Have and have got
I have a car, I've got a car: two ways to say what you have, with their negatives and questions.
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To say what we have (things, family, how we look, an illness), English has two forms: have and have got. They mean the same. Have got is very common in British speech. Have is common everywhere, and it is the usual form in American English and in formal writing.
Positive
Subject | have | have got |
|---|---|---|
I, you, we, they | I have | I have got, I've got |
he, she, it | she has | she has got, she's got |
- I've got a new phone.
- We have two children.
- My brother has got a flat in the centre.
- She has green eyes.
- Incorrect: She have got a bike.
- Correct: She has got a bike.After he, she and it, use has, not have.
With have alone, we don't usually use the short form: I have a car, not I've a car.
The owner comes first
In English the owner is the subject, at the start of the sentence. Then comes have or have got, then the thing.
- Lucy has got a dog.
- The flat has two balconies.
- Incorrect: At me is a car.
- Correct: I have a car. / I've got a car.Start with the owner and use have or have got.
Negative
With have, the negative is don't have or doesn't have. With have got, it is haven't got or hasn't got.
Subject | have | have got |
|---|---|---|
I, you, we, they | I don't have | I haven't got, I have not got |
he, she, it | he doesn't have | he hasn't got, he has not got |
- I don't have a car.
- I haven't got a car.
- My parents haven't got a garden.
- My sister doesn't have a job at the moment.
- Incorrect: I don't have got a car.
- Correct: I haven't got a car. / I don't have a car.Don't mix the two forms. Use don't have or haven't got.
- Incorrect: He doesn't has a car.
- Correct: He doesn't have a car.After doesn't, the verb has no -s.
Questions and short answers
With have, use Do or Does. With have got, put Have or Has before the subject. The short answer follows the question.
Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
Do you have a pen? | Yes, I do. | No, I don't. |
Have you got a pen? | Yes, I have. | No, I haven't. |
Does she have a car? | Yes, she does. | No, she doesn't. |
Has she got a car? | Yes, she has. | No, she hasn't. |
- Do you have any brothers or sisters?
- Has the hotel got a pool?
- Incorrect: Have you got a ticket? Yes, I've got.
- Correct: Have you got a ticket? Yes, I have.A short answer ends with have, not got, and doesn't use the short form.
Have for actions, with no got
Have is also used for actions: have breakfast, have a shower, have a bath, have a good time. Here have is an ordinary verb in the present simple, and we don't use got.
- I have a shower every morning.
- We usually have lunch at one.
- Do you have coffee in the morning?
- Incorrect: I've got a shower every morning.
- Correct: I have a shower every morning.A shower here is an action, not a thing you own, so we don't use got.