VerbsA1

Have got

Possession two ways: have got (I've got a car, have you got...?) vs plain have (I have a car, do you have...?); US/GB preferences

Learning Goal

I can express possession with both have got and have, without mixing their question machineries.

Exam Skills:A2 Key ListeningA2 Key Reading & Writing

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Have you got a charger? My phone just died. - Sure, here you go.

Have you got a charger? My phone just died. - Sure, here you go.

She doesn't have much time, but she's got plenty of patience.

She doesn't have much time, but she's got plenty of patience.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Two equivalent systems:

have got (more GB, spoken)have (more US, neutral)
+I've got a bike.I have a bike.
-She hasn't got time.She doesn't have time.
?Have you got a pen?Do you have a pen?

Rules: have got exists only in the present; past and future use have (I had a bike, I'll have time). Don't mix the machineries: *Do you have got...? is wrong.

  • *Do you have got a pen? → Have you got / Do you have
  • have got in past: *I had got a bike (possession) → I had a bike

Common Error Patterns

do-questions on have got

Have you got...? OR Do you have...?

have got in past tense

Past possession: had only

Have you got a charger? My phone just died. - Sure, here you go.

Have you got a charger? My phone just died. - Sure, here you go.

have got question: no do, have moves forward.

She doesn't have much time, but she's got plenty of patience.

She doesn't have much time, but she's got plenty of patience.

Both systems side by side, same meaning.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course
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