Have

From Creolista!
Revision as of 19:59, 5 April 2020 by Sashi (talk | contribs) (Obligation)
Jump to: navigation, search

Forms

  • dictionary form (bare infinitive): have
  • present tense: has (3s), have (1s/p, 2s/p, 3p)
  • past tense: had


  • present participle: having
  • past participle: had

light verb

"Have" est un verbe (comme get, put, make, etc.) qui peut remplacer d'autres verbes plus précis dans le langage courant. Ci-dessous des exemples typiques des phrases où "having X" serait plus fréquemment utilisé pour décrire une activité telle que eating, inviting, giving birth, or experiencing.

  • We're having tuna casserole tonight.
  • They're having us over for dinner.
  • I'm having a baby.
  • I'm having contractions.
  • overheard on 1 January: "No, seriously, I had a bath last year."

Some further examples:

  • We're having (some) trouble ... Ving
    • ... meeting the production schedule.
    • ... getting paid.

full verb

"have" is used both for the idea of "possession" / "ownership" (I have a house.) and the notion of "being the seat of" (I have a headache. I don't have a clue.). This second meaning -- être là oû il (n')y a (pas) -- is less common in English than in French. (Cf. 'avoir faim', 'avoir froid', 'avoir 18 ans', tous traduit par be en anglais)

  • Il est toujours correct d'employer l'auxiliaire do avec le verbe plein "have".
  • Il est rarement correct de s'en passer. (sauf dans un registre très recherché ou poétiques... I haven't enough mittens for all of my kittens!)

Perfect aspect

"Have" is the auxiliary for the so-called perfect tenses. In the perfect the main verb is in the past participle form, e.g. driven, written, bought, seen, been, etc.

past perfect: had driven
present perfect: has driven (3s), have driven (1s/p, 2s/p, 3p)
future perfect: will have driven
perfect infinitive: (to) have driven
perfect participle: having driven

L'aspect "perfectif" est employé pour faire le bilan jusqu'à un point de répère dans le temps, e.g.

  • I have (still) never been to Italy. Je ne suis toujours pas allé(e) en Italie.
  • I had never been to Italy before I went last Easter. Je n'avais jamais mis les pieds en Italie, avant d'y être allé(e) pour Pâques.
  • I will have finished by Monday. J'aurai terminé lundi.

Obligation

When combined with the function word "to" and a Verb, have becomes a marker of obligation

present: hæstə 'verb (3s); hæftə 'verb
past: hædtə 'verb
future: (ə)lhæftə 'verb


Cf.    Worksheet on have to

Causative

have so do sth
I had my brother call the tax office. (i.e. my brother called the tax office because I asked him to.)
I had the intern cover the city council meeting (i.e. I sent the intern (stagiaire) to report on the city council meeting.)
have sth done
I had my hair colored.
I had my car serviced. (by a registered mechanic)