Had

Had is the past tense and past participle of the English verb have. It is used to indicate possession in the past, past experiences, or actions completed in the past. For example: “She had a bicycle,” “I had a good time,” and “We had finished the work before noon.” The same word also serves as the past participle in perfect tenses (had + past participle), as in “I had eaten before they arrived” or “They had already left.”

In addition to simple past uses, had appears in several common constructions. The phrase had to expresses past necessity or obligation: “We had to leave early.” The idiomatic expression had better gives advice or warning: “You had better study for the exam.” Negation can be formed with not: “I did not have enough money,” or in past perfect with hadn’t: “I hadn’t understood the instructions.”

Had is a highly frequent, irregular form in English, and it appears in conditional and hypothetical clauses as well: “If I had known, I would have acted differently.” It also combines with other auxiliaries or modal-like phrases to convey nuances of time, need, and obligation. As a core verb, had is essential for expressing past possession, experience, and necessary actions across various registers of English.