1. Let's look at their main differences HAVE vs HAVE GOT
Using "have" and "have got" in English can be confusing for learners because they have some similar functions but have some differences in usage in British and American English.
2. HAVE & HAVE GOT Meaning and Uses
(a) Possession
Both "have" and "have got" can indicate possession.
(i) (HAVE) - Common in both American and British English.
Example: I have a car.
(ii) (HAVE GOT) - More common in British English
Example: I have got a car. / I've got a car.
(b) Obligation or Necessity
Both "have to" and "have got to" express necessity or obligation.
-(HAVE TO) Used in both American and British English.
Example: I have to go now.
-(HAVE GOT TO) -More informal and commonly used in British English.
Example: I've got to go now.
3. Have,Have Got - Grammar Structure
(i) Present Simple
- (Have) - Subject + have/has + object.
e.g. She has a new job.
- (Have got) - Subject + have/has + got + object.
e.g. She has got a new job. / She’s got a new job.
(ii) Questions and Negatives
Questions:
-(Have): use "do/does."
e.g. Do you have a pen?
-Negatives: use "do/does not" or "don't/doesn't."
e.g. I don’t have any money.
-(Have got)
Questions - invert "have/has."
e.g. Have you got a pen?
Negatives: - use "have/has not" or "haven’t/hasn’t."
e.g. I haven’t got any money.
(iii)Past Simple
(Have) - use "had" for both statements, questions, and negatives.
Statement-
e.g. I had a bike when I was young.
Question-
e.g. Did you have a bike when you were young?
Negative-
e.g. I didn’t have a bike when I was young.
(Have got)
NOTE: "Have got" is not used in the past tense; use "had" instead.
e.g. I had a bike when I was young.
Summary - Quick overview
-Possession
I have a book. / I've got a book.
-Obligation
I have to go. / I've got to go.
-Question
Do you have a pen? / Have you got a pen?
-Short Answer
Yes, I do. / No, I don't.
Yes, I have . / No, I haven't.
-Negative
I don't have any money. /I haven't got any money.
-Past Tense
I had a bike when I was young.
I had a bike when I was young. (we DON'T say had got)
Key Points!
HAVE GOT is more common in British English, while American English speakers more frequently use HAVE.
-Formality: HAVE GOT tends to be more informal than HAVE.
-Contractions: HAVE GOT is often contracted in spoken English (I've got, you've got, etc.), while HAVE is less commonly contracted.
By understanding these differences, you can use HAVE and HAVE GOT more accurately.
4. Conversation
Example with the interchangeable uses of HAVE and HAVE GOT:
Two friends, Emma and Jack are at a coffee shop.
Emma : Hi Jack, how are you?
Jack : Hey Emma, I'm good! How about you?
Emma : I’m great, thanks! I’ve got some exciting news to share. Guess what?
Jack : What? Tell me!
Emma : I’ve got a new job!
Jack : That’s amazing! Congratulations! What’s your new job?
Emma : I’m a graphic designer now. I have a great team and a lovely office.
Jack : That’s fantastic. I have a friend who’s also a graphic designer. Maybe you two could connect.
Emma : That would be awesome! By the way, have you got any plans for the weekend?
Jack : Yes, I have a trip planned to the mountains. I’ve got to pack tonight.
Emma : Sounds like fun! I’ve got to finish a project, so I’ll be staying home.
Jack : Well, good luck with your project. Let’s catch up next week!
Emma : Definitely! Have a great trip!
Check out all the other ways of using HAVE:
5. How to Use Have & Have Got in Grammar - More Example Sentences
- We can use HAVE & HAVE GOT to talk about:
1. relationships
2. a person's / thing's features
3. possessions
4. illness
Grammar Note!
Use HAVE / HAVE GOT only in the Present tense.
We don't say: X I had got X
Example Sentence:
1. Ed and Emma have / have got a new car.
2. Zoe has / has got beautiful dark hair.
3. Do we have any biscuits left? / Have we got any biscuits left?
4. What have you got in your bag? / What do you have in your bag?
5. She has / has got a fever.
6. How to form English HAVE / HAVE GOT sentence:
- positive, negative, yes/no Question, short answers + short forms:
(a) HAVE
i. (positive) + (short form)
- I / You / We / They have
- He / She / It has
ii. (negative) + (short form)
- I / You / We / They do not have (don't have)
- He / She / It does not have (doesn't have)
iii. Yes /No Question
- Do I / you / we / they have...?
- Does he / she / it have...?
iv. (Short Answer)
- Yes, I / you / we / they do.
- Yes, he / she / it does.
(b) HAVE GOT
i. (positive) + (short form)
- I / You / We / They have got ('ve got)
- He / She / It has got ( 's got)
ii.(negative) + (short form)
- I / You / We / They have not got (haven't got)
- He / She / It has not got (hasn't got)
iii. Yes/ No Question
Have I / you / we / they got...?
Has he / she / it got...?
iv. (Short Answer)
- Yes, I / you / we / they have.
- Yes, he / she / it has.
A Quick Recap!
- We can use 'have' or 'have got' to talk about:
(i) relationships
e.g. Martha and Chris have / have got 3 cousins.
(ii) a person's / thing's features
e.g. The old man has / has got a long beard.
(iii possessions
e.g. My son has / has got a new toy bus.
4. illness
e.g. Linda's father has / has got a bad cough.
Check out this post:
TIP!
Practise and use the short forms for your English speaking where possible. Short forms I've got , he's got, etc. sound more natural in spoken English. You'll speak faster, too. Try it.
7. More Example Sentences - Uses: HAVE / HAVE GOT, HAS / HAS GOT
Yes/No Questions & Short Answers
i) Alicia, have you got a runny nose?
> Yes, I have.
> No, I haven't.
ii) Alicia, do you have a runny nose?
> Yes, I do.
> No, I don't.
Sentence Example B:
- Have you got...? / Short answer
Meg, have you got any plans for this weekend?
(Positive) - Yeah, I have. I'm baking your birthday cake!
(Negative) - No, I haven't.
- Do you have...? / Short Answer
-Meg, do you have any plans for this weekend?
- Yeah, I do. I'm baking your birthday cake!
- No, I don't.
Sentence Example C:
Have you got...?/ Short Answer
-Hey, Pip. Have you got Ms Lisa's number?
-Yeah, I have.
-No, I haven't.
Do you have...?/ Short Answer: Positive / Negative
Hey, Pip. Do you have Ms Lisa's number?
-Yeah, I do.
- No, I don't.
iv. (Wh-Question) HAVE / HAVE GOT
-Wh-Question
i) What has she got..?
ii) What does she have...?
Sentence Example A:
What has granny got in her basket?
-Nothing. It's empty.
or
What does she have in her basket?
- Nothing. It's empty.
Sentence Example B:
i) What kind of ... has she got?
ii) What kind of...does she have?
i) What kind of camera has she got?
-She has got / 's got the best one.
or
ii) What kind of camera does she have?
-She has the best one.
Sentence Example C:
i) What have we got...?
ii) What do we have...?
What have we got in the fridge at home?
- We have got / 've got some salad and juice.
or
What do we have in the fridge at home?
- We have some salad and juice.
REMEMBER!
Use HAVE / HAVE GOT only in the Present tense.
We don't say: X We had got X
v. How to form HAVE in the Past Tense
- positive, negative, yes/no Question, short answer
HAVE / HAS
i. (positive) + (short form)
- I / You / We / They had
- He / She / It had
ii.(negative) + (short form)
- I / You / We / They did not have (didn't have)
- He / She / It did not have (didn't have)
iii. Yes/ No Question
Did I / you / we / they have...?
Did he / she / it have...?
(Short Answer) - positive
- Yes, I / you / we / they did.
- Yes, he / she / it did.
(Short Answer) - negative + short form
- No, I / you / we / they did not (didn't).
- No, he / she / it did not (didn't).
Sentence Example A:
(positive) had
(negative) did not have
(yes/no question) Did you have...?
(short answer) Yes, I did. No, I did not (I didn't)
- (Positive)
e.g. I had many friends back at university.
- Negative + (short form)
e.g. I did not have (didn't have) many friends back at university.
- (Yes/No Question)
e.g. Did you have many friends back then?
- (Short Answer + short form)
e.g. Yeah, I did. No, I did not (didn't).
Sentence Example B:
Q. Did your old apartment have air - conditioning?
- No, it didn't. It had a ceiling fans, though.
Q. Did it get really hot in the daytime?
- It did. It was unbearable!
8. Let's Practise HAVE / HAVE GOT - More Example Sentence
Situation#1 - talk about relationships
1. Alice and John have / have got ('ve got) 3 children.
Negative: They don't have 3 children.
> They haven't got 3 children.
2. Alan has / has got ('s got) a dog.
Negative: Alan doesn't have a dog.
> Alan hasn't got a dog.
3. We have / have got ('ve got) a new colleague in our department.
Negative : We don't have a new colleague.
> We haven't got a new colleague.
*check the link for meaning & pronunciation
Meaning of "colleague" from the online Cambridge English dictionary, © Cambridge University Press, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/colleague 14 Oct 2020. Used by permission.
Situation#2. talk about a person's / thing's features:
(a) a person's features:
1. Auntie Ruth has / has got ('s got) long, dark hair.
Negative : She doesn't have long, dark hair.
> She hasn't got long, dark hair.
2. The little girl has / has got ('s got) a cute smile.
Negative : She doesn't have a cute smile.
> She hasn't got a cute smile.
(b) a thing's features:
3. Our dining room has / has got ('s got) a lovely sea view.
Negative :
It doesn't have a lovely sea view.
It hasn't got a lovely sea view.
4. This desk has / has got ('s got) many drawers.
Negative :
It doesn't have many drawers.
It hasn't got many drawers.
Situation#3. Use HAVE / HAVE GOT to talk about possessions
1. I have / have got ('ve got) a beautiful, blue car.
Negative : I don't have a beautiful, blue car.
> I haven't got a beautiful, blue car.
2. This bakery has / has got ('s got) lots of delicious pastries.
Negative : It doesn't have lots of delicious pastries.
> It hasn't got lots of delicious pastries.
3. Chef Wang has / has got ('s got) many different herbs in his garden.
Negative : He doesn't have many different herbs in his garden.
> He hasn't got many different herbs in his garden.
Situation#4. Use have/have got to talk about illness
1. Vanessa has / has got ('s got) a slight headache.
Negative : She doesn't have a headache.
> She hasn't got a headache.
2. I have / have got ('ve got) a bad stomach ache.
Negative : I don't have a stomach ache.
> I haven't got a stomach ache.
3. My nephew has / has got ('s got) a broken arm.
Negative : He doesn't have a broken arm.
> He hasn't got a broken arm.
Let's Recap!
HAVE GOT is usually used in the following situation:
-Informal use
-Often used in spoken English (more common in British English)
-Same meaning as "have" when talking about possession, features, illness
-Verb phrase (a group of words that functions as a verb in a sentence)
-Present tense
-Can be used in questions and negatives (e.g., Have you got?, I haven't got)
9. Over to You!
Lets' Review
We've seen the difference between HAVE / HAVE & the different ways we can use them.
positive - have / have got
negative - does not have / have not got
yes / no Q - do you have / have you got ...?
short answer - Yes, I do. No, I do not. / Yes, I have. No, I haven't.
Past
positive - had
negative - did not have
Yes / No Q - Did you have...?
Short Answer - Yes, I did / No, I did not.
Grammar - How to use HAVE or HAVE GOT - example sentence
A. What's the short form for the following:
1. I have got
2. It has got
3. They have not got
4. She has not got
5. We have got
B. Make sentences with have / has got etc.
e.g. She has a new apartment. > She's got a new apartment.
1. Does your boss have a gym membership?
2. Singapore has hot & humid weather
3. Do you have my address?
4. The park doesn't have many seats
5. David has a lot of friends.
6. I have a lot of housework to do.
7. This neighbourhood has a lot of restaurants and shops.
Better English Learning TIP!
- Say your sentences out loud.
C. Practise using HAVE / HAVE GOT or HAVEN'T GOT, HASN'T GOT. Make your own sentences.
example: I / a vintage camera > I haven't got a vintage camera
1. my best friend / many paintings at home
2. I / a pet
3. I / a lot of food in the fridge
4. My close friend / much jewellery
5. I / a garden at home
D. Change the following sentences into the past tense:
1. She's got a lot of free time.
2. Her old house doesn't have many rooms.
3. That museum hasn't got many visitors.
Thanks so much for reading & Happy speaking!
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