habt

habt is a grammatical form of the German verb haben, meaning “to have.” It appears in two main roles: as the present-tense form for the second-person plural subject ihr (you all have), and as the imperative for addressing that same plural you, as in Habt Geduld! (Be patient!). The corresponding verb forms in other persons are ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, Sie haben.

As an auxiliary verb, haben is used to form present perfect and other compound tenses for all subjects. With ihr, the perfect is built with habt plus the past participle, for example: Ihr habt gegessen (you have eaten), Ihr habt gearbeitet (you have worked).

Etymology and relatives: haben originates from the Germanic verb family and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch hebben and English have. The form habt specifically reflects the second-person plural present and is also used as the imperative form for ihr.

Usage notes: In everyday speech, habt is highly common in replies and statements about possession or state, e.g., Ihr habt ein Auto (You all have a car) or Ihr habt heute frei (You all have today off). Its usage mirrors other German verb forms and follows standard subject-verb agreement rules.

See also: Haben (German), German grammar, Imperative mood.