Main menu

  2. Home
  3. Grammar topics
  4. Unit 19 Dialogues - Have / Have got

Grammar

Unit 19 Dialogues - Have / Have got

in Grammar Lessons

Image1.What have you got?

I've got a new jacket. How about you?

I've got a some new T-shirts.
-----

2.
What do your friends look like?

Greg's got brown hair, glasses and he's really tall. Cindy's got blond hair, blue eyes and she's slim.

Let's meet them together!
-----

3.
I've got a new apartment.

That's great! What's it like?

Well, it's got two bedrooms, a big living room and a bathroom.

Has it got a nice view?

Sure, you can see the ocean from my window.

That's excellent.

--------

Key Vocabulary

have
have got
jacket
T-shirt
look like
Greg - a boy's name
brown
hair
glasses
Cindy - a girl's name
blond

blue
eyes
slim
meet
bedroom
living room
bathroom
view
ocean
window

Grammar

1. Have - have got

"Have" and "have got" are both used to show possession. For example: "I have a pen", and "I have got a pen" have the same meaning. Here are the main points when choosing which one to use.

Have

The Simple Present forms of have are as follows.

Singular

Affirmative

I have a pen
You have a pen
She has a pen
He has a pen
It has a pen

Negative

I do not have a pen = I don't have a pen
You do not have a pen = You don't have a pen
She does not have a pen = She doesn't have a pen
He does not have a pen = He doesn't have a pen
It does not have a pen = It doesn't have a pen

Questions

Do I have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
Does she has a pen?
Does he has a pen?
Does it have a pen?

Plural

Affirmative

We have a pen
You have a pen
They have a pen

Negative

We do not have a pen = We don't have a pen
You do not have a pen = You don't have a pen
They do not have a pen = They don't have a pen

Questions

Do we have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
Do they have a pen?

 

You make questions with have as normal by using the auxiliary verb "to do". For example:
- Statement: You have a pen.
- Question: Do you have a pen?
- Have you a pen? This is generally incorrect, although occasionally found in British English.

The verb have is often contracted in English, but when have is used for possession you cannot use a contraction, you should use have got instead (see below). For example:
- I've a pen, He's a pen. These are incorrect.

Do not and does not can of course still be contracted to don't and doesn't. For example:
- He doesn't have a pen = He does not have a pen.

The Simple Present forms of have got are as follows.

Have got

Singular

Affirmative

I have got a pen = I've got a pen
You have got a pen = You've got a pen
She has got a pen = She's got a pen
He has got a pen = He's got a pen
It has got a pen = It's got a pen

Negative

I have not got a pen = I haven't got a pen
You have not got a pen = You haven't got a pen
She has not got a pen = She hasn't got a pen
He has not got a pen = He hasn't got a pen
It has not got a pen = It hasn't got a pen

Questions

Have I got a pen?
Have you got a pen?
Has he got a pen?
Has she got a pen?
Has it got a pen?

Plural

 

We have got a pen = We've got a pen
You have got a pen = You've got a pen
They have got a pen = They've got a pen

 

We have not got a pen = We haven't got a pen
You have not got a pen = You haven't got a pen
They have not got a pen = They haven't got a pen

 

Have we got a pen?
Have you got a pen?
Have they got a pen?

 

Affirmative statements can contract have got, for example:
- I have got some food = I've got some food.
- He has got some food = He's got some food.

Negatives contract as follows:
- I haven't got any food = I have not got any food.
- She hasn't got any food = She has not got any food.

-----

Have got is a slightly unusual form because it is a perfect tense form, something which we haven't learnt yet and which will be covered later. Also, remember that the verb have is used in many ways, but the above is only for its use for possession. The lists above may seem rather laborious, but you will quickly learn to use these verbs when you apply them to some real English usage.