Lesson 19: "Has" and "Have" — Teacher Guide
Core Linguistic Concepts & Pedagogy
• Number Concord: Has pairs with singular subjects (speaking of one); have pairs with plural subjects (speaking of more than one).
• Contrasting Pairs: The exercise explicitly contrasts singular vs plural noun pairs (A bird / Birds, An apple / Apples, A cow / Cows).
• Interrogative Structure: Classical questions invert Has / Have before the subject (Has a cow horns? / Have cows horns?).
| # |
Subject & Number |
Verb |
Full Sentence |
Concord, Article & Syntactic Analysis |
| 1. |
A bird (Singular) |
has |
A bird has claws. |
Singular subject with article "A". Verb has. Predicate noun plural "claws". Declarative sentence ends with (.). |
| 2. |
Birds (Plural) |
have |
Birds have claws. |
Plural subject with zero article. Verb have. Declarative sentence ends with (.). |
| 3. |
An apple (Singular) |
has |
An apple has a stem. |
Singular subject with article "An" (before vowel sound). Verb has. Direct object "a stem". Declarative sentence ends with (.). |
| 4. |
Apples (Plural) |
have |
Apples have stems. |
Plural subject with zero article. Verb have. Plural direct object "stems". Declarative sentence ends with (.). |
| 5. |
a cow (Singular) |
has |
Has a cow horns? |
Interrogative inversion: Has + singular subject a cow. Capital "Has". Ends with question mark (?). |
| 6. |
cows (Plural) |
have |
Have cows horns? |
Interrogative inversion: Have + plural subject cows. Capital "Have". Ends with question mark (?). |
🗣 The "One vs More Than One" Principle
Have students chant aloud:
"One bird has... Many birds have...",
"One apple has... Many apples have...",
"One cow has... Many cows have..." to internalize the rule auditorily.
✍️ Classical Question Phrasing
Modern English often uses
"Does a cow have horns?". Explain that classical literature commonly inverts the main verb directly:
"Has a cow horns?", which builds strong historical literacy.
🔍 Articles Review ("A" vs "An")
Draw attention to line 1 vs line 3:
A bird (consonant sound /b/) versus
An apple (vowel sound /æ/). Review when to use
a and
an.
🌟 Penmanship & Neatness
Focus on proper spacing between words, letter proportion on ruled handwriting lines, and exact placement of punctuation marks (. and ?).
Pedagogical Standard
Aligned with Classical Trivium Grammar Stage & CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.C, L.1.1.J, L.1.2.B