Choose a reading lesson

 

Using 'have' and 'have got'

Do you know how to use have and have got? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we use have/has got.

I've got a big family.

We haven't got a garden.

Have you got any pets?

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Test1 

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We use I/you/we/they + have got or he/she/it + has got to talk about things that we have.

In many situations, have and have got mean the same thing. Have got is a little less formal than have. We often use have got more in speaking and have more in writing.

They have got a big garden. = They have a big garden.

She has got a good job. = She has a good job.

We can use have/has got to talk about appearance, family and friends or possessions. We often contract the verb, especially when we're speaking.

I have got brown hair. = I've got brown hair.

My sister has got long hair. = My sister's got long hair.

He has not got many friends. = He hasn't got many friends.

They have got a new car. = They've got a new car.

We can also use have/has got for timetabled events, illnesses or abstract things.

They've got basketball practice this evening.

He's got a terrible cold. 

I've got a good idea!

Affirmative

I you we they	have got	've got
he she it	has got	's got

Negative

For negatives, use not after have/has. We can contract negatives.

We have not got any pets. = We haven't got any pets.

She has not got a brother. = She hasn't got a brother.

I you we they	have not got	haven't got
he she it	has not got	hasn't got

Questions

To make questions, use have/has + subject + got.

Have you got a big house?

How many rooms has it got?

Subject pronoun	yes/no question	Question with question word, e.g. what, who, how many, etc.
I you we they	Have (we) got (time)?	What have (you) got?
he she it	Has (she) got (a car)?	What has (he) got?

Short answers

For yes/no questions, we can use short answers.

Have you got a new job? No, I haven't.

Has she got a meeting this morning? Yes, she has.

Yes, I/you/we/they have.	No, I/you/we/they haven't.
Yes, he/she/it has.	No, he/she/it hasn't.

Have/has got is only used in the present tense. For the past, use had without got.

I had got a red bike when I was young.

I had a red bike when I was young.

.Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Test2