How To Use "Have" and "Had" for Eating and Drinking
- Thomas
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
There are two very common English words my beginner students are confused by: have and had. We use them all the time to talk about ownership and experiences, but we also use them when we talk about food and drinks. Let me show you how.
"Have" for the present
When you want to talk about what you eat or drink right now, or what you normally eat or drink, you use have.
Examples:
I have coffee every morning.
She has toast for breakfast.
He has tea after lunch.
The dog has breakfast at 9 every morning.
They have rice for dinner.
We have a snack at 3 o'clock.
Remember, when the subject is he, she, or it, we change have to has. This is called conjugating. Here is the full pattern:
Pronoun | Verb |
I | have |
You | have |
He / She / It | has |
We | have |
They | have |
So you can say "I have water" or "She has water."
"Had" for the past
When you want to talk about what you ate or drank yesterday, last week, or any time in the past, you use had. The good news is that had does not change. It is the same for every pronoun.
Examples:
I had eggs for breakfast this morning.
You had a sandwich for lunch yesterday.
He had soup for dinner last night.
She had orange juice with her meal.
We had pizza on Friday.
They had ice cream after the movie.
No conjugating for the past. One word for everyone.
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Questions with "have" and "had"
When we ask a question, we use do or did with have. But we do not use has in questions. In the present tense, we usually ask about routines. We also normally add adverbs of frequency to complete the question.
Present questions:
What do you normally have for breakfast?
What does she have for lunch?
Do they usually have coffee or tea?
Past questions:
What did you have for dinner?
Did he have a drink?
What did they have at the party?
Notice that in past questions, we always use did + have. Never "did had." We always conjugate the auxiliary verb (did) in the past tense, but the main verb (have) stays in it's base form.
More examples in conversation
Here is how people really talk:
A: What did you have for breakfast?
B: I had cereal and milk. What about you?
A: I had eggs and toast.
A: Do you normally have lunch at 12 o'clock?
B: Yes, I usually have a sandwich.A: What does your son have?
B: He has pasta most days.
A: Did you have anything to drink?
B: Yeah, I had water. Did you have anything to drink?
A: No, I didn't have time.
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Mini Quiz
Try to complete these sentences. Use have, has, or had.
Yesterday I __ chicken for dinner.
She usually __ fruit for a snack.
What __ you __ for breakfast today?
He __ eggs every morning.
We __ lunch at 1 o'clock yesterday.
They __ rice and beans for dinner tonight.
__ you __ coffee this morning?
I never __ milk in my tea.
Answers
had
had
did / have
has
had
have
Did / have
have
So remember, you can use have or had to talk about what you eat or drink, but remember to conjugate correctly!
Do you have any questions about using have or had? Leave a comment below and I'll answer for you.
