angela and Michael have purchased a book.
He has four puppies.
The placenta will be delivered after the baby has been born.
Beautiful, Wizzyboy!
You have aced this.
Thanks teacher
wow a nice lesson I had learnt a lot from this thanks for teaching me the difference between has and have I really learnt many things thanks alot
I am glad that you found this helpful.