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have (got): possession, relationships and other states

Meanings​

We often use have to talk about states: possession, relationships, illnesses, the characteristics of people and things, and similar ideas.

  • Her father has an office in Westminster.
  • They hardly have enough money to live on.
  • Do you have any brothers or sisters?
  • The Prime Minister had a bad cold.
  • My grandmother didn’t have a very nice personality.

Sometimes have simply expresses the fact of being in a particular situation.

  • She has a houseful of children this weekend.
  • I think we have mice.

Progressive forms not used​

Progressive forms of have are not used for these meanings.

  • She has three brothers. (not She is having three brothers.)
  • Do you have a headache? (not Are you having a headache?)

Questions and negatives with do​

In American English and modern British English, questions and negatives are commonly formed with do for these meanings.

  • Does the house have a garden?
  • Her parents did not have very much money.

Shorter question and negative forms: have you ...?; she has not​

Short question and negative forms (e.g. have you ...?, she has not) were common in older English. In modern English they are rather formal and uncommon (except in a few fixed expressions like I haven’t the faintest idea). They are not normally used in American English.

  • Have you an appointment? (formal BrE only)
  • Do you have an appointment? (AmE/BrE)
  • Angela has not the charm of her older sisters. (formal BrE only)
  • Angela does not have the charm ... (AmE/BrE)

have got​

In conversation and informal writing, we often use the double form have got.

  • I’ve got a new boyfriend. (More natural in speech than I have a new boyfriend.)
  • Has your sister got a car?
  • I haven’t got your keys.

Note that have got means exactly the same as have in this case -- it is a present tense of have, not the present perfect of get.

have got: details​

Do is not used in questions and negatives with got.

  • Have you got a headache? (not Do you have got ...)
  • The house hasn’t got a cellar. (not The house doesn’t have got ...)

Got-forms of have are not used in short answers or tags.

  • ‘Have you got a light?’ ‘No, I haven’t.’ (not No, I haven’t got.)
  • Anne’s got a bike, hasn’t she?

Got-forms of have are less common in the past tense.

  • I had some problems last week. (not I had got some problems...)
  • Did you have good teachers when you were at school?

Got is not generally used with infinitives, participles or -ing forms of have: you cannot usually say to have got a headache or having got a brother. The infinitive of have got is occasionally used after modal verbs (e.g. She must have got a new boyfriend).

Have got is rather less common in American English, especially in questions and negatives.

In very informal American speech, people may drop ’ve (but not ‘s) before got.

  • I(‘ve) got a problem.

Got- and do-forms may be mixed in American English, especially when short answers, reply questions and tags follow got-forms.

  • ‘I’ve got a new apartment.’ ‘You do?’

Repeated states: got not used​

When we are talking about repeated or habitual states, got-forms of have are less often used. Compare:

  • I have / I’ve got a headache.
    I often have headaches.
  • Do you have / Have you got time to go to London this weekend?
    Do you ever have time to go to London?
  • Sorry, I don’t have / haven’t got any beer.
    We don’t usually have beer in the house.

Repetition: a change in British English​

Traditionally in British English, do was used with have mostly in references to habit or repetition. Compare:

  • Do you often have meetings?
  • Have you (got) a meeting today?

In modern British English (which is heavily influenced by American English), do-forms are common even when there is no idea of repetition.

  • Do you have time to go to the beach this weekend? (AmE / modern BrE)