Unit 12: Have or Have got?

The verb have, among other functions, can be used to speak about possession, relationships and other states, and also to talk about actions and experiences.

When have is used to speak about possession, relationships and other states, it is possible to use both have and have got:

I have a house in the country.
I have got a house in the country.
I don’t have any brothers or sisters.
I haven’t got any brothers or sisters.
Do you have a cold?
Have you got a cold?

When have is used to talk about actions and experiences, have got is NOT possible:

She is having a shower at the moment (NOT She is having got a shower at the moment)
We are going to have a party next month (NOT We are going to have got a party next month)
They had an argument (NOT They had got an argument)

In practice, then, it is always possible to use have (without got), so if in doubt, you should use this structure.

The two structures are formed as followed:

I/you/we/they have got a cold.
He/she/it has got a cold.
I/you/we/they haven’t got a cold.
He/she/it hasn’t got a cold.
Have I/you/we/they got a cold?
Has he/she/it got a cold?


I/you/we/they have a cold.
He/she/it has a cold.
I/you/we/they don’t have a cold.
He/she/it doesn’t have a cold.
Do I/you/we/they have a cold?
Does he/she/it have a cold?

Thank you for the information