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Grammar guide

Using irregular verbs with have, has, and had

Whenever have, has, or had helps another verb, the next verb needs its past participle: has eaten, have written, and had begun.

Choose the helping verb first

Use has with he, she, it, or one singular name. Use have with I, you,we, and they. Use had for every subject when one past event happened before another past point.

She has taken the keys.

They have taken the keys.

We had taken the keys before the office closed.

Changing has to have does not change the participle. The form remains taken. This makes the structure easier to learn as a pair: helping verb plus participle.

Do not put the past simple after have

Many errors happen because the past-simple form is more familiar. A learner remembers went first and produces has went. Use the third principal form after a helping form of have.

has went → has gone

have ate → have eaten

had began → had begun

has chose → has chosen

have took → have taken

Present perfect connects past and present

Have or has plus a participle often describes experience, recent news, or a past action with a result now. I have lost my keymatters because the key is still missing. She has visited Rome twicecounts experience up to now.

Avoid combining the present perfect with a finished past-time expression: in standard usage, say I saw him yesterday, not I have seen him yesterday. Use the simple past when the stated time is finished.

Past perfect orders two past events

Had plus a participle marks the earlier of two past situations. InThe train had left when we reached the platform, leaving happened first and reaching happened later. Do not add past perfect to every verb; its value is showing that relationship.

Earlier: The lesson had begun. Later: Amir entered the room.

Combined: The lesson had begun when Amir entered the room.

Questions, negatives, and contractions

Move the helping verb before the subject for a question: Have you written it? Add not after the helper for a negative: She has not written it. Contractions change the helper, not the participle:haven't written, hasn't written, and hadn't written.

Practice

  1. My brother has ___ (drink) all the water.
  2. We have never ___ (drive) in snow.
  3. By noon, the wind had ___ (blow) the clouds away.
  4. ___ Lena seen this message?
  5. They ___ not chosen a date yet.

Answers

  1. drunk follows has.
  2. driven follows have.
  3. blown follows had.
  4. Has agrees with singular Lena.
  5. have agrees with plural they.

Use the verb checker whenever you know one form but need to confirm the participle.