Guest  +  1525 Mon, 30 Jun 03 07:14 PM Can you tell me (the rules) when to use the following in a sentence as I got confused and the grammer book that I refer to fail to explain the rules. Have: I "have eaten" my dinner. Has: She "has eaten" her dinner. Had: She "had eaten" her dinner Has had/ have had: She "has had" many years of experience. I'll be most grateful if you can give me some examples and the rules governing the use of the above. Guest

	hitchhiker  +  1526 Mon, 30 Jun 03 07:21 PM Hi, here's some explanations and examples: I have eaten my dinner = I ate my dinner just now. She has eaten her dinner = She ate her dinner just now (recently) She had eaten her dinner = She ate her dinner (in the past) She has had many years of experience = She has been doing it for a long time. I have had many years of experience = I have been doing this for a long time. I have had no sleep = I got no sleep! I has had no sleep is WRONG! They work like this (the rules!): I have had = I had You have had = You had She/He has had = She/He had We have had = We had You have had = You had They have had = They had I ate -- I have eaten -- I (have) cooked -- I (have) slept You ate -- You have eaten -- You (have) cooked -- You (have) slept She/He ate -- She/He has eaten -- She (has) cooked -- She (has) slept We ate -- We have eaten -- We (have) cooked -- We (have) slept You ate -- You have eaten -- You (have) cooked -- You (have) slept They ate -- They have eaten -- They (have) cooked -- They (have) slept Examples They have had tea. She has had her tea. She has had tea. (all ok) Removing the have and has! I have had sleep = I had sleep (less normal) = I slept I have had food = I had food = I ate (to eat = to have food!) She has had no sleep = She had no sleep NOT = She no slept! They have had no sleep = They had no sleep NOT = They no slept! Random examples! I have eaten my dinner I have beaten my record I have knocked him out Mamma has knocked him out (hehe) I have had no luck = I had no luck I have had luck = I had luck = I am lucky (better) I had two eggs = I have had two eggs I have more examples = I've(I have) got more examples hitchhiker Joined on Mon, Nov 18 2002 Richmond, UK Senior Member 4,036 Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea - massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement...

	hitchhiker  +  1530 Mon, 30 Jun 03 08:07 PM Young, I suggest you sign in! I don't quite get your question! There is a difference, its about something "you had (in the past)" and something "you have (now)" "She had many years of experience" = She had - but doesn't NECESSARILY have now - many years of experience "She has many years of experience" = She has - Now (and in the past - due to the word experience!) - many years of experience The use of the word 'experience' confuses the matter (It refers to the past!) She had many problems = She had (it doesn't say anything about what she has now) many problems. She has many problems = She has many problems right now (doesn't say anything about her past). She's always had problems = She had problems then, and she has them now! hitchhiker

	CalifJim  +  247535 Fri, 21 Jul 06 05:22 AM Any particular reason you're adding to threads that were finished more than three years ago?! CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,463 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	Clive  +  252313 Fri, 04 Aug 06 02:46 PM Hi,  had sleep ? is it correct ? No, you need to say 'I had a sleep' or 'I slept'. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,672 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	ExoskeletoN  +  351918 Tue, 17 Apr 07 10:07 AM i would like to add in this thread. I had a sleep. = is correct, right? what about.... I have a sleep? is it still right? ExoskeletoN Joined on Tue, Apr 17 2007 New Member 01