Have Got and Has Got: Form, Uses and Examples

Have got has two parts: have or has, and the word got. Use has got with he, she, it and one person or thing (my brother, the hotel). Use have got with I, you, we and they.

For a negative, add not after have or has: I haven't got, he hasn't got. For a question, move have or has to the front: Have you got...? Has she got...? Got always stays in the same place, after the subject.

In speech, have and has are usually short and quiet: I've got, he's got. Sometimes learners only hear I got. Listen for the small ve sound.

The main use of have got is to say what someone owns or has with them: cars, phones, money, keys, homes. It also works for things that are part of something else: The flat has got three rooms. The car has got four doors.

We use have got to talk about family members and friends, and to describe people's appearance: hair, eyes, beards and so on. This is very useful for describing people. You can learn the words in family members vocabulary and body parts vocabulary.

Remember that age uses the verb to be, not have got: She's got brown eyes and she's 20, not she's got 20 years.

Have got is also common for illnesses and pain: I've got a cold, a headache, a sore throat. We use it for problems, ideas and questions too: I've got a problem. I've got an idea!

With time and plans, have got shows that something is in your schedule: I've got a meeting at three. I haven't got time today.

For possession, family, appearance and illness, have got and have mean the same thing. Have got is more common in British English, especially in speech. American speakers usually prefer have with do in questions and negatives: Do you have a car? I don't have time. Both are understood everywhere. Read more in British vs American English.

Have got is only for states, not actions. For actions like eating, drinking, taking a shower or having a party, use have, not have got: I have breakfast at eight, not I've got breakfast at eight. Have got is also not used with will, can, -ing or to: I want to have a dog, not I want to have got a dog.

There is no past form of have got for possession. Use had: I had a bike when I was a child. In American English, gotten is the usual past participle of get (He's gotten taller), and it has a different meaning from have got.

You will hear have got all the time in British TV, shops and conversations. Have you got...? is a natural way to ask for things in a shop or café. In very informal American speech you may also hear I got a car or You got a minute?, without have; this is common in casual talk but not correct in writing. A related phrase, have got to, means must: I've got to go. You will meet it in have to and must.