ENGLISH
REFERENCE

we've

pron.
A1 Beginner weve Dialect Informal

pron. the short way to say 'we have'. You use it when you are talking about yourself and at least one other person.

pron. a contraction of the first-person plural pronoun 'we' and the auxiliary or main verb 'have'. Used in speech and informal writing to represent the spoken rhythm of the language.


SIMPLE

We've already finished our homework.

CONTEXTUAL

We've been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes, but it still hasn't arrived.

COMPLEX

We've reached a point in the negotiations where both parties must decide if they are willing to compromise or if the entire deal will collapse.

Usage

Functions as a contraction; the 've' can represent the auxiliary verb in the present perfect tense or the main verb of possession.

Pitfall

We've a lot of work yesterday.We had a lot of work yesterday.Learners sometimes use 'we've' for the past tense because they confuse the contraction with a general past form; it can only represent the present tense 'have'.

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