have -en
What is it?
Many common verbs have an -en form. These words end in -en, -ne or -n.
| present form | past form | -ing form | -en form |
| eat do know |
ate did knew |
eating doing knowing |
eaten done known |
Some verbs change vowels for their different forms and have a u (n upside-down) for the -en form.
| present form | past form | -ing form | -en form |
| drink swim |
drank swam |
drinking swimming |
drunk swum |
However, most verbs don’t have a separate -en form. We use the same form as the past form.
| present form | past form | -ing form | -en form |
| wash have love |
washed had loved |
washing having loving |
washed had loved |
We know it has the meaning of the -en form because of where it is used in the sentence, often after have. (The past form is used directly after the subject.)
I washed the car yesterday. (past form)
I’ve washed the car. (-en form meaning)
What does it mean?
The -en form to shifts focus away from an action.
Details of the action, such as when it happened, are not important.
We use have and the -en form to focus on the result of an action.
How do we use it?
We often use it with have. We have results in the present.
We talk about recently completed actions.
We talk about experiences.
I have eaten breakfast.
Breakfast is complete.
When it happened isn’t important.
The result is important:
I don’t need to eat now.
I have lived in England.
I lived in England sometime in the past.
When it happened isn’t important.
The result is important:
I have the experience now.
We are talking about the present. If we say when, we add a time that includes the present.
I have eaten breakfast today.
I have lived in England this year.
Examples
| Recently completed actions |
|---|
| I’ve eaten. |
| She’s had breakfast. |
| They’ve cooked dinner. |
| Experiences |
|---|
| He’s played soccer. |
| We’ve lived in London. |
| They’ve worked in a shop. |
| Subject | have | Verb | Object | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We | have | eaten | eggs. | We’ve eaten eggs. | |
| She | has | worked | in a bank. | She’s worked in a bank. | |
| I | have | lived | in Sweden. | I’ve lived in Sweden. | |
| He | has | had | breakfast. | He’s had breakfast. | |
| You | have | played | soccer. | You’ve played soccer. |
Key Point
We add have -en to shift focus from the action to the result.
Adding a length of time
When we talk about experiences, we can add a time period to show how much experience we have. This is the amount of experience we currently have in the present. We often assume we are still gaining experience in these things.
| Subject | have | Verb | Object | Place/Time | Time period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| She | has | worked | in a bank | for seven years. | |
| It | has | rained | for the last few days. | ||
| I | have | lived | in Sweden | since 2010. | |
| He | has | played | soccer | since he was five. | |
| It | has | been | a while | since I’ve seen you. |
How long has she worked in a bank? She’s worked in a bank for seven years.
She started working in the bank seven years ago. She still works there now.
It’s rained for the last few days.
It started raining a few days ago. It is still raining now.
How long have you lived in Sweden? I’ve lived in Sweden since 2010.
I moved to Sweden in 2010. I still live there now.
He’s a good soccer player. He‘s played soccer since he was five.
He started playing soccer when he was five. He still plays soccer now.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.
I haven’t seen you for some time.
This pattern is also used for recently completed actions. We often add a time period when we think the action has happened for long enough and we want it to end now.
I’ve waited for two hours. It’s too long.
I’ve cooked every night for three months. Can you do the cooking for a change?
He hasn’t eaten anything since Monday. He really should eat something.