Language/Esperanto/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have

Esperanto Grammar - How to Use "Have"

Hi Esperanto learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use "have" in Esperanto. It is an important verb that can be used in many situations, so let's get started!

Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: How to Use Be & Possessive pronouns.

Basic use

The Esperanto verb for "have" is "havi". It can be used in two main situations: to express possession or to form compound tenses. Let's look at some examples:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
Mi havas hundon.	mee hah-vas HOON-dohn	I have a dog.
Li havas belan domon.	lee hah-vas BEH-lahn DOH-mon	He has a beautiful house.
Ni havas manĝita.	nee hah-vas man-JEE-tah	We have eaten.
Vi havas ankoraŭ ne vidita tiun filmon?	vee hah-vas ahn-KO-roo neh vee-DEE-tah tee-OON FEEL-mon	Have you still not seen that movie?

As you can see, "havi" is often followed by a noun that indicates what the subject possesses. In the last example, "havi" is used to form a question in the present perfect tense. We will cover this in more detail in the next section.

Compound tenses

Esperanto has two main compound tenses: the past tense and the future tense. Both of these tenses are formed using "esti" (to be) and the past or future participle of the main verb. For example:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
Mi estis havanta tiun filmon.	mee ESS-tis hah-VAN-tah tee-OON FEEL-mon	I had been watching that movie.
Li estos havinta sian manĝon.	lee ESS-tos hah-VIN-tah see-AHN MANG-yohn	He will have eaten his meal.

In these examples, "esti" is used to indicate the tense, while "hav-" is used to provide additional information about the action being described. It is important to note that "esti" and the participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence.

Esperanto also has a present perfect tense, which is used to describe a past action that has present relevance. This tense is formed using "esti" and the past participle of the main verb. For example:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
Mi estas vidinta tiun filmon.	mee ESS-tahs VEE-deen-tah tee-OON FEEL-mon	I have seen that movie.
La studentoj estas lernintaj multe.	lah stoo-DEN-toy ESS-tas LEHR-neen-tahy MOOL-teh	The students have learned a lot.

In these examples, the past participle of the main verb (in this case, "vid-" and "lern-") is used to describe an action that happened in the past, while "esti" indicates that the action has relevance to the present.

Example dialogue

• Person 1: Ĉu vi vidis la novan filmon pri spaco? (Did you see the new movie about space?)
• Person 2: Jes, mi ĝin vidis. Vi ĝin ne vidis? (Yes, I saw it. You didn't see it?)

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned about the different ways "havi" (to have) can be used in Esperanto. We also looked at how to form compound tenses using "esti" and the past or future participle. To improve your Esperanto Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Congratulations on finishing this lesson! Explore these related pages to keep learning: Possesive Adjectives & Plural.

Other Lessons

• Pronouns
• Present Tense
• Past Participle in Esperanto
• THE NEGATIVE
• Personal pronouns
• CONJUNCTIONS
• COMPARATIVES
• Plural
• SUFFIXES

Sources

• Esperanto grammar - Wikipedia
• Esperanto/Grammar Rules - Wikiversity
• The Sixteen Rules of Esperanto Grammar