Unit 4.2

Have and Have got Interrogative


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Introduction

Have/have got is a verb used to express states like possessions, relationships, illnesses and characteristics of people and things.

When expressed in its interrogative form, it is used to ask questions about the possession of something.

Form

The present simple tenses of have and have got are:

To have

Its structure, in the interrogative form, is:
Do/Does + subject + have + object + …?

  • Do/does: in the interrogative form, the third person singular changes from do to does:
Do/Does Subject have Question Mark
Do I have ?
Do you have ?
Does he have ?
Does she have ?
Does it have ?
Do we have ?
Do you have ?
Do they have ?

To have got

Its structure, in the interrogative form, is:
Have/Has + subject + got + object + …?

  • Have/has: in the interrogative form, the third person singular changes from have to has.
Have/Has Subject Got Question Mark
Have I got ?
Have you got ?
Has he got ?
Has she got ?
Has it got ?
Have we got ?
Have you got ?
Have they got ?

Example

To have:

  • Do you have regrets?
  • Does he have a successful life?
  • Do we have somethng for him?
  • Do they have a role in that film?

To have got:

  • Have I got pasta for my lunch?
  • Has she got a boyfriend?
  • Have you got a mobile phone?
  • Have they got a new computer?

Use

We use Do I have…? and Have I got…? when we ask whether someone possesses someone/something. We use them also to express relationships, illnesses and characteristics of people and things. However they’re not completely interchangeable.

To have:

  • can be used to express actions;
  • can be used to express past, present and future.

To have got:

  • cannot be used to express actions;
  • can only be used to express the present.

Summary

Have and have got, in the interrogative form, are used to ask about states such as possessions, relationships, illnesses and characteristics of the subject. However, we cannot use one instead of the other.

  • Have can be used to express actions in the past, present and future. In the interrogative form, we start with do followed by the subject, have and an object (the sentence ends with a question mark). In the third person singular, we use does.
  • Have got cannot be used to express actions. It can only be used to express the present. In the interrogative form, we start with have followed by the subject, got and an object (the sentence ends with a question mark). In the third person singular, we use has.

For example:
— “Do I have lunch at 2 p.m?” / Have I got lunch at 2 p.m?“ = We use have because it is an action.
— “Have I got a car?” = We use have got because it is the possession of something in the present.

NOTE: Have is also used as an auxiliary verb in certain tenses to talk about actions. In that case, we do not need to use do or does. We cannot use have got for this. (“Have you done it?” / Have you got done it?).

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

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