Confused about when to use HAVE and when to use HAVING? This comprehensive English grammar lesson solves this common doubt with crystal-clear explanations, hundreds of examples, and practical. The HAVING clause is used to filter the results of a GROUP BY query based on aggregate functions. Unlike the WHERE clause, which filters individual rows before grouping, the HAVING clause filters groups after the aggregation has been performed. The word having is the present participle form of the verb “have,” used to describe possessing, holding, or experiencing something. For example, you might say, “She is having a great time at the party,” which means she is experiencing enjoyment at the party. Noun a society that discriminates between the haves and the have-nots. Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback. Noun having (countable and uncountable, plural havings) The act of possessing; ownership. When do you use “have” and when is “having” correct? In this easy-to-follow English grammar lesson, I’ll show you how to use both forms correctly and naturally. In general, we use “having” when we want to emphasize an ongoing state, a prior completed action, or an action treated as a concept rather than an event. Choosing “having” instead of “have” often depends on whether the speaker wants to highlight duration, cause, or experience. HAVING and WHERE are often confused by beginners, but they serve different purposes. WHERE is taken into account at an earlier stage of a query execution, filtering the rows read from the tables. Meaning of having in English having present participle of have (Definition of having from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press) HAVING definition: present participle of have. See examples of having used in a sentence.