Er hat ein Amt.

This is the normal German main clause word order:

• Er = subject
• hat = finite verb
• ein Amt = object

In a basic statement, German usually puts the conjugated verb in second position.

So:

• Er hat ein Amt. = subject + verb + object

If you turned it into a yes/no question, the verb would move to the front:

• Hat er ein Amt?

Hat is the 3rd person singular present tense of haben (to have).

The present tense forms of haben are:

• ich habe
• du hast
• er/sie/es hat
• wir haben
• ihr habt
• sie/Sie haben

Because Er means he, you use hat.

Because Amt is a neuter noun: das Amt.

In the sentence, Amt is in the accusative singular as the direct object of hat. For neuter nouns, the indefinite article in both nominative and accusative singular is ein.

So:

• nominative: ein Amt
• accusative: ein Amt

Compare:

• masculine: ein Mann → einen Mann
• feminine: eine Frau → eine Frau
• neuter: ein Amt → ein Amt

Amt is neuter, so its article is das:

• das Amt

This matters because German articles and some adjective endings change depending on:

• gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
• case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive)
• number (singular/plural)

That is why you get ein Amt here rather than a different article form.

It is in the accusative case.

Why? Because haben usually takes a direct object, and direct objects are typically in the accusative.

So in:

• Er hat ein Amt.

the structure is:

• Er = subject, nominative
• ein Amt = direct object, accusative

Since Amt is neuter singular, the accusative article is still ein.

In German, all nouns are capitalized.

So Amt is capitalized because it is a noun.

Examples:

• der Mann
• die Frau
• das Haus
• das Amt

This is one of the biggest visual differences between German and English writing.

Grammatically, yes, it literally uses haben = to have. But Amt often means more than just a physical office. It can refer to:

• an office
• a post
• a position
• a public office
• an official function

So depending on context, Er hat ein Amt can suggest something like:

• he holds an office
• he has an official position
• he occupies a post

A learner should be careful not to assume it always means a physical room or workplace.

In German, singular countable nouns usually need an article or some other determiner.

So:

• ein Amt = a/an office, a post

Without an article, Er hat Amt would sound incomplete or ungrammatical in standard German.

German normally wants something before the noun here, such as:

• ein Amt
• kein Amt
• dieses Amt
• sein Amt

The most natural negative would usually be:

• Er hat kein Amt.

German uses kein to negate a noun phrase that would otherwise have ein.

Compare:

• Er hat ein Amt. = He has an office/post.
• Er hat kein Amt. = He has no office/post.

You could also negate the whole sentence in other contexts with nicht, but for a noun with an indefinite article, kein is usually the right choice.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Er ≈ air with a German r that is often very soft or vocalized
• hat = haht
• ein ≈ ine
• Amt = ahmt

A few notes:

• a in hat and Amt is a clear ah sound
• ein sounds like English ine
• Amt has a short, crisp final t
• In natural speech, the sentence may flow together smoothly: Er hat ein Amt

Yes. Er hat ein Amt is in the present tense.

It describes a current state:

• he has / holds an office now

If you wanted the past, you might say:

• Er hatte ein Amt. = He had / held an office.

So hat tells you the sentence is present tense.