I got a question the other day from a student who said, 'How do I use the word "having"?'

And this is a really good question because most people know how to use the word 'have'.

For example, 'I have a jumper" or 'I have a phone.'

But we don't really say 'I'm having a phone' or 'I'm having a jumper'.

So, how do we use 'having'?

One of the main uses of 'having' is when we make something happen or cause something to happen.

For example, 'I'm having my house painted.'

Who's painting the house? Me or someone else?

Someone else.

What if I say 'I'm having my brother go and pick up the parcel from the post office'?

Who's doing it? Me or my brother?

My brother.

Another use of 'having' is to experience something.

So, for example, 'I'm having a great time at the beach right now.'

What am I talking about? Past, present or future?

The present.

Or another example could be, 'He wasn't having much luck at the casino.'

We are talking about his experience at the casino.

Another use of 'having' is to talk about certain things.

For example, if I say, 'What are you doing?', and you are eating dinner, you could say, 'I'm having dinner.'

This just means I'm eating dinner right now.

And another use of 'having' is to talk about parties.

For example, I could say, 'I'm having a party this weekend.'

What am I talking about? Past, present or future?

I'm talking about the future.

Who organised the party?

Me or someone else?

Probably me because I said 'I'm having a party.'

So, these are some of the main uses of 'having'.

They are not all of the uses of 'having', but they are the main ones.