Have access to means to be able to use, get or enter something: information, a network, a building, services. It's used for technology (have access to the files) and for opportunities in general (have access to good schools).
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have access to + noun; have no / limited access to + noun; access + noun
- All employees have access to the shared folder, but only managers can edit it.
- Many villages in the region still don't have access to fast internet.
- As a student, you have access to the online library from home.
What changed
First versionStudents have an access to the library database from home.
RevisionStudents have access to the library database from home.
Access meaning the right or chance to use something is uncountable, so it takes no an: have access to. The mistake is common because it can feel as if a noun always needs an article.
Access can also be a verb, and then it takes no to: You can access your account online. Can access to your account is another common mistake: to is only needed after the noun, in have access to.
Your turn
At the hotel we didn't ___ to the Wi-Fi, so we worked in a café downstairs.
Show the answer
have access — Both verbs could follow didn't, but the to after the gap decides it: it belongs to have access to, while the verb access takes its object directly: access the Wi-Fi. So didn't access to the Wi-Fi is wrong.
Describe what you have access to at work or in your studies and what you don't. Name both.
At work I have access to the client database, but I don't have access to the finance reports.
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