Advanced English Grammar Course
Are you confused about how to use HAVE HAD and HAD HAD in English? Today’s lesson will help you! First, we need to understand thepresent perfect tenseandpast perfect tense. Both of these tenses are formed by using an auxiliary verb + main verb:
Present perfect
= have / has (helping verb) + main verb (past participle)
Examples:
- I have finished all my homework.
- Shehas goneto the store.
- Wehave livedhere for three years.
The present perfect is used when an action starts in the past and continues to the present (example #3) or when talking about past actions WITHOUT saying when they happened (examples #1 and #2).
Past perfect
= had (helping verb) + main verb (past participle)
Examples:
- My husbandhad finishedall the housework by the time I got home from work.
- When I called Laura last night, her husband told me shehad goneout.
- Ihad livedin 5 different cities before I turned 10 years old.
The past perfect is used when one past action happens before another past action/event.
When to use HAVE HAD & HAD HAD
In the present perfect, the auxiliary verb isalwayshave (for I, you, we, they) orhas(for he, she, it).
In the past perfect, theauxiliary verbisalwayshad.
We usehave hadin the present perfect when themain verbisalso“have”:
- I’m not feeling well. Ihave hada headache all day.
- Shehas hadthree children in the past five years.
- Wehave hadsome problems with our computer systems recently.
- Hehas hadtwo surgeries on his back.
We usehad hadin the past perfect when themain verbisalso“have”:
- Last weekend I just wanted to relax because Ihad hada busy week.
- The director told me hehad hada meeting with the president.
- Wehad hadsome trouble with our washing machine, so we called a repairman.
- She woke up screaming because shehad hada bad dream.
Important:In spoken English, we almost always use the “short form”:
- I’m not feeling well. I’ve hada headache all day.
- She’s hadthree children in the past five years.
- We’ve hadsome problems with our computer systems recently.
- He’s hadtwo surgeries on his back.
- Last weekend I just wanted to relax because I’d hada busy week.
- The director told me he’d hada meeting with the president.
- We’d hadsome trouble with our washing machine, so we called a repairman.
- She woke up screaming because she’d hada bad dream.
It’s also common to have another word in the middle of have had, has had, or had had:
- We’ve recently hadsome problems with our computer systems.
- He’s just hadtwo surgeries on his back
- The director said he’d already hada meeting with the president.
- By the time I was 30I’d only hadone serious boyfriend.
Check out our lesson to learn all the English verb tenses!
More Espresso English Lessons:
About The Author
Shayna Oliveira
Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.
