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When I first started teaching English, I noticed my students often struggled with a deceptively simple word: “have.” They knew it was a verb, but they treated it like the word in their native language—which almost never works for collocations. A student once said to me, “I have a shower yesterday,” and I realised that HAVE has specific patterns in English that don’t always translate directly. What makes this interesting is that HAVE pairs with dozens of nouns to form new meanings: “have a drink,” “have a meeting,” “have a laugh.” The meaning changes slightly with each pairing, and mastering these combinations will make your English sound natural immediately. For more, see our business presentation phrases. For more, see our English job interview tips.
I cover 25+ essential collocations with HAVE, organised into five categories: activities and events, physical states and experiences, possessions and time, emotions and abstract concepts, and difficulties and challenges. You’ll learn not just what you can “have,” but the subtle register differences between them—when to use “have a chat” with a friend versus “have a discussion” in a formal meeting.
Key Takeaways
- HAVE can mean “do” or “experience.” “Have a drink” means to drink something; “have a shower” means to take a shower. It’s the action itself, not ownership.
- HAVE pairs with nouns that describe activities. Collocations like “have a meeting,” “have a party,” “have a conversation” treat the noun as an action or event.
- Time expressions use HAVE. “Have a good day,” “have a nice time,” “have a moment”—HAVE signals the time-bound nature of the experience.
- Emotions and states use HAVE.** You “have difficulty,” “have fun,” “have patience”—these aren’t possessions; they’re experiential states.
- Register matters. “Have a chat” is casual; “have a discussion” is slightly more formal. Choose the right one for your audience.
HAVE Collocations: Daily Activities and Events
The most common HAVE collocations describe everyday activities and events. These are often things you “do” rather than “have” in the possession sense. Once you learn these, you’ll use them constantly.
Eating, Drinking, and Social Gatherings
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Have a drink | Consume a beverage | Let’s have a drink at the bar after work. |
| Have a meal | Eat food; dine | We like to have a meal together every Sunday evening. |
| Have breakfast / lunch / dinner | Eat a specific meal of the day | I usually have breakfast at 7 am and lunch at noon. |
| Have a coffee / tea | Drink coffee or tea | Would you like to have a coffee before we start the meeting? |
| Have a bite | Eat a small amount of food; snack | Can I have a bite of your sandwich? |
| Have a party | Celebrate with guests; host a celebration | We’re going to have a party for Sarah’s birthday next month. |
| Have a picnic | Eat outdoors informally | On sunny weekends, we like to have a picnic in the park. |
Example in full context: “When I visit my parents, we always have breakfast together. After that, I might have a coffee with my mother while we chat. In the afternoon, we have a meal at their favourite restaurant, and sometimes we have a picnic in the garden if the weather is nice.”
Social Interactions and Communication
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Have a conversation | Talk with someone; exchange words | Can we have a conversation before we make any decision? |
| Have a chat | Talk informally, usually casually | I ran into an old friend and we had a lovely chat. |
| Have a discussion | Talk formally about a topic; exchange viewpoints | We should have a discussion about this topic to understand it deeply. |
| Have a talk | Have a serious or important conversation | The teacher wanted to have a talk with me about my grades. |
| Have a laugh | Enjoy humour; find something funny | We told jokes all evening and had a good laugh together. |
| Have a joke | Tell or share a joke | He tried to have a joke about my accent, but it wasn’t funny. |
Register difference: “Have a chat” is casual and friendly. “Have a conversation” is neutral-to-formal. “Have a discussion” is formal and suggests serious topics. “Have a talk” often implies something important you need to address.
HAVE Collocations: Time and Rest
HAVE is used with time-related nouns to describe periods of rest, breaks, or how time passes. These collocations are common in work and academic contexts.
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Have a break | Stop work or activity to rest briefly | Let’s have a break when you finish this exercise. |
| Have a rest | Stop activity to relax or sleep | After work, I like to have a rest before cooking dinner. |
| Have a nap | Sleep for a short time during the day | The baby will have a nap after lunch. |
| Have a look | Examine something briefly; glance | Can you have a look at this email and tell me what you think? |
| Have a shower | Wash your body under running water | I usually have a shower when I get home from the gym. |
| Have a bath | Wash your body by soaking in water | I can’t remember the last time I had a bath. |
| Have a good time | Enjoy yourself; have fun | Did you have a good time at the concert last night? |
Example in full context: “On stressful days at work, I try to have a break every two hours to rest my eyes. When I get home, I might have a shower to refresh, then have a nap on the sofa. In the evening, I like to have a look at a magazine or book before bed, and on weekends, I might have a bath instead.”
HAVE Collocations: Physical and Health Experiences
Many HAVE collocations describe bodily experiences and health-related conditions. These are especially important to know for describing how you’re feeling or what’s happening to your body.
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Have a headache | Experience pain in the head | I have a headache, so I’m going to lie down for a while. |
| Have a backache | Experience pain in the back | My father has a backache so he couldn’t sleep well. |
| Have a cold | Have a mild illness with respiratory symptoms | I have a cold, so I’m staying home from work this week. |
| Have a fever | Have an abnormally high body temperature | The child has a fever of 38 degrees Celsius. |
| Have a heart attack | Experience a sudden cardiac event | My grandfather had a heart attack but recovered well. |
| Have an accident | Be involved in an unexpected harmful event | She had an accident on the stairs and broke her leg. |
| Have a baby | Give birth to a child | My grandmother had all her babies at home. |
HAVE Collocations: Abstract States and Emotions
HAVE also pairs with abstract nouns to describe states of being, qualities, or emotions you’re experiencing. These are less tangible but equally important.
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Have fun | Enjoy yourself; take pleasure | Are you having fun at the party? |
| Have difficulty | Find something hard; struggle | She had difficulty in starting her car this morning. |
| Have patience | Be able to tolerate delays or problems calmly | You’ve got to have patience when learning a new skill. |
| Have faith | Believe or trust in something | Personally, I do have faith in the team’s ability to win. |
| Have sympathy | Feel compassion or understanding for someone | I really have sympathy for them after what they’ve been through. |
| Have a sense of humour | Appreciate and understand jokes | He doesn’t have a sense of humour—he never laughs. |
| Have a bad temper | Get angry easily; be quick to anger | Maybe you have a bad temper, or you’re just a less effective communicator. |
Example in full context: “Learning English can be difficult, but if you have patience and faith in yourself, you’ll succeed. You don’t have to have difficulty; you just need to have fun with the process. Having a sense of humour about your mistakes will help you enjoy the journey more.”
Key difference: You “have fun” (present continuous experience), “have a good time” (past or planned experience), and “enjoy yourself” (general active pleasure). All are similar, but “have fun” is the most natural and informal.
HAVE Collocations: Possessions, Opportunities, and Events
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Have an idea | Think of something; conceive a thought | I have an idea for how to solve this problem. |
| Have an opportunity | Get a chance to do something | You’ve already had lots of opportunities to prove yourself. |
| Have an exam | Take a test; be examined | I have an exam tomorrow, so I’m studying hard tonight. |
| Have an interview | Participate in a formal conversation for evaluation | He has an interview tomorrow, and he’s a little nervous. |
| Have a meeting | Hold a gathering to discuss something | We have a meeting scheduled for Thursday at 2 pm. |
| Have a business trip | Travel for work purposes | My dad has a business trip next month, so we won’t see him. |
Natural vs. Unnatural HAVE Collocations
| What learners say (wrong) | What native speakers say (right) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I have a shower yesterday | I had a shower yesterday | Use past tense “had” for completed actions. “Have” is only present/perfect. |
| Have a pain in my head | I have a headache | Use the specific collocation “have a headache”; “have a pain” is not natural. |
| He have a cold | He has a cold | Third-person singular uses “has,” not “have.” |
| I have a walk | I take a walk | The collocation is “take a walk,” not “have a walk.” |
| Do you have a dream? | Do you have a dream? (ambiguous) OR: What are your dreams? | “Have a dream” can work, but sounds formal. Just say “do you dream?” or “what are your dreams?” |
Common Mistakes with HAVE Collocations
✗ Incorrect: I have a shower, a coffee, and a breakfast every morning.
✓ Correct: I have a shower, a coffee, and breakfast every morning. OR: I have a shower, coffee, and breakfast every morning.
Why: “Have breakfast” is already a complete collocation; you don’t say “have a breakfast.” The article “a” is not needed for meals of the day.
✗ Incorrect: She have a meeting with her boss yesterday.
✓ Correct: She had a meeting with her boss yesterday.
Why: Past actions require “had,” not “have.” And third-person singular present would be “has,” not “have.”
✗ Incorrect: Can you have a look at my homework? I’m having a difficulty with question three.
✓ Correct: Can you have a look at my homework? I’m having difficulty with question three.
Why: You “have difficulty (with something)” not “have a difficulty.” No article is needed.
Dialogue: Coffee Break at the Office
Maya: Do you want to have a coffee with me? I’m going to have a break.
James: Sure! I’d love to have a coffee. I had a difficult morning, so I need to rest.
Maya: I know—we have a big meeting at 2 pm. I hope we don’t have any problems with the presentation.
James: Me too. Let’s have a quick chat about it. Do you have any concerns?
Maya: Not really. I think we’ve done a good job. Let’s just have a laugh and relax for a moment.
Quick Quiz
- Complete the sentence: “After lunch, let’s _____ a coffee.” (take / have / get)
- Which is correct: “have a shower” or “have a bath”? (Both / Only shower / Only bath)
- Fill the blank: “I _____ an exam next week.” (will have / am having / have)
- Choose the natural phrase: (A) “I have a walk every morning” (B) “I take a walk every morning”
- Complete: “She _____ difficulty understanding the instructions.” (has a / have / has difficulty)
Answers: 1. have · 2. Both are correct · 3. have (or “am having” for near future) · 4. (B) “take a walk” is the standard collocation · 5. has difficulty
Related Articles
- ↑ Master Pillar: English Speaking
- Common Collocations with MAKE
- Common Collocations with TAKE and GET
- Common Collocations with SAY, TELL, and ASK
- Phrasal Verbs in English
- ↑ Back to pillar: English Collocations (Pillar)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “have a coffee” the same as “have coffee”?
“Have a coffee” usually means a single cup of coffee in a social context (“Let’s have a coffee together”). “Have coffee” is more general and can mean the beverage you consume regularly. Both are correct, but “have a coffee” is more commonly used for a specific instance.
Why do I say “take a walk” but “have a chat”?
It’s simply how English collocations work—they’re not always logical! “Take” is used with walks, breaks, and tests. “Have” is used with chats, discussions, and meals. These patterns developed over centuries and just became standard. You learn them by exposure.
Can I say “have a look” if I’m not really resting?
Yes! “Have a look” doesn’t imply rest at all—it just means “examine” or “glance at.” You can “have a quick look” at something while standing up or walking.
What’s the difference between “have fun” and “have a good time”?
“Have fun” is more immediate and casual (“Are you having fun?”). “Have a good time” feels slightly more complete or reflective, often used after an event (“Did you have a good time?”). But they’re very similar and largely interchangeable.
Can I use “have” with all nouns for activities?
No. Some activities use “have” (shower, chat, meeting) but others use different verbs (“take a walk,” “make a decision,” “attend a class”). The only way to know is to learn the standard collocations—there’s no grammar rule that predicts them.
Is “have a bad temper” the same as “be bad-tempered”?
Almost. “Have a bad temper” focuses on the action of losing your temper: “He has a bad temper when things go wrong.” “Be bad-tempered” describes your personality: “He’s a bad-tempered person.” They’re very similar but slightly different in emphasis.
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