Where Should we Use Having

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

With you all your knowledge of English grammar, where do you use the word ‘having’.

Are these sentences correct, if yes why and if no why not (what is the grammatical logic)

I am having a pen

I am having a headache

I am having lunch.

I am having a conversation.

She was having a dream.

I am having problems with internet for past few weeks.

Across the call center industry in India, it is taught and trained that the word “having” has limited usage and is used only in few scenarios, ex

I am having food (consumption)
I am having a baby (pregnancy)
I am having fun. (desired experience)
I am having sex. (desired experience)
Having said that…
I cant recall one or two more usages,

Rest all of the other usages are claimed to be incorrect.

Whats you take on this… :?: :idea: :idea:

2

Your assumption is incorrect. There are countless occasions when having is used in daily conversation.

Far too countless to list.

3

Hi,

The point to remember is that ‘have’ used to mean simply ‘own’ or ‘possess’ is invariably used in a Simple tense form. It is only when it is used to mean something else that you can find it used in the Continuous form. Two examples: I am having breakfast (eating) I am having (experiencing) problems with my computer.

Alan

4

‘I am having a headache’ .is it correct?

5

“I have a headache.” would be better usage.

6

Hi,
I think, you can’t say I’m having a pen.

I have a pen or I’ve got a pen.

7

Hello Anupumh,

Speakers of English from India tend to use progressive tenses with stative verbs much more often than native speakers from the UK or the US do. In other words, it’s not just the verb ‘have’ that is used more often by Indians in progressive forms. I see this constantly when I score TOEFL and TOEIC tests.

This is the way I would use ‘have’ in your sentences:

  • I am having a pen I have a pen./I’ve got a pen.

  • I am having a headache I have a headache./I’ve got a headache.

  • I am having lunch. (i.e. having = eating = an activity)

  • I am having a conversation. (i.e. having a conversation = talking to someone = an activity)

  • She was having a dream. (e.g. She was dreaming when the alarm went off. The alarm woke her up.)

  • I am have been having problems with internet for the past few weeks.
    OR

  • I am having problems with internet (right now). for past few weeks

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[size=75]“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” ~ Robert Kennedy[/size]

8

I would prefer “I have been having problems with the Internet/Internet problems for the past few weeks.”

TOEIC short conversations: Giving directions to the art museum

9

Hi Torsten

Yes, it should be ‘the past few weeks’. However, it is not uncommon to hear ‘internet’ used without the word ‘the’. I’d say that when people use it without the word ‘the’, the reference would generally to access or connectivity. For example, nowadays someone might ask you (1) “Do you have internet?” just as they might ask you (2) “Do you have cable?” In question 2, they want to know whether you have cable TV service, and in question 1, they want to know whether you have internet access.

And, yes, most dictionaries are still capitalizing the word ‘Internet’. That capital ‘I’ may well eventually end up following the lead of the capital ‘E’ in e-mail, though.
There is an interesting article about that here:
Internet or internet?
You may be surprised to learn that some well-known British publications have already stopped capitalizing that word – just as countless ordinary native-speakers already have.
:wink:
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[size=75]“I was afraid of the internet… because I couldn’t type.” ~ Jack Welch [/size]