've en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /ə/ postconsonantal
- /əv/ postconsonantal
- /v/ postvocalic
- (US) audio
Etymology
Contraction of have.
Meanings
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(clitic) Have (in its sense marking the perfect or retrospective aspect).
Santorum, in a comment regarding Senator John McCain's repudiation of torture, stated, "He doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works. I mean, you break somebody, and after they've broken they become cooperative" (Summers 2011).
2015 November 30, Shane O'Mara, Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 12:
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(clitic) Have (in its other uses).
Do n’t tell me you ‘have n’t got time,’ / That other things claim your attention; / There ’s not the least reason or rhyme / In the wisest excuse you can mention: / Do n’t tell me about ‘other fish,’ / Your duty is done when you buy ’em; / And you never will relish the dish, / Unless you ’ve a woman to ‘fry ’em.’
1845 March, “Editor’s Table”, in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XXV, New York, N.Y.: […] John Allen, […], page 267, columns 1–2:"...Where's the ladies' in this joint? I've to powder me nose."
1996, Deirdre Purcell, Roses After Rain, page 335:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| -a | alternative | lexicographic | |
| of | alternative | lexicographic |