has or had

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1. They must have been drunk
2. They had to have been drunk.
What is the difference in meaing between the two?


I have read this book.
I had read this book. <--is this incorrect? why?
if so, is this correct then?

I had read this book before? <--correct? why?
or should it be
I have had read this book before? <--correct? why?
 
1. I have read this book. :)
2. I had read this book. :(
==> I had read this book before you told me about it. (Event 1: read the book, Event 2: you told me about it.)

3. I have had read this book before. :(
==> There are two many verbs: have, had, read. (I have had bad days before, too; I have read this book before.)

All the best,
 
"I have had read this book before." <--why is this incorrect? How is it too many verbs? Is "have, had, read" verbs?
"I have had bad days before." <--is this correct? why? Why doesn't this have too many verbs?

What is the rule for using "have had"? How do i use it? Can you give me some examples?
 
jack said:
"I have had read this book before." <--why is this incorrect? How is it too many verbs? Is "have, had, read" verbs?
"I have had bad days before." <--is this correct? why? Why doesn't this have too many verbs?

What is the rule for using "have had"? How do i use it? Can you give me some examples?

The first has two many verbs- it should be 'I have read', which is the auxiliary verb and the past participle. 'I have had' in the second is exactlythe same- auxiliary verb + past participle. (Bad is an adjective, not a verb) ;-)
 
jack said:
"I have had read this book before." <--why is this incorrect? How is it too many verbs? Is "have, had, read" verbs?
"I have had bad days before." <--is this correct? why? Why doesn't this have too many verbs?

What is the rule for using "have had"? How do i use it? Can you give me some examples?

There are two different have's. One is a main verb and the other, as tdol mentions, is an auxiliary verb.

I have a house. (Main verb, present)
I have had a house. (Auxiliary verb, present + main verb, past)

I had a house. (Main verb, past)
I had had a house. (Auxiliary verb, past + main verb, past)


I have a book. (Main verb)
I have read a book. (Auxiliary verb, present)
I had read a book. (Auiliary verb, past)

All the best,
 
jack said:
1. They must have been drunk
2. They had to have been drunk.
What is the difference in meaing between the two?

I don't see any difference between the two. In both cases the speaker is attributing their behavior to what he or she supposes was their drunkenness.

:)
 
I have a house. (Main verb, present)
I have had a house. (Auxiliary verb, present + main verb, past)

I had a house. (Main verb, past)
I had had a house. (Auxiliary verb, past + main verb, past)

Can you explain the meaning of these sentences? thanks
 
  • I have a house. (Main verb, present)
    = and still do
    I have had a house. (Auxiliary verb, present + main verb, past participle)
    = and don't now, unless I qualify it by saying how long, for instance

    I had a house. (Main verb, past)
    = at some time in the past
    I had had a house. (Auxiliary verb, past + main verb, past)
    = before some time in the past
;-)
 
1. I have a house. (Main verb, present)
==> I own a house.

2. I have had a house. (Auxiliary verb, present + main verb, past)
==> I have owned a house. (Emphasis on the event)

3. I had a house. (Main verb, past)
==> I owned a house. (Emphasis on Time and event)

4. I had had a house. (Auxiliary verb, past + main verb, past)
==> I had owned a house.... (Emphasis on two events; the second event is left unstated.)

All the best,
 
MikeNewYork said:
jack said:
I need help on asking questions.

When i ask questions do i use "had" or "have"?
how do i know which one to use?

lets say i asked this question:
Have you studied yet? <--how do i know if he is still studying or he had studided already? if he studided already do i use had?
is so, do i say
Had you studied yet? <--incorrect?
if i say "Had you studied yesterday?" <--correct? b/c i have stated a specific time?

Have you studied yet is correct. One would only use "had" in that question if one were talking about study that occurred prior to another past event.

which one do i use and why? and when would i use the other one?

Lets say i answered the question.
Yes i have <--correct?
or
Yes i had <--incorrect, unless i have a subsequent event right?
Yes i had studied at 10am. <--correct?
Yes i have studided at 10am <--is this incorrect? it states a specific time so i need to use had right?


Yes, on all four.

sorry to interrupt. I thought we cannot use either present perfect or past perfect for an event with a specific time/date....like the sentence above, should we say 'yes i studied at 10.pm' instead?
needs explaination
 
"Yes I studied at 10.pm" is perfectly fine. In fact, to use "had" in that sentence would be quite unusual, to say the least.

:)
 
"I wouldn't have had you come here if i knew i was going to play like this." <--correct? why? what does this sentence mean?

"I wouldn't have you come here if i knew i was going to play like this." <--incorrect?correct? why?
 
jack said:
"I wouldn't have had you come here if i knew i was going to play like this." <--correct? why? what does this sentence mean?

"I wouldn't have you come here if i knew i was going to play like this." <--incorrect?correct? why?

If I had known (1st event: Past Perfect) I was going to play like this, I wouldn't have had/made/let (2nd event) you come here.

==> would not have had (Present Perfect: referring back to then (when I had known) and up to now (letting you come here to see my play.)

All the best,
 
It is clear that antibiotics have become widely overused, significantly eroding their effectiveness against many types of harmful bacteria. <---is "have become" wrong? should it be "have became"? Is "effectiveness" used correctly there? Could i use "affectivness" instead? What would it mean?
 
It is clear that antibiotics have become widely overused, significantly eroding their effectiveness against many types of harmful bacteria
Looks fine to me. Maybe you could rephrase "significantly eroding" into "which significantly eroded".
"have became" would be wrong.
"affectivness" does not exist as far as I know.

FRC
 
"have became" would be wrong.

Why is it wrong?? That is not a present perfect? Then what is it? Have+past participlet rule doesn't apply? why not?
 
The verb is become/became/become, so "have became" is not correct ("have become" is right). Similarly, "have flew" would be wrong ("have flown").

FRC
 
As Francois said, became is only past tense. Example:
  • I became a good student by first becoming a good teacher.

If you want to use present perfect you have to use become. Example:
  • I have become a good teacher by listening and learning.

:)
 
"It is possible to has a son." <--incorrect? why? The subject is "It", which is singular, but "has" should be have? why?
 
jack said:
"It is possible to has a son." <--incorrect? why? The subject is "It", which is singular, but "has" should be have? why?
The subject is "it", the verb is "is" (singular), so everything's fine. You would say "It is great to be at home", not "it is great to is at home".
In the same vein, "the question is: to be or not to be", not "the question is: to is or not to is".

FRC
 
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