have [hæv] has (present:singular:3rd_person)had (past)
When have is part of a set combination, eg have a look, have a good time, have breakfast, had better, look up the other word. For have + adverb/preposition combinations, see also the phrasal verb section of this entry.
transitive verb
1 (possess) tener
he's got or he has blue eyes tiene los ojos azules; have you got or do you have 10p? ¿tienes diez peniques?; have you got or do you have any brothers or sisters? ¿tienes hermanos?; she had her eyes closed tenía los ojos cerrados; he hasn't got or he doesn't have any friends no tiene amigos; I've got or I have a friend staying next week tengo a un amigo en casa la semana que viene; I've got or I have an idea tengo una idea
Don't translate the [a] in sentences like [has he got a girlfriend?], [I haven't got a washing-machine] if the number of such items is not significant since people normally only have one at a time:
has he got a girlfriend? ¿tiene novia?; I haven't got a washing-machine no tengo lavadora
Do translate the [a] if the person or thing is qualified:
he has a Spanish girlfriend tiene una novia española
all or everything I have is yours todo lo que tengo es tuyo
you must give it all or everything you have tienes que emplearte a fondo
you must put all or everything you have into it tienes que emplearte a fondo
can I have a pencil please? ¿me puedes dar un lápiz, por favor?
the book has no name on it el libro no lleva or tiene el nombre del dueño
I've got or I have no Spanish no sé español
to have something to do tener algo que hacer
I've got some letters to write tengo algunas cartas que escribir; I've got or I have nothing to do no tengo nada que hacer; haven't you got anything to do? ¿no tienes nada que hacer?
hello, what have we here? vaya, vaya, ¿qué tenemos aquí?
2 (eat, drink) tomar
what are we having for lunch? ¿que vamos a comer?
we had ice-cream for dessert tomamos helado de postre
to have something to eat/drink comer/beber algo; tomar algo
what will you have? ¿qué quieres tomar?; ¿qué vas a tomar?
I'll have a coffee tomaré un café; will you have some more? ¿te sirvo más?
3 (receive) recibir
thank you for having me gracias por su hospitalidad
you can have my ticket puedes quedarte con mi billete
we had some help from the government recibimos ayuda del gobierno
I had a letter from John tuve carta de Juan; recibí una carta de Juan
I must have them by this afternoon necesito tenerlos para esta tarde
to have no news no tener noticias
they had a lot of wedding presents recibieron or les hicieron muchos regalos de boda
we had a lot of visitors (at home) tuvimos muchas visitas; (at exhibition etc) tuvimos muchos visitantes
4 (obtain)
they can be had for as little as £10 each pueden conseguirse por tan solo 10 libras; it's not to be had anywhere no se consigue en ninguna parte
there was no bread to be had no quedaba pan en ningún sitio; no podía conseguirse pan en ningún sitio
5 (take)
I'll have a dozen eggs, please ¿me pones una docena de huevos, por favor?; which one will you have? ¿cuál quiere?
can I have your name please? ¿me da su nombre, por favor?
you can have it or I'll let you have it for £10 te lo dejo en 10 libras; te lo puedes llevar por 10 libras; te lo vendo por 10 libras
6 (give birth to) [+baby, kittens] tener
what did she have? ¿qué ha tenido?; she had a boy ha tenido un niño
7 (hold, catch) tener
I have him in my power lo tengo en mi poder
he had him by the throat lo tenía agarrado por la garganta
I have it on good authority that ... me consta que ...; sé a ciencia cierta que ...; sé de buena tinta que ... (informal)
I've got it! ¡ya!
you have me therethere you have me ahí sí que me has pillado (informal)
8 (allow) consentir; tolerar
we can't have that eso no se puede consentir
I won't have this nonsense no voy a consentir or tolerar estas tonterías
I won't have it! no lo voy a consentir or tolerar; she won't have it said that ... no consiente or tolera que digan que ...; I won't have him risking his neck on that motorbike no voy a consentir que se juegue el cuello en esa moto
9 (spend) pasar
to have a pleasant afternoon/evening pasar una tarde agradable; have a nice day! ¡que pases un buen día!; I had a horrible day at school today he tenido un día horrible en el colegio; what sort of day have you had? ¿qué tal día has tenido?
12 (make)
I'll soon have it nice and shiny enseguida lo dejo bien brillante; he had us confused nos tenía confundidos
13 (in set structures)
to have sth done hacer que se haga algo; mandar hacer algo
we had our luggage brought up mandamos subir el equipaje; I've had the brakes checked he mandado revisar los frenos
to have a suit made (mandar) hacerse un traje; to have one's hair cut cortarse el pelo; they had him killed lo mataron
to have sb do sth mandar a algn hacer algo
he had me do it again me hizo hacerlo otra vez; me hizo que lo hiciese otra vez; I had him clean the car le hice limpiar el coche; what would you have me do? ¿qué quiere que haga?; I'll have you know that ... quiero que sepas que ...
to have sth happen
she had her bag stolen le robaron el bolso; he had his arm broken le rompieron el brazo
to have sb doing sth
she soon had them all reading and writing (organized them) enseguida los puso a leer y a escribir; (taught them) enseguida les habían enseñado a leer y a escribir
14 (in set expressions)
to have sth against sb/sth tener algo en contra de algn/algo
to have had it
you've had it now! he knows all about it ¡ahora sí que te la has cargado! se ha enterado de todo; this sofa has had it este sofá ya no da para más (informal); I've had it up to here with his nonsense estoy hasta la coronilla or hasta el moño de sus tonterías (informal)
to have it that
he will have it that he is right insiste en que tiene razón; rumour has it that ... corre la voz de que ...
to be had
you've been had! ¡te han engañado!
to have to do with tener que ver con
that's got or that has nothing to do with it! ¡eso no tiene nada que ver!; you'd better not have anything to do with him más te vale no tener tratos con él
to let sb have sth (give) dar algo a algn; (lend) dejar algo a algn; prestar algo a algn
I'll let you have my reply tomorrow les daré mi respuesta mañana; let me have your address dame tus señas; let me have your pen for a moment déjame el boli un momento
let him have it! ¡dale!
what have you
... and what have you ... y qué sé yo qué más
would have it
as ill-luck or fate would have it desgraciadamente
auxiliary verb
1 haber
I've already seen that film ya he visto esa película; he's been very kind ha sido muy amable
has he gone? ¿se ha ido?; hasn't he told you? ¿no te lo ha dicho?
she said she had spoken to them dijo que había hablado con ellos; had you phoned me (formal) or if you had phoned me I would have come round si me hubieras llamado habría venido; never having seen it before, I ... como no lo había visto antes, ...; having finished or when he had finished, he left cuando terminó or cuando hubo terminado, se fue
2 (verb substitute)
you've got more than I have tienes más que yo; they've done more than we have ellos han hecho más que nosotros; he hasn't worked as hard as you have él no ha trabajado tanto como tú; "he's already eaten" — "so have I" —él ya ha comido —yo también; "we haven't had any news yet" — "neither have we" —no hemos tenido noticias todavía —nosotros tampoco; "you've made a mistake" — "no I haven't!" —has cometido un error —no es verdad or cierto; "we haven't paid" — "yes we have!" —no hemos pagado —¡qué sí!; "he's got a new job" — "oh has he?" —tiene un trabajo nuevo —¿ah, sí?
"you've written it twice" — "so I have!" —lo has escrito dos veces —es verdad or cierto; "have you read the book?" — "yes, I have" —¿has leído el libro? —sí; "has he told you?" — "no, he hasn't" —¿te lo ha dicho? —no
(in question tags) he hasn't done it, has he? no lo ha hecho, ¿verdad?; you've done it, haven't you? lo has hecho, ¿verdad? or ¿no?
3 (avoiding repetition of verb)
you've all been there before, but I haven't vosotros habéis estado allí antes, pero yo no; he has never met her, but I have él no la ha llegado a conocer, pero yo sí; have you ever been there? if you have ... ¿has estado alguna vez allí? si es así ...; have you tried it? if you haven't ... ¿lo has probado? (porque) si no ...
modal verb
(be obliged) to have (got) to do sth tener que hacer algo; I've got to or I have to finish this work tengo que terminar este trabajo; have we got to or do we have to leave early? ¿tenemos que salir temprano?; I haven't got to or I don't have to wear glasses no necesito (usar) gafas; I shall have to go and see her tendré que ir a verla; it will just have to wait till tomorrow tendrá que esperar hasta mañana; he had to pay all the money back tuvo que devolver todo el dinero; she was having to get up at six each morning tenía que levantarse a las seis cada mañana; this has to be a mistake esto tiene que ser un error; do you have to make such a noise? ¿tienes que hacer tanto ruido?; you didn't have to tell her! ¡no tenías por qué decírselo!; it's nice not to have to work on Saturdays es un gusto no tener que trabajar los sábados; it has to be done this way tiene que hacerse de este modo; does it have to be ironed? ¿hay que plancharlo?