by R. S. Karunaratne

Use of ‘have’,‘have got’ and ‘having’

In the present tense we use ‘have’ with ‘I, you, we’ and ‘they.’
I have a new car.
You have a cow.
We have a big house.
They have money.

In the present tense we use ‘has’ with ‘he, she’ and ‘it.’
She has a red jacket.
He has a motorcycle.
It has a long tail.

To form questions we use ‘do’ or ‘does’ with ‘have’ or ‘has’ in the present tense.
Do I have any work to do here?
Do you have a job?
Do we have a test tomorrow?
Do they have a lot of friends?
Does she dress properly?
Does he comb his hair every day?
Does it bark at strangers?

To form the past tense we use ‘had’ with ‘I, you, we, he, she, it’ and ‘they’.
I had a fall yesterday.
You had a headache yesterday. Are you okay now?
We had to answer only two questions.
He had a lot of work to do last week.
She had a white rabbit as a pet.
It had a black spot on its head.

To form questions in the past tense we use ‘did.’
Did I do anything wrong?
Did you bring your camera last week?
Did we attend tuition classes yesterday?
Did he approve my leave?
Did she dance with him?
Did it run fast?
Did they reply your letters?

We use ‘has’ and ‘have’ to talk about possessions, family relationships and illnesses.
I have a new bicycle.
You have a grandson.
We have a joint account at the bank.
He has a headache.
She has a rich uncle.
It has a curved tail.
They have many vehicles.

We can also say
Kapil has black hair.
Swarna has grey eyes.
You have beautiful eyelashes.
My new car has four doors.

We use ‘have’ or ‘has’ with ‘got’ especially in the present tense.
Have you got a pen?
I have got a fountain pen.
(= I have a fountain pen.)

‘I have got a dog.’ is more natural than ‘I have a dog.’
Has she got a pair of scissors?

Similarly, we say
Nirmala has got a sister.
Have you got a cold?

Common expressions

We usually have breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or a cup of tea.
You can have rice and curry for lunch.
You can have a wash now.
I wish to have a bath.
We have a good time here.
Let’s have a party.
You’re going to have a baby!

For the present continuous tense we use ‘having’ with helping or auxiliary verbs such as ‘am, is’ or ‘are.’

Are you having a good time?
Rex is having a shower.
He is having dinner.
She is having a bath.

Match words and meanings

Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B.’ Write the letter of the meaning in the space provided. Check your answers with the key.

Column A Column B

........ 1. Apogee A. an act of saying sorry
........ 2. Apolitical B. able to be seen
........ 3. Apology C. a small amount of food eaten before a meal
........ 4. Apoplectic D. to share out blame or money among several people
....... 5. Apotheosis E. not interested in politics
........ 6. Appalling F. a machine used in the house
........ 7. Apparent G. extremely angry
........ 8. Appealing H. to be connected to
........ 9. Appellation I. interesting
....... 10. Appertain J. the most successful point
....... 11. Appetite K. a want to eat food
....... 12. Appetizer L. a name or title
....... 13. Applaud M. shocking
....... 14. Appliance N. to choose somebody for a job
....... 15. Appoint O. to show approval by clap ping the hands
....... 16. Apportion P. the best example of something
....... 17. Apposite Q. to arrest somebody who has not obeyed the law
....... 18. Apprehend R. a natural ability or skill
....... 19. Apprehension S. not completely accurate but close
....... 20. Apprise T. tell somebody about something
....... 21. Approbation U. approval or agreement
....... 22. Approximate V. connected with water
....... 23. Apt W. worry about the future
....... 24. Aptitude X. suitable for a particular situation
....... 25. Aquatic Y. suitable for the occasion

Key:

1. J 2. E 3. A 4. G 5. P 6. M 7. B 8. I 9. L 10. H 11. K 12. C 13. O 14. F 15. N 16. D 17. Y 18. Q 19. W 20. T 21. U 22. S 23. X 24. R 25. V

Starters :

Present tenses

English has two present tenses. They are:
1. The simple present tense
2. The present progressive or continuous tense

1. The simple present tense

We use the simple present tense to talk about things that are always true and things that happen repeatedly.

The earth moves round the sun.
September has 30 days.
Dogs eat meat.
Cats eat fish.
My grandson lives in Australia.

2. We use the present progressive tense to talk about things that are happening now.

The dog is eating a chunk of meat.
The driver is working long hours.
I am reading a novel.
She is going out of the room.
He is asking for money.
We can use the present progressive tense to talk about the future.
What are you doing this evening?
Where are you going on holiday?
Father is coming home tomorrow.
Sam is starting a new job next week.

Simple present affirmative
I work in a bank.
You work in a hospital.
We work in a factory.
They work on a tea estate.
He works in a farm.
She works in a garment factory.
The bus stops at Veyangoda.

For ‘he, she’ and ‘it’ we have to add an ‘s’ to the verb. If a verb ends in ‘s, sh, ch,’ or ‘x’, we add ‘es’ to the verb.
He passes my house every morning.
She washes cups and plates every day.
Father teaches us English.
The cook mixes various ingredients to make a tasty curry.

There are a few exceptions to the above rules.
She goes to school by bus.
He does his work satisfactorily.
My sister has a beautiful doll.

We add ‘s’ to verbs ending in ‘ay, ey, oy’ or ‘uy’.
The accused says he is not guilty.
He prays to God every morning.
The wild elephant destroys plantations.
She buys sweets for her children.

We add ‘ies’ for verbs ending in ‘dy, ly, py’ or ‘ry.’
Anuradha studies French.
The fisherman in a small boat plies his trade.
The child copies a paragraph from a book.
He carries office files home to attend to them.

[Activity]

Circle the correct words. Check your answers with the key.

1. We / Michael always wears spectacles.
2. You / Sarath always wear T-shirts.
3. We / The Manager thinks you’re a lazy worker.
4. I / Anoma want a new fountain pen.
5. Vehicles / A book cost a lot.
6. Maya / Sam and Sarah sings beautifully.
7. Lionel / Peter and rosy like parties.
8. Rex / They drives very fast.
9. Our cat / Our cats never catch mice.
10. The child / children makes a lot of noise.

Key:

1. Michael 2. You 3. The manager 4. I 5. Vehicles 6. Maya 7. Peter and Rosy 8. Rex 9. Our cats 10. The child

Form adjectives from nouns

Words often come in families. You can expand your vocabulary by becoming familiar with these word families. In the following quiz you are given 25 nouns in column ‘A’. Write the relevant adverbs in column ‘B.’ Check your answers with the key.

Column A Column B

1. Beauty .............
2. Belief .............
3. Boredom .............
4. Breath .............
5. Calmness .............
6. Capability .............
7. Care .............
8. Centre .............
9. Certainty .............
10. Character .............

11. Chemistry .............
12. Cleanliness .............
13. Clarity .............
14. Closeness .............
15. Collection .............
16. Colour .............
17. Comfort .............
18. Comparison .............
19. Competition .............
20. Completion .............

21. Conclusion .............
22. Condition .............
23. Confidence .............
24. Confusion .............
25. Consciousness .............

Key:

1. beautifully 2. unbelievably 3. boringly 4. breathlessly 5. calmly 6. capably 7. carefully 8. centrally 9. certainly 10. characteristically 11. chemically 12. cleanly 13. clearly 14. closely 15. collectively 16. colourfully 17. comfortably 18. comparatively 19. competitively 20. completely 21. conclusively 22. conditionally 23. confidently 24. confusingly 25. consciously