Have Had or Has Had? What is the difference?

Grammar / By

We use “have had” and “has had” for situations that begin in the past and have some connection with the present(The Present Perfect Tense). We use “have had” with the subjects I, you, we, and they. We use “has had” with the subjects he, she and it.

It is important to note that the second “had” in “have had” is the past participle.

Present Perfect = Have/Has +Main Verb in the past participle.

I have watched a lot of movies. (In this case we are using the past participle of the verb to watch)   

We use “have had” and “has had” when the main verb is also “to have”.We use the verb “to have” for possession and with certain nouns like “to have a party” and as a modal of obligation.   

We use the present perfect tense for experiences and things that started in the past and continue into the present. 

Have Had

“Have had” is the present perfect form of the verb to have for every subject except the third person singular(he/she/it).

I have had

You have had

He has had

She has had

It has had

We have had

They have had

Examples:

I have had a very long day. (an event that started in the past and continues until the present)

They have had a hard time since they left school. (They started having a bad time in the past and are still having a hard time today)

Has Had

“Has had” is the present perfect form of the verb to have for the subjects he/she/it.

He has had

She has had

It has had

Examples:

He has had a bad knee for a long time now.

The computer has had to work extra hard. 

More Examples of common situations when we use Have had and Has Had

I have had a good talk with him 

You have had your cake so you won’t be having any more.

She has had a rough few years. 

He has had the disease since he was a child. 

We have had a party every year. 

They have never had to endure this amount of suffering. 

You can read about “had had” here. 

Conor
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