Introduction

In this unit, we are going to focus on a very common structure in everyday English: have got. You will hear it constantly in conversations, especially in British English, when people talk about possession. When you want to say what you own, what you have in your bag, how many brothers or sisters you have, or even physical characteristics like blue eyes or long hair, have got becomes extremely useful.

As always, we will not just memorize rules. We will understand how the structure works, how it changes in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms, and how to use it naturally in real-life situations.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to use have got to express possession in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

You will form correct sentences with different subjects, ask questions about possession, and answer naturally in everyday situations.

Affirmative Form

Let us begin with the affirmative structure. In the present simple, have got changes slightly depending on the subject.

For example, you say: “I have got a car.” “You have got a new phone.” “They have got two children.” When the subject is he, she or it, you say: “She has got blue eyes.” “He has got a dog.” “It has got four legs.”

The verb changes with he, she and it.

Just like in other present simple structures, the third person singular is different. We use has got, not have got, with he, she and it.

In everyday English, we often use contractions. Instead of “I have got”, we say “I’ve got”. Instead of “She has got”, we say “She’s got”.

Negative Form

To form the negative, we add not after have or has.

For example: “I have not got a car.” “They have not got any money.” “She has not got a dog.” In spoken English, we normally use contractions: “haven’t got” and “hasn’t got.”

Do not use “do” with have got.

It is incorrect to say “She doesn’t have got a car.” When you use have got, the negative is formed with haven’t or hasn’t, not with do or does.

Questions

To form a question, we invert the subject and have or has.

For example: “Have you got a car?” “Have they got any brothers or sisters?” “Has she got a dog?” “Has he got a new job?”

Notice that we do not use “do” or “does” here. The auxiliary is already “have” or “has”, so we simply change the order.

Short answers are very simple. If someone asks, “Have you got a pen?” you answer: “Yes, I have.” or “No, I haven’t.” If someone asks, “Has she got a car?” you answer: “Yes, she has.” or “No, she hasn’t.”

Using “Have got” in Real Life

Let us imagine you are describing your family. You might say: “I have got two sisters and one brother. My brother has got a new job. My sisters have got long hair.” If you talk about possessions, you might say: “I’ve got a laptop and a tablet, but I haven’t got a printer.”

You can also use have got to describe physical characteristics: “She has got green eyes.” “He has got short hair.” This makes your descriptions clear and natural.

Practice Exercises

Now it is your turn to practise using have got.

Complete or transform each sentence carefully. The correct answer is provided for you to check your understanding.