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have vs have got or got

Both "have" and "have got" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Have" is more commonly used in formal English, while "have got" is more informal. "Got" can be used as a standalone verb, but it is less common to use it in place of "have".

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 756 views

have

This is a correct and commonly used phrase in English.

The word "have" is a common verb used to indicate possession, obligation, or necessity. It is used in both formal and informal contexts.
  • Seven have tried, seven have failed.
  • My enemies now have their queen and the British have abandoned me.
  • Business organisations have got smaller, methods of communication have changed.
  • There have been cataclysmic earthquakes that have been less unsettling.
  • I myself have been in contact with him and have met many other people who have approached his office.
  • Your children have rebelled, as I have said repeatedly today.
  • All the windows have security locks, doors have alarms.
  • Suicide bombers have been known to have second thoughts.
  • African-Americans and Latinos have begun to have real purchasing power.
  • Virtually all viable assets we have in-country have been compromised.
  • Most cloned organisms have not survived or have died prematurely.
  • If you have come into contact with Private Coleman and have any symptoms of infection, we have an antiviral vaccine.
  • There have been individual MEPs who have exerted pressure, together with the Ombudsman and active citizens who have won one legal case after another.
  • Now, in many ways, his ideas have been discredited because we have had a series of agricultural revolutions which have transformed our society.
  • I have met people during the six years that we have worked on this subject who have suffered needle-stick injuries, and I would really emphasise that trauma.
  • This could have produced cost savings that would have been much more beneficial than the measures we have now set in motion here today.
  • The markets have failed and these failures have prompted interventions which would have delighted Keynes himself.
  • Although I have voted in favour of the directive, I have great difficulty with it and I have been tempted to vote against.
  • From Maastricht onwards, criteria have existed which are designed to prevent dangerous situations, and we have seen how miserably they have failed.
  • Any shareholdings I have ever had have always been declared in the declaration of interests, and they have never stopped me from criticising some wind-power projects.

Alternatives:

  • possess
  • own
  • require
  • must
  • need

have got or got

This is a correct phrase, but it is more informal than just using "have".

"Have got" is a more informal way of saying "have" and is commonly used in spoken English. "Got" can be used as a standalone verb, but it is less common to use it in place of "have".
  • Have we got winners, or have we got losers?

Alternatives:

  • possess
  • own
  • require
  • must
  • need

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