To begin with, look at your sentence:

"Members of the 16th Lok Sabha worked harder in the budget session than they have in the last 10 years, parliamentary data shows.

I recommend looking at it in two parts:

  1. Members of the 16th Lok Sabha worked harder in the budget session
  2. than they have in the last 10 years, parliamentary data shows.

Sentence 1 tells you that members of the 16th Lok Sabha worked harder in the budget session. The "budget session" refers to the present budget session, that happened just now, or during the 16th Lok Sabha, if you will.

Sentence 2 introduces a comparison- with how much they have worked in the last 10 years. Now, the idea behind using "have" is to introduce a continuum, a matter of fact that "has been happening" regularly over the past 10 years.

If you use "had" instead, it gives the idea that something HAS happened at a certain point in time, and then that's it. It didn't happen anymore. For instance:

They studied harder this term than they had last year.

Notice how "had" is used to indicate what they did just once, that is last year.

Again, if you now use "have" in the same sentence, see how you get a different meaning:

They studied harder this term than they have in the last five years.

Here, "have" tells you about something that hasn't occurred just once, but has been occurring regularly over a course of time, that is five years.

It's interesting to note that using "had" in part 2 of your original sentence wouldn't make it incorrect, technically. There is a very fine line between using "have" and "had" to denote a continous action in the past tense. As I explained with my previous example, if you use "had" in sentence 2, it indicates that the members of the Lok Sabha had worked up until now, which doesn't fit in well with sentence 1.

And lastly, do take a look at this question on the EL&U site: How do the tenses and aspects in English correspond temporally to one another?. It should give you a clear picture about everything.

Answer from Dust_In_The_Wind on Stack Exchange
Top answer
1 of 1
2

To begin with, look at your sentence:

"Members of the 16th Lok Sabha worked harder in the budget session than they have in the last 10 years, parliamentary data shows.

I recommend looking at it in two parts:

  1. Members of the 16th Lok Sabha worked harder in the budget session
  2. than they have in the last 10 years, parliamentary data shows.

Sentence 1 tells you that members of the 16th Lok Sabha worked harder in the budget session. The "budget session" refers to the present budget session, that happened just now, or during the 16th Lok Sabha, if you will.

Sentence 2 introduces a comparison- with how much they have worked in the last 10 years. Now, the idea behind using "have" is to introduce a continuum, a matter of fact that "has been happening" regularly over the past 10 years.

If you use "had" instead, it gives the idea that something HAS happened at a certain point in time, and then that's it. It didn't happen anymore. For instance:

They studied harder this term than they had last year.

Notice how "had" is used to indicate what they did just once, that is last year.

Again, if you now use "have" in the same sentence, see how you get a different meaning:

They studied harder this term than they have in the last five years.

Here, "have" tells you about something that hasn't occurred just once, but has been occurring regularly over a course of time, that is five years.

It's interesting to note that using "had" in part 2 of your original sentence wouldn't make it incorrect, technically. There is a very fine line between using "have" and "had" to denote a continous action in the past tense. As I explained with my previous example, if you use "had" in sentence 2, it indicates that the members of the Lok Sabha had worked up until now, which doesn't fit in well with sentence 1.

And lastly, do take a look at this question on the EL&U site: How do the tenses and aspects in English correspond temporally to one another?. It should give you a clear picture about everything.

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Reddit
reddit.com › r/grammar › they've vs they have
r/grammar on Reddit: They've vs they have
March 2, 2021 - I think in other persons that might change to "have/has got". Continue this thread ... Not only do I hear this usage in UK TV shows, I, an American, use it (having stolen it from these various English TV shows, movies and books). ... I said it isn't used any more, but thinking about it more, there are some dialects of English in Northern England that use it. Elsewhere, "they've got" is the most common form used to talk about possession.
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Grammarly
grammarly.com › blog › commonly-confused-words › has-vs-have
“Has” vs. “Have”: What’s the Difference? | Grammarly
June 8, 2023 - The main difference between has and have depends on the subject of a sentence. Has is used with singular subjects and with the pronouns he, she, and it. Have is used with plural subjects and with the pronouns I, you, we, and they.
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Preply
preply.com › preply language learning hub › learn english online › english grammar › has vs. have: what’s the difference?
Has vs. Have: Understanding the Difference and Using Them Correctly
September 18, 2025 - For example, “The team has a ... common in British English). Singular ‘they’: When using “they” as a gender-neutral singular pronoun, always use “have.” For example, “They have a meeting at 2 PM.”...
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Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english › theyve
THEY'VE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
They've is the usual spoken form of 'they have', especially when 'have' is an auxiliary verb.
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Bab.la
en.bab.la › sentences › english › they-have
they have example sentences - Use they have in a sentence
English The enlargement must have and will have boundaries. volume_up more_vert ... English They have the same share that we have.
Find elsewhere
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ProWritingAid
prowritingaid.com › have-vs-has
Have vs Has: What's the Difference? - The Grammar Guide
Use have with I, we, you, and they. Use has with he, she, and it. In special cases, such as who has vs who have and there has vs there have, use has for singular objects and have for plural objects.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › they-ve
THEY'VE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
THEY'VE definition: 1. short form of they have: 2. short form of they have: 3. contraction of they have: . Learn more.
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-difference-between-they-have-and-theyve-got-when-talking-about-possession
What is the difference between 'they have' and 'they've got' when talking about possession? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): In the USA they don't use got, so you only read they have , they don't have and do they have…? In the UK the use of 'they've got' is widespread . With got, the verb have works as an auxiliary; therefore you don't bump into do they have got ?
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WordHippo
wordhippo.com › what-is › another-word-for › they_have.html
What is another word for "they have"?
Synonyms for they have include carrying, having, holding, they possess, they hold, they bear, there are, there're, there's and there exists. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com!
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Correctme.org
correctme.org › home › they have vs. they has — which version is correct?
They have vs. they has — which version is correct? Which version is correct?
September 26, 2023 - You may find it surprising, but both they have and they has are correct conjugations of the verb to have. In fact, they has been used both as a singular and plural generic pronoun for centuries.
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Quora
quora.com › Which-is-correct-they-have-had-or-they-had-have
Which is correct 'they have had' or 'they had have'? - Quora
Answer: The correct one out of the two is “they have had”. We use the verb phrase “they have had” in case of present perfect tense. Present perfect tense refers to the tense in which an action has been done in the past but has an implication ...
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Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › english › they-ve
they’ve short form - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
they have They've is usually only used when have is an auxiliary verb: They've just got here. When have is the main verb, use the full form: They have two children.
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Ludwig
ludwig.guru › s › they+have+shown
they have shown | Meaning, Grammar Guide & Usage Examples | Ludwig.guru
In summary, the phrase "they have shown" is a grammatically sound and frequently used expression to indicate that a group has demonstrated something. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness and usability across various contexts, particularly in news, academia, and scientific domains.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
HAVE vs HAS 🤔| What's the difference? | Learn with examples - YouTube
We hope you enjoyed this video! If you have any questions please ask in the comments.⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎⬇︎🖥 Visit Our Website ...
Published   June 20, 2022
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Lingoda
lingoda.com › home › learning materials for english learners › have or has: which one should you use?
Have or has: When to use them - Lingoda
January 5, 2024 - Wondering when to use has or have? The simple answer is to use has with he, she, and it, and have with I, you, we, and they. If you remember this rule, you’ll pretty much always be right when choosing between have and has.