In dictionary, "have" could mean
- (also have got) have something (not used in the progressive tenses): to own, hold or possess something
He had a new car and a boat.
- have something: to experience something
I went to a few parties and had a good time.
I was having difficulty in staying awake.
see these sentences "we have a good time" & "we are having a good time"
What is the meaning of the word "have" in these cases?
Are they the same?
I think that "have" in "we are having a good time" means "to experience" & "have" in "we have a good time" means "to own".
If "have" in "we have a good time" meant "to experience", then we would say "we always have good times". The reason is that we don't use simple present for specific action but routine one.
Best Answer
The meaning of have remains the same as between We have a good time and We are having a good time. What changes is the (grammatical) aspect.
To see this, consider:
Have tea has the same meaning in either case, something like observe the social occasion called tea.
In the first sentence it (the verb) has what is called an imperfective aspect, more specifically habitual. It means you generally or habitually have tea (at three, in the garden, etc.) on multiple occasions over some period of time.
In the second it is also imperfective in aspect, but more specifically progressive. It means a particular instance of social occasion called tea is in progress.
You can replicate this distinction with any number of things. E.g.:
You would not want to think that the meaning of drive changes here. In either case it means something like to operate a means of transportation.
In the same way, have in your examples have the meaning of experience (rather than own). Only the aspect changes from habitual to progressive.
By the way there is nothing sacrosanct about terms like "habitual" etc. They are just there to tell you what to Google for.