"am having/ are having" or "have"?

Question

Which of the following is grammatically correct?

I am having OR I have.

We/they/you are having OR we/they/you have.

For eg.

I have/ We have a problem that I/we can't seem get rid of.

OR

I am having/ We are having a problem that I/we can't seem get rid of.

You should be asking this on [ell.se] – Kris Dec 23 '13 at 13:34 — Kris, Dec 23 '13 at 13:34
Suggested migration to [ell.se] – Kris Dec 23 '13 at 13:35 — Kris, Dec 23 '13 at 13:35

score 8 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Grammatically, they are both fine.

In English usage, it depends which variety of English you are talking about.

In British English, there are some uses where am/is/are having is idiomatic, for example:

for some mental states or personal experiences:

I'm having second thoughts about going out tonight.

He's having a panic attack

They're having fun.

where have has the meaning being the host for (either an event or a visitor), and with a sense of future intent, so:

We are having a party next month.

We are having our cousins to stay next week.

But for most uses of have we don't use the progressive.

In British English

We're having a problem

is possible, but means something like we are experiencing a problem, rather than the neutral there is a problem: it carries a sense that we are somehow personally involved in or affected by the problem.

My impression is that in Indian English we are having is much more widely used.

"am having/ are having" or "have"?

1 Answers1