English grammar: Have got

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have got

I have got a cat / I have a cat.
I haven't got a cat / I don't have a cat.
Have you got a cat? / Do you have a cat?
("Have you a cat?" and "I haven't a cat" are possible but not common)

Have got is more common and sounds more natural in informal language. It is a present tense of have, not the present perfect of get.

We use have got and have to talk about possession.
I've got a new house / I have a new house.
Has she got a car? / Does she have a car?

* We use have got and have to talk about relationships.
Have you got a girlfriend? / Do you have a girlfriend?
He's got three brothers / He has three brothers.

* We use have got and have to talk about illnesses.
I've got a bad cold / I have a bad cold.

* We use have got and have to talk about characteristics.
Her office has got a nice view / Her office has a nice view.
Why has he got a tattoo? / Why does he have a tattoo?

* With the functions above, have got and have cannot be used in continuous form.
I have got / have a headache. P
I'm having a headache. x

* In the past, have is more common than have got
She had a pink guitar when she was young. P
She had got a pink guitar when she was young. x

Did you have a headache yesterday? P
Had you got a headache yesterday? x

See also  Present simple

Kathy said...
"To "have" is passive, to "get" is active. I don't believe the two words are compatible. You either have it or you get it. I got it yesterday. I have it today. 'Have got' is a sloppy, incorrect use of a combination of the two words.

Paul said...
"Thanks Kathy. So the fact that "have got" is used naturally by nearly all native speakers (I wonder if you yourself have NEVER uttered the words, "I've got to pick up the kids from school") has no effect on your belief that it is "sloppy" and "incorrect"?"

Martin said...
I've got to do something is different from the 'have got' possession form, because the former goes with a verb and the latter goes with a noun.

I've got a headache. (a headache is a noun)
I've got to pick up the kids from school. (pick up is a verb) (verb phrase)

I've got a car or I have a car is just a difference between BE and AE. The Americans tend to use I have and the Brits I have got. In the British sense, the got part could be seen as the past of get, and means that you already have got something so you already own it, it is there with you now. It suggests that at sometime or other you actually went out and bought a car for example, or that you have lived with 'a brother' (I've got a brother) for sometime.

We use both forms all the time yet we just don't think about it... in fact, if you start thinking about it, you start to wonder whether it is correct, but it is! You can say I've got a new house or I have a new house, it's the same thing.

Finally, gotten is an American thing... although there are similarities in the idea with the British have got it is used in the present perfect in American English... he has gotten himself into trouble."

Becky said...
"It's not really so much a case of BrE and AmE, I think. It's more to do with spoken and written language. We tend to write I have..., but say I've got... However, it is true that Americans say I have..., while British people say I've got... more often. You can still often hear Americans saying I've got... and Brits saying I have... though!"

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