"Have" and "have got"

When talking about possession, relationships or illnesses in the present simple, you can use either "have got" or "have".

There is no difference in meaning, but have is more formal and have got is not common in American English.

•  "He's got a big house."
•  "He has a big house."

•  "They've got 18 children!"
•  "They have 18 children!"

•  "I've got a really bad cold."
•  "I have a really bad cold."

When you use "have got", have and has are usually shortened:

Questions and negative sentences are formed like this:

? Do you have a pen I could borrow?
– Sorry, I don't have a pen.

? Have you got a pen I could borrow?
– Sorry, I haven't got a pen.

In the past tense we use only "had".

I had a bad cold last week. (Not: I had got a bad cold last week.)

Now try the exercise on the next page, where you'll meet Rachel and Nelly talking about finding a nice young man for Rachel.

Dagmar Taylor