Have and Have got

1.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

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.