English

Contraction

he've

1. Contraction of he have.
   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd

     "He's not at home, and won't be this side of eleven o'clock. He've been forced to go over to Yalbury since shutting out work. I shall do quite as well."

Usage notes

• Generally used in rendering dialectal speech, though possibly also applicable to the subjunctive case.