Auxiliary : Use of has, had and have in Grammar

This concept will help students to understand the usage of auxiliary verbs in a sentence. It also details how has, have, and had are used with different pronouns and tenses along with some examples. To understand better, take a look at auxiliary verb topic.

In this concept, the students will learn:

To use has, have, and had with the correct pronoun, noun, and tense.
To avoid common mistakes while using has, have, and had.

All the topics in English are created by subject matter experts which include concept maps, illustrations, and examples. Students in Class 2 English can determine their understanding of a particular concept by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page. Download the use of has, have, and had worksheet solutions for the concept, pair of antonyms, provided in PDF format.

Definition of Auxiliary Verbs in English

‘Have’, ‘Has’ and ‘Had’ are referred to as auxiliary verbs.
An auxiliary verb is the one which expresses the tense and voice of other verbs.

a. Has

- ‘Has’ is used with pronouns like he, she, it or singular nouns.
- It is used in sentences written in the present tense.

Examples:

He has a red bicycle.
It has a long tail.

b. Have

- ‘Have’ is used with pronouns like you, I, we, they, and plural nouns like toys, dogs, animals, people, boys, girls, etc.
- It is used in sentences in the present tense.

We have to visit him tomorrow.
They have many cars.

c. Had

‘Had’ is used with pronouns like I, he, she, you, it, they, and we. It is also used with both singular or plural nouns in the past tense.

Examples:

They had chicken in the lunch.
I had to wait a long time to meet him

Common Mistakes

One of the most common mistakes made with auxiliaries is confusing the tense of the sentence by using the wrong auxiliary verb. Thus, remember the tense of the three auxiliary verbs.