As you will discover throughout this lesson, there are also the contracted form of the verb "have got," the interrogative form, and the negative form, all of which are very useful to know in order to form various types of sentences and use the English language fully and naturally.
This is a simple topic, but it deserves your full attention, because it is a true cornerstone of the English language: discover everything you need to know in this Sprachcaffe lesson!
First of all, let's try to understand what it is, even though you most likely already know the verb have got in English. In fact, it is the verb used to indicate possession, mainly used in affirmative and interrogative constructions in the simple present indicative.
Let's see some examples to understand better:
The complete conjugation is as follows:
| Person | Simple indicative verb HAVE GOT |
| THE | Have got |
| You | Have got |
| He/She/It | Has got |
| We | Have got |
| You | Have got |
| They | Have got |
We have always known that the verb avere in English is translated as "have", but this time we also have the particle " got " accompanying the verb: what changes?
In fact, " have " and " have got " are two forms that can often be used interchangeably in English, but there are some differences in usage and meaning.
The first is the meaning of possession . Both indicate possession, but "have got" tends to be more common in informal British English, while "have" is more common in American English.
However, both forms are accepted in both English variants. In general, we can say that the "got" form helps reinforce the possession meaning of the verb itself.
In both cases, the sentence translates as: "I have a new phone." The first, however, could refer to the fact that I just bought it, or that it was given to me as a gift and I "got" it, while the second doesn't place such a strong emphasis on the matter.
Another difference is style . "Have" is generally considered more formal than "have got." "Have got" is more common in colloquial and informal English.
In short, the main difference between "have" and "have got" is a matter of style and preference.
Both forms are correct and understandable both by speakers of the more standard (British) form of English and by those who refer to American English.
Their use, however, may vary depending on the context and the variety of English.
The verb "have got" is mainly used to express possession or the presence of something.
Below are some examples of when to use "have got":
These are just a few examples of how "have got" can be used to express possessions, personal characteristics, health, family relationships, and obligations.
It's important to note that "have got" is more common in informal British English, while in some contexts or variants of English, such as American English, simply "have" is preferred.
As you can see, however, this verb form is used for a multitude of reasons, which is why learning it should be a top priority in your language learning journey.
Now let's see how to form negative sentences: we'll need to use the negative form of the verb "have got." It's constructed by adding "not" after "have" or "has."
Since this is a sentence already consisting of four words, we often tend to contract this form as well.
The conjugation will thus become:
The contraction "haven't got" is commonly used in colloquial English and is preferable for its readability. A native speaker would be unlikely to use the full form, so if you want to sound like a native, practice using the contraction yourself.
Finally, the interrogative form of the verb "Have Got" is constructed by placing "have" or "has" at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the subject and the particle got.
It is used, of course, to create interrogative sentences that concern possession.
In this case, the conjugation will become the following:
Examples of use:
This is the interrogative form of the verb "have got".
Finally, you can also create the negative interrogative form with the verb have got, which can be useful for creating rhetorical questions.
An example:
With this, the lesson concludes: now you have all the information regarding the use of the verb "have got" in English, and the situations in which it is used. All that remains is to carefully study the conjugation and the various affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms, as well as the contracted form, and then move on to the next topic.
What is it? Let's discover the gerund and the infinitive in English together!
