The verb had in English

If the verbs in the grammar of any language denote the performance of an object's action, then the function of modal verbs is to show the speaker's attitude to the action taking place. And it, in turn, will be expressed in different variants.

All you need to know about the verb have

The topic of this article is devoted to the verb had, but you can not start studying the topic without understanding that this verb is only a past form of the verb have. In order to learn about the verb had, you need to have an idea of have. This verb is the most important in the English language. It is important not only because in conversation we often talk about our property, but also because it is often found in stable phrases and is never translated literally. Had is one of the variants have, which participates in the formation of some of the English language. The verb have have 4 directions.

1. Has its direct meaning, that is, it acts as a semantic verb and is translated to have . For example, to say "I have many friends," the English say I have a lot of friends. That is, literally this sentence can be translated as "I have many friends."

2. It occurs in stable phrases and expressions. Here, this verb no longer has a translation. It's because stable phrases do not have a word-for-word translation. Here are some expressions that occur quite often.

2.1 Sayings about food intake:

Have a tea - drink tea, and not have tea.

2.2 Expressions related to dates and meetings:

Have a date - date, and not have a date.

2.3 Statements about the appearance:

Have a haircut - cut it.

2.4 Communication:

Have a talk - talk, talk.

2.5 Health:

Have a baby - give birth to a baby.

Have a headache - headache.

2.6 Traveling:

Have a walk - go for a walk or stroll.

3. Occurs as a modal verb have to.

4. Expressed in the form of an auxiliary verb in time Present Perfect.

The variant had occurred in the times of Past Simple, Perfect and Perfect Continuous.

What are the modal verbs in English?

In English, the following verbs are considered modal: can, must, need, shouldd, have to, may, need, dare, might, be, to, shall, ought, have got to.

If such modal verbs as have, be and should are auxiliary, then have, get, need and be have a semantic meaning.

Functions of modal verbs

As is known, modal verbs are meant to indicate the relationship of the narrator to a particular action. So you should consider the functions that modal verbs express during a conversation.

1. Physical possibility. For example, Helen is 20 years old. She can be in full employment. - Elena is 20 years old. She can be busy full time. That is, by law she is allowed, and she has the right to do so.

2. Expresses the lack of the ability to perform a certain action. For example, Mike can not swim. - Mike does not (or can not) swim.

3. Expresses the need (duty) in action. - We must respect our parents. We must respect our parents.

4. Expresses that there is no need. We do not have to buy products. - That is, we should not buy food. That is unnecessary.

5. Expresses a ban on the action. Jack must not do it. "Jack does not have to do this." That is, it is forbidden to perform a certain action.

6. Expresses confidence in the action. He should be glad. "He must be happy." The speaker is confident of this.

7. Expresses the probability. They ought to be in now. - They are probably now inside (the building).

8. Expresses a hypothetical possibility. The weather can get cold in October. - In October it can get cold. That is, it is theoretically possible.

9. Express a request for permission to perform the action. Can I open the window? - Can I open the window?

10. Expresses the prohibition or authorization. She may not use my laptop. "She can not use my laptop." You may use my phone. "You can use my phone."

How to use the verb had in English

In fact, the verb had - it is in the past tense. As is known, have to is a modal verb, and to be more precise, an equivalent to must. Must, in turn, has a very strong meaning, which indicates the duty to perform a particular action. Proceeding from the above, it is concluded that have to, being the equivalent of must, also refers to the number of rigid verbs. If in the process of conversation these verbs occur, then this is not a request, but an order!

Here are examples of using to have in different times, note how long the had had had.

She has to do it. - She is forced to do this (present).

She had to do it. - She had to do it (the past tense).

She will have to do it. - She will have to do it (future time).

In the second sentence, the modal verb had to be used in the past tense.

The difference between must and have to

The modal verb must is used for personal sensations. Here is an example: I must do it. I have to do it. In this example, it is shown that the narrator expresses his feelings about a particular action.

I have to visit my dentist. It shows that with the health of the speaker's teeth there were problems and he should visit his dentist. It shows the fact, but not any personal emotions and feelings.

But often the face when using these two modal verbs is so thin that people start to get confused when using them. In case of such situations it is better to use have to.

It should be remembered that, unlike have to, the modal verb must has no past tense. Thus, the equivalent of to to can be used in all forms, including in the past tense. In the past tense have to transform into a modal verb had to.

I had to visit my girlfriend. In this time, you can not use the verb must. Since it is past, therefore, the verb had.

The use of the verb had in a negative form

The verb had in the negative form turns into have. To understand why had turned to have, it is enough to recall the rule of the past tense. The verb had had been used in the past tense, and so, when denying it, does not stand up, which means that had had become.

In the British version of English in interrogative sentences, the verb to have almost always stands before the subject, but in American English the question begins with the word Do. This also applies to the negative form. Here is the simplest example:

Have you two sisters? - here is the British version.

In the American version, this question will begin with Do: Do you have two sisters?

Also the verb Had can be found in the formation of the sentence in time Present Perfect. It should be recalled that this time expresses an action that began in the past and lasts or ended by the time of the conversation. As you can see, this rule has the past tense, which means that the verb Had found its time here.

It should be remembered that in using had the tense of the verb should only be past. So it can not be used during a conversation in the present, and even more so in the future.

In what times is the verb had

The fact that the verb had been used in the past tense is already clear, it is worthwhile examining the use of had in the formation of two more English times.

For the formation of Past Perfect time the following construction is necessary:

The verb had (past tense) + the verb in the third form, or, to put it more simply, the third column of irregular verbs.

Let's give an example, I had never seen him before - hence it is clear that the verb seen is the third form of the verb see - see.

Past Perfect Continuous time is not the most common of all English times. This time can only be found in books. But it is worth studying to understand the entire system of English.

Time is formed with the help of the verb Had been + ing.

For example, We had been feeling well for some time.

That, in fact, and everything that concerns the subject of the verb have and its past form had.