When do I use has/have in a sentence

[Chris4Davi]

Hello everyone, I have oftentimes mix up the two has/have. I  am certain I have misused them both on several occasions. How and when do I use or know when to use has/have in a sentence. Please give a few examples in your responses.

[Krrizal]

"Have" is used for plural subjects such as we, they, etc.

    Example: "Jane and John have worked here for many years."

"Has" is used for singular subjects such as I, she, he, etc.

    Example: "Jane has worked here for many years."

We use "has" or "have" with a past participle to describe an action that started in the past and is (or may be) still going on.

[takibari]

If the subject in the sentence is "I", you always use "have". You can never use "has" if the subject is "I".

I have tried yoga before. = OK

I has tried yoga before. = X

The same rule applies for "you".

Have you tried eating kimchi?

NEVER, Has you tried eating kimchi?

[Baburra]

Has is used when the subject you are pertaining to is singular and have is used when your subject is plural. For example, "Suzy has an apple" or when plural, "Suzy and Bob have an apple". Because Suzy is alone in the first example, has is more appropriate, whereas the second example already has another person in it so you should use have.

[elenamarie]

I have them interchanged at times as well because after all they are both being used  to show possession. With English not being my native language, I thought they are the same until I researched about the proper usage of these two auxiliary verbs. I found out that “have” is for present tense with pronouns and plural nouns while has is use for third singular person.

[Rosa]

There is a quite simple way to avoid making any error and that's the way I was taught in primary school. You use have with I, we and they, while has is used with he, she and it. If you put that into practice soon you'll have no problem with the usage of these words.

[celebritea]

Good question

Have:

When referring to yourself (singular) (I)

When referring to your self AND other people (plural)(we)

When referring to other people (plural) (they)

Has:

When referring to one other PERSON/being/object (singular) (he/she/it/name)

[Asaase]

There is a quite simple way to avoid making any error and that's the way I was taught in primary school. You use have with I, we and they, while has is used with he, she and it. If you put that into practice soon you'll have no problem with the usage of these words.

I thought that this was a great tip and a great way to remember when to differentiate between the two. I think that this may be a lot easier to remember than trying to remember which singular or plural subject to use with each. I will use this tip to help others in my community who are learning English. A lot of the older generations do not know English at all and many are trying to learn.

[Rosa]

@ Asaase, so happy that you have found this method to be simple too and you are willing to show it to others. Some teachers do really come up with ways to make learning easy for their students. I was taught this method in grade two at primary level and have also taught my children and others this easy way too.