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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

have vs have got

Could you please help me understand what is the difference , stylistic, semantic or otherwise, between the following:

1. You have no idea how sick I was last week.

2. You have got no idea how sick I was last week.

or, and more confusingly,

3. I don't have any money.

4. I haven't got any money.

To me it seems that all these pairs are absolutely equal in meaning and that they are all grammatically correct.

It's very confusing.

So what's the difference between:

have and have got

as well as

I haven't got and I don't have

Please help me figure it out.

thanks!
  

Top answer

"have got" and "haven't got" (in the sense you are asking about) are colloquial and not suitable for formal English. "have" and "don't have" may be used both formally and informally, but when talking about possession (especially) the versions with "got" tend to dominate in speech, at least in my part of the world.

— GPY

  • "have got" and "haven't got" (in the sense you are asking about) are colloquial and not suitable for formal English.
  • "have" and "don't have" may be used both formally and informally, but when talking about possession (especially) the versions with "got" tend to dominate in speech, at least in my part of the world.
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4 Answers
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"have got" and "haven't got" (in the sense you are asking about) are colloquial and not suitable for formal English. "have" and "don't have" may be used both formally and informally, but when talking about possession (especially) the versions with "got" tend to dominate in speech, at least in my part of the world.
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AnonymousTo me it seems that all these pairs are absolutely equal in meaning and that they are all grammatically correct.
Yes, they are. Except the "got" version is very informal, and not accepted by picky English teachers.
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