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Meowth Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Haven't / don't have

Hello!

Please can anyone tell me if it is ok to say, for instance, "I haven't a ticket" (i.e I don't have a ticket), or does "haven't" appear only in negative perfect forms?

I have just encontered that kind of thing in "Of Human Bondage" and hesitate whether to consider it normal or obsolete.
  

Top answer

Greetings, Meowth, You can express the same idea in three ways: a. I haven't a ticket. b.

— Andriy Lapin

  • Greetings, Meowth, You can express the same idea in three ways: a.
  • I haven't a ticket.
  • b.
  • I haven't got a ticket.
  • c.
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4 Answers
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Greetings, Meowth,

You can express the same idea in three ways:

a. I haven't a ticket.
b. I haven't got a ticket.
c. I don't have a ticket.

Of all these alternatives, a is chiefly used in British English and is elevated as well as very uncommon from the point of view of the present-day use of English. Considering that William Somerset Maugham wrote 'Of Hu
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Thank you very much, Gleb. Now that you've helped me everything became clear.
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Thank you very much, Gleb. Now that you've helped me everything became clear.
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Dear friend,

I'm very glad this helped. Please feel free to ask any questions on linguistics and related areas.

Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff
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