The TR Company

When we Use ‘Have Got’ and When ‘Have’ (Part II)

01/12/16 When we Use ‘Have Got‘ and When ‘Have‘ (Part II)

3. Questions

have	have got
Do I have time?	Have I got time?
Do you have pets?	Have you got pets?
Does he have a computer?	Has he got a computer?
Does she have a mobile phone?	Has she got a mobile phone?
Does it have mudguards?	Has it got mudguards?
Do we have ketchup?	Have we got ketchup?
Do you have a yellow car?	Have you got a yellow car?
Do they have nice teachers?	Have they got nice teachers?

There can be negations in questions too.

have	have got
Don’t you have a brother?	Haven’t you got a brother?

4. Be careful

4.1. The contracted forms ‘ve or ‘s are only used with have got – not with have.

right	wrong
I’ve got a new mobile phone.	I’ve a new mobile phone.
He’s got a new car.	He’s a new car.

4.2. Do not use an auxiliary with have got – only with have. Be careful when using negations.

right	wrong
Have you got a garden?	Do you have got a garden?
Do you have a pet?	Have you a pet?
They haven’t got a brother.	They haven’t a house.

4.3. Have cannot always be substituted with have got. You can only substitute have with have got when you talk about possession and relationships.

have got	have
I’ve got a brother.	I have a brother.
wrong: I had got an accident.	I had an accident.
wrong: We had got lunch.	We had lunch.

► In American English have is dropped in informal speech like in the following example.