Have got / have

When you want to say what you own, who's in your family, or what someone looks like, English gives you two ways to say almost the same thing for these meanings: have got and have. Both are correct — they just work a little differently.

Quick shortcut: for possession, family, and features, I've got a car and I have a car mean the same thing. Have got is especially common in spoken British English.

Have got: the forms

In affirmative statements, have got is usually contracted in speech and informal writing — have shrinks down to 've, and has shrinks to 's:

• I've got a new phone.
• She's got two brothers.
• They've got a big house.

Questions and negatives — no "do" needed

This is the part that trips people up: have got doesn't use do/does to make questions or negatives. In basic yes/no questions, have or has comes before the subject, exactly like be does — the affirmative contractions 've/'s aren't used here:

• ✅ Have you got a pen? — never ❌ Do you have got a pen?
• ✅ Have they got any children? — never ❌ Do they have got any children?

In negatives, not is simply added after have/has, giving haven't got and hasn't got:

• ✅ She hasn't got a car. — never ❌ She doesn't have got a car.
• I haven't got any money.
• He hasn't got a sister.

Plain "have" — an ordinary verb

Have (without got) means the same thing for possession, family, and features. In the affirmative, it follows the usual present simple pattern:

• I have a bike. / She has a brother.

In modern everyday English, plain have usually behaves like an ordinary verb in questions and negatives too, so it normally needs do/does — just like with like, want, or work:

• ✅ Do you have a pen? — ✅ Have you got a pen? (both correct)
• ✅ She doesn't have a car. — ✅ She hasn't got a car. (both correct)

(You may occasionally come across older or more formal British English forms like Have you a pen?, without do — but for everyday use, the do/does pattern above is the one to learn.)

So there are two separate systems for questions and negatives — the two don't get mixed together in the same sentence:

Which one should you use?

For talking about possession, family, and features, both are correct English. A few things to keep in mind:

• Have got is especially common in everyday spoken British English.
• Have works everywhere, and is generally more common in American English.
• This have got pattern only exists in the present. For past possession, use plain had: ✅ I had a bike when I was young. Don't use had got for this possession meaning — had got does exist in English, but as the past of get, meaning "had obtained."
• Outside of possession, family, and features, plain have covers a lot of other meanings too — actions like have breakfast or have a shower — where have got isn't used at all.

What you can talk about

Have got and have are used for possessions, family, and physical features you have — not for actions you do:

• Possessions: I've got a laptop. Do you have a bicycle?
• Family: She's got three cousins. Does he have any brothers or sisters?
• Physical features: He's got brown eyes. They have curly hair.

Physical features here means things someone has — eyes, hair, a beard. For general descriptions like tall or young, use be instead: She is tall, not ❌ She has tall.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Do you have got a car? → ✅ Do you have a car? / ✅ Have you got a car? (don't mix do with got)
• ❌ I no have got a car. → ✅ I haven't got a car. (the negative is haven't/hasn't, not no)
• ❌ She have got a dog. → ✅ She's got a dog. (third person needs has got, not have got)
• ❌ I had got a dog when I was a child. → ✅ I had a dog when I was a child. (no got in the past)
• ❌ I've got breakfast every morning at 7am. → ✅ I have breakfast every morning at 7am. (have got is for possession, not routines like eating)
• ❌ She has tall. → ✅ She is tall. (general descriptions use be, not have)

Quick check

Which form fits?

1. ____ you got a pen? (Have / Do)
2. He ____ a sister. (has got / have got)
3. I ____ any brothers. (haven't got / not got)
4. ____ she have a car? (Have / Does)

Key takeaways

• Have got and have mean the same thing for talking about possessions, family, and features.
• Have got forms questions and negatives without do: Have you got...? / haven't got.
• Plain have normally behaves like an ordinary verb and needs do/does: Do you have...? / don't have.
• The two systems stay separate, and the past uses plain had — not had got — for possession.