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

e-Lesson

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.

We’ve got a problem. → We got a problem.