have car vs have had car?

Question

What is the difference between the following sentences?

I have a car.
I have had a car.
I have a car from 2 January 2020.
I have had a car since 2 January 2020.

Is there any difference between the 3 and 4 or they are interchangeable?

#3 isn't idiomatic. And in case you didn't realise, #2 strongly implies *I did have a car in the past, **but I no longer have a car now***. But this is off-topic proofreading — FumbleFingers, Apr 26 '21 at 11:45
Related: [“Have had” versus “had”](https://ell.stackexchange.com/q/6663/9161) — ColleenV, Apr 26 '21 at 13:32

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 13 '21 at 17:31

1

I would assume #3 would have to mean "I have a car that was made on 2 January 2020".

edited Jun 13 '21 at 17:31

Glorfindel

14,726
15
68
75

answered Jun 13 '21 at 13:19

DrMe4nswell

21
4

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 29 '21 at 08:53

1. I have a car.

Currently I own a car.

2. I have had a car.

In the past, at times I owned one or more cars, but right now I probably don't own one.

3. I have a car from 2 January 2020.

Not correct.

4. I have had a car since 2 January 2020.

Currently I own a car, and I acquired it 2 January 2020.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 13 '21 at 10:48

To add to the previous answer, "I have a car from 2 January 2020" is not entirely impossible to say, although you probably wouldn't be precise to a day with a car - you'd be more likely to say "I have a car from 2020". And it would mean: I own a car that was made in 2020.

have car vs have had car?

3 Answers3