Present simple: '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.

Grammar test 1: Grammar A1-A2: 'have got': 1

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.

Grammar test 2: Grammar A1-A2: 'have got': 2

Language level

A2 Pre-intermediate

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Hi Mayskaya,

Yes, right! They have the same meaning, and they are both grammatically correct.

One difference though is that "Have you got ...?" is more common in British English than in American English.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Hello,
I’ve a question, could you please explain to me what are the abstract things?

Hi Asala Mohammed,

I'll try to help. Abstract things are things that do not have a physical form, e.g. an idea, a feeling, time, a question, a dream. You cannot touch them. You can say have got with all of these abstract things.

(The opposite of abstract is "concrete" - this means things that do have a physical form, and you can touch them e.g. a car, an apple, a house).

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Thank you Jonathan it was very helpful.

can someone please explain question 4 i don't understand we _ much money
not have
has not
have not

Hello oyo,

'not have' is not the correct answer because in the present simple, 'not' comes after the verb, not before it.

'has not' is not correct because when the subject is 'we', the verb form is 'have' (not 'has'). We use 'has' with the subject 'he', 'she' or 'it'.

'have not' is the correct answer because we say 'we have' and then 'not' comes after that.

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hi there,
can i know what is the difference between (he's & he has) while i think both are the same

6. Yes, ______.
he's
he has
he do

Hello kariememad167,

We don't use contractions of the verb 'to be' or 'to have' (such as 'he's') in short answers.

But it is possible to use contractions of 'not be' or 'not have' (such as 'isn't' or 'hasn't') in short answers.

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hi,
May I know how can we distinguish between 'have got' of simple present tense and 'have got' (with 'have' as an auxiliary) of present perfect tense?

Thanks a lot
Regards,
Giang Le

Hi Gang Le,

Only the context, I'm afraid. Sometimes in less formal contexts in American English the past participle 'gotten' is used, which makes it clear. In most cases, however, you have to use the context to work it out.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team