Have and Have Got

The differences between ‘have’ and ‘have got’ can be confusing for beginners. Here is a guide the two forms.

Remember these important points:

• ‘Have’ and ‘Have got’ are used for possession.Example: Jack has got a beautiful house. OR Jack has a beautiful house.
• Only ‘have’ is used when talking about actions.Example: I usually have breakfast at 8 o’clock. NOT I usually have got breakfast at 8 o’clock.
• The question form for ‘have’ follows regular present simple:Example: Do you have a fast car? NOT Have you a fast car?
• ‘Have’ and ‘Have got’ are only used in the present simple.

• Use ‘have’ for the past simple or future forms.Example: She had a copy of that book.
• There is no contracted form for ‘Have’ in the positive form. The contracted form is used for ‘have got’Example: I have a red bicycle. OR I’ve got a red bicycle. NOT I’ve a red bicycle.

Here is a grammar chart showing the construction of the two forms:

Positive I, You, We, They HAVE GOT
Subject + have + got + objects
They have got a new car. Contracted: They’ve got a new car.

Positive He, She, It HAVE GOT
Subject + has + got + objects
He has got a new car. Contracted: He’s got a new car.

Positive I, You, We, They HAVE
Subject + have + objects
They have a new car. There is no contracted form

Positive He, She, It HAVE
Subject + have + objects
She has a new car. There is no contracted form

Question I, You, We, They HAVE GOT
(?) + have + subject + got?
How many children have you got? There is no contracted form

Question He, She, It HAVE GOT
(?) + has + subject + got?
How many children has he got? There is no contracted form

Question I, You, We, They HAVE
(?) + do + subject + have?
How many children do you have? There is no contracted form

Question He, She, It HAVE
(?) + does + subject + have?
How many children does he have? There is no contracted form

Negative I, You, We, They HAVE GOT
Subject + have + not + got + objects
We have not got a dog. Contraction: We haven’t got a dog.

Negative He, She, It HAVE GOT
Subject + has + not + got + objects
She has not got a dog. Contraction: She hasn’t got a dog.

Negative I, You, We, They HAVE
Subject + do + not + have + objects
They do not have a dog. Contraction: They don’t have a dog.

Negative He, She, It HAVE GOT
Subject + does + not + have + objects
She does not have a dog. Contraction: She doesn’t have a dog.