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I know this question might be duplicate. I am not able to getting the usage of have had from another answers which is exist in Stackexchange. So I asked this question again.

I have examples.

  1. Ann had a red bike for two years.
  2. Sue has had a red bike for two years.
  3. I had a wonderful bicycle.
  4. I've had many wonderful bicycles.
  5. In his lifetime, Uncle Alex had several red bicycles.
  6. In his lifetime, Grandpa has had several red bicycles.

Explain the difference between 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6.
It would be better if you will take time to explain my examples.

TrevorD
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AUDI AFOUR
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    Since this is homework, you are expected to make a good-faith attempt to solve the problem yourself first. Show us what you've got. As you say, we already have more than enough questions explaining this. There are also literally thousands of books, dictionaries, Wikipedia articles. Where have you looked, what did it say, what is still not clear? Put some effort into your question if you expect people to put effort in their answers. Thanks. – RegDwigнt Aug 18 '13 at 11:13
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    You might also want to look at [ell.se]. – TrevorD Aug 18 '13 at 14:53
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    Iìd like to echo Trevor's advice and further add that your question as it stands is simply too vast, and I think you have a bit of a cheek asking "ELU" to take their time to explain your examples. No one is paying us! :) This is present perfect vs simple past and usually I spend a few weeks teaching this aspect to my private students. – Mari-Lou A Aug 18 '13 at 14:58

1 Answers1

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Your first set of examples use the past simple and show an action or activity that started and ended at a particular time in the past. Your second set of examples use the present perfect, which has different uses and in most cases shows an action that started in the past and is still there. So to unravel your examples,

1.Ann had a red bike for two years. 2.Sue has had a red bike for two years.

The first means Ann had a red bike for two years at some time in the past, she no longer has a red bike. Now the time is either implied from the context, which is not obvious in this example, or is mentioned somewhere in the same conversation, of which we have no idea either. The second means that Sue has and had a red bike for two years.

(3) I had a wonderful bicycle. (4) I've had many wonderful bicycles.

These two mean the same thing as your previous examples. The first means you had a wonderful bicycle at sometime in the past. The time is either implied or is mentioned somewhere in the same conversation of which we have no clue. The second means that you have and had many bicycles over the course of the years or months.

(5) In his lifetime, Uncle Alex had several red bicycles. (6) In his lifetime, Grandpa has had several red bicycles.

In the first example(5), it looks like that the person is no longer alive or has gone underground. Or he is alive and you simply want to describe that he had several bicycles during his lifetime. But in any instance, it means that he had several bicycles in his lifetime. Your second example(6) would be wrong if the person is no longer alive, but if he is then it's meaning is the same as that of the previous examples with the addition of the lifetime clause, which restricts the owning to the person's lifetime. If he is dead, you might need the past perfect or the simple past in there.

Noah
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  • Why the down-vote? – Noah Aug 18 '13 at 05:15
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    I didn't down-vote it, but I would suspect it's because of the explanation for the third pair of statements. I believe the latter of the pair implies the person is still alive, and had several bicycles during his lifespan. – 404 Not Found Aug 18 '13 at 05:35
  • @404NotFound Fixed that. – Noah Aug 18 '13 at 06:06
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    I have not downvoted but I guess it's because your explanation is incorrect. Neither form implies possession of a bike at the moment of speech, nor lack thereof. – n. m. could be an AI Aug 18 '13 at 09:32
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    @n.m. If I say, I have had a bike for 10 years, chances are that I still have that bike. – Noah Aug 18 '13 at 09:38
  • To me this means "I have accumulated 10 years of bike ownership". The grammatical structure of the sentence does not imply having or not having a bike at present. "I have had a breakfast" doesn't imply I'm still chewing on my cereal. – n. m. could be an AI Aug 18 '13 at 10:08
  • @n.m. Well, if you say, I have lived in DC for 10 year, it diffidently means that I still live there. The breakfast part is different, but as I said at the beginning of my answer, present perfect has many uses and I am describing only one of them:) – Noah Aug 18 '13 at 10:12
  • "I have lived in DC for 10 years before moving to NYC" sounds OK to me. – n. m. could be an AI Aug 18 '13 at 11:35
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    @n.m. That sounds wrong. You need the past perfect or simple past in there. – Noah Aug 18 '13 at 11:36
  • Hm, could it be the difference between AE and BE? – n. m. could be an AI Aug 18 '13 at 11:51
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    I don't think that's the case. – Noah Aug 18 '13 at 13:10
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    @n.m. As a Brit, "I have lived in Sussex for 10 years", means to me that I am still living there. But "I lived in Surrey for 10 years [before moving to Sussex]" implies I am no longer living there. "I have lived in Surrey for 10 years before moving to Sussex" is contradictory nonsense. I could say "I had lived in Surrey for 10 years before moving to Jersey [and I've now moved back to Surrey]." – TrevorD Aug 18 '13 at 14:51
  • You're attempting a succinct answer to a very long complex question. It's not worth it in my opinion. The OP should break down his question into smaller chunks and say why he doesn't understand. – Mari-Lou A Aug 18 '13 at 14:54
  • @TrevorD: OK I see the error of my ways. – n. m. could be an AI Aug 18 '13 at 15:11