Difference between Did and Have (With Table)

While learning English one needs to learn how to construct meaningful sentences. The sentences become meaningful only when the subjects in the sentence agree with the verbs in the sentence.

Did and have are helping verbs that are used differently in a sentence to bring out the meaning of a sentence. They are used to enhance the agreement of subject and verb.

Many people have used the words wrongly without really knowing the difference. Did is used to show past tense while have is used to show the present perfect state of a sentence.

So, what is the main difference between did and have? Did is used in a sentence to show that the action has already passed while have is used to show that the action has already passed but not a long time ago.

For more information about the difference between did and have in tabular form, continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

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Comparison Table (Did vs Have)

Basic Terms	Did	Have
Verb	It is used to create a sentence in past tense form.	Used as a verb in present perfect form.
Meaning	It is used to mean an action that has already passed.	It is used to mean an action that has passed but not long ago and also used to mean possession.
Usage	It is used with the main verb in its infinitive state to show the past tense.	It is used with a past participle to show the present perfect tense.
Example	Did you go to school?	I have eaten a banana.

What is Did?

Did is a helping verb that is used to show the past tense of a sentence. It is used together with the main verb in its infinitive state to bring out the past tense form of a sentence.

It is considered an advantage of the word as it gives meaning to the sentence by linking the subject and the verb in a sentence hence making the sentence grammatically right.

It is the past tense of the word ‘do’ which is in its simple present form. It is added to the beginning of a statement to form a question in past tense. When used to form a question then the main verb should remain in its infinitive state.

It is also used to confirm something. When a question is asked, one can use the word ‘did’ to exactly show he has confidence in his answer.

What is Have?

Have is an auxiliary verb used in a sentence to show the perfect state of the sentence. It may also be used to show possession.

When used in a sentence it has to be used together with a verb in its past participle form. For example; I have eaten a mango.

When used to show possession is not followed by a verb in its past participle state. For example; I have a car.

Have is also used in interrogation. In this case, it is also used with a verb in its past participle form. For example; have you eaten your food?

The auxiliary verb ‘have ‘does not have an advantage like the verb ‘did’ where it combines with other words to generate meaningful sentences.

Main Difference between Did and Have

Did is used to show the past tense of a sentence while have is used to show the present perfect tense of a sentence.
Did is used with other words to generate meaningful sentences while have is not.
Did as a word is used to show past tense while have is used to show possession.
Did is used with main verbs in their infinitive forms while have is used with verbs in the past participle states.

Similarities between Did and Have

Both are auxiliary verbs.
Both are used information of questions.
Both are used with other verbs.

Conclusion

Did and have are both auxiliary verbs that are used with other verbs in the sentences to them meaningful. When the words are used as auxiliary verbs then they do not make meaning on their own.

Have is both used as an auxiliary verb and also as a word on its own to show possession. It depends on how it has been used in the sentence.

The main difference between did and have is that, did is used to show the past tense form of a sentence while have is used to show the present perfect tense form of a sentence.

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