Has vs Had
 

When it comes to English grammar knowing the difference between has and had is very important as has and had are two words used as auxiliary verbs in the English language. They, has and had, are used differently when it comes to their tense and application. First of all, one should know that had is the past tense of has. Has is actually one of the two present forms of the verb have. Have is mainly used in the English language as a verb and an auxiliary verb. Sometimes in the informal context have is used as a noun. For example, haves and have-nots is an expression used to speak about rich and poor people.

What does Has mean?

The verb has is used in the present perfect tense as in the sentence given below.

It has rained in the morning.

Present perfect tense is used to indicate an action or a happening that has just happened or has happened a few moments before the speaker has uttered the words.

In the example given above, you can see that the rain stopped when the speaker uttered the words, ‘It has rained in the morning’. Sometimes the speaker can utter the same sentence in the event of ‘another spell of rain’. He can very well say, ‘It has rained in the morning. Now it is raining again’.

It is interesting to note that has is also used in the case of continuous tense too such as present perfect continuous tense. Observe the sentence given below.

It has been raining ever since the morning.

In this sentence, the speaker is speaking about an event that began in the past and continues up to the present. That is an action that belongs to the present perfect continuous tense. In this tense too, as shown in the above example, has is used as an auxiliary verb.

What does Had mean?

On the other hand, the verb had is used in the case of past perfect tense as in the example given below.

He had studied well during his childhood days.

You can see that the use of the verb had indicates something that happened long ago and not in the immediate past. This is the major difference between has and had.

Moreover, the verb had is used to indicate a possibility as in the sentence given below.

Had he come a bit earlier he could have caught the plane.

In this sentence, the use of the verb had indicates a possibility that he could have caught the plane in the event of a situation that he had come a bit earlier.

It is interesting to note that had is also used in the case of continuous tense too such past perfect continuous tense. Observe the sentence given below.

He had been telling the truth, but none listened to him.

In the sentence given above, you can see how the past perfect continuous tense uses had as an auxiliary verb.

What is the difference between Has and Had?

• The verb has is used in the present perfect tense.

• On the other hand, the verb had is used in the case of past perfect tense.

• Moreover, the verb had is used to indicate a possibility.

• It is interesting to note that both has and had are used in the case of continuous tense too such as present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous.

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