What's different between: I don't have and I haven't

Question

What's different between:  I don't have and  I haven't-----for example:We don't have any time to go to the storemay I use here just haven'tWe haven't time to go to the store-----thanks

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

Haven't is the contraction for have not and you can use it very nicely in your example.

In fact, I prefer haven't in your sentence.

Hope this helps.

John

NotNew · Answer

Thanks alot for your responds

but I am still didn't get what's diference there and when I have to use it,

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Directions: Make each of the above sentences negative.

We ____ _______ any time to go to the store. (have)

My car _____ _________a new set of tires. (have)

Question: How I may to know if I must to use doesn't have or haven't ?

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thanks

Chalkbrd · Answer

Grammatically, either of these work.

1. We don't have any time to go to the store.

2. We haven't any time to go to the store.

3. My car doesn't have a new set of tires.

4. My car hasn't a new set of tires.

But, 1 and 3 are what a native speaker would say. How can you know which one to use? I don't think there is a rule, but we don't usually use haven't/hasn't as the negative of the verb have when it is by itself. (We use it in compound verbs, like the present perfect. I haven't seen that movie yet.) Using haven't or hasn't in these sentences sounds like a snob.

Chalk

CalifJim · Answer

JULIANA-ZIPWe _ _ any time to go to the store.

There are two blanks. Therefore, you are supposed to complete the sentence with two words. You need don't have.

Suppose that the exercise was like this:

We ____ any time to go to the store. (have)

Then you would need one word: haven't.

_______________

In American English we very rarely use haven't as a main verb. We use don't have.

This tendency is so strong that when an American is asked "Haven't you a pencil?", he is very likely to answer "No, I don't" (as if he had been asked "Don't you have a pencil?").

Main verb haven't is more common in British English.

Both varieties of English use auxiliary haven't quite freely.

CJ

NotNew · Answer

Thanks for all of you

JohnParis · Answer

chalkbrd Using haven't or hasn't in these sentences sounds like a snob.

I just realized that this statement refers to the poster's original proposed response. I certainly would never want to leave the impression that what I prefer might make a speaker sound like a snob. This would be a real disservice.

I don't believe that using haven't or hasn't sounds like a snob. I've never met a snob, so I don't know how they speak. I do know that 'haven't or hasn't' are gramatically correct and I hear these contractions used frequently. Sometimes, people in different regions of the US (and other countries) use words differently. I wonder if this difference in regions might be misconstrued as snobbery. When I was in High School I remember a guy moved to our town from a part of the state where there was a large Quaker population. His English, while totally correct, sounded as if it came from the preceeding century. He took a lot of guff for the way he spoke, but after a while everyone realized that he was just a regular guy and kind of liked the way he would use "thee" and "thou" - especially when cursing. While shooting hoops one afternoon, he turned to me and said "thou art a real s***head". What a laugh we had!

Chalkbrd · Answer

It very well could be regional, but in the Midwest of the US, if someone said, "We haven't any time to go to the store," it would sound pretentious or like they were using that way of saying it to show their superiority (i.e., a snob). I should have clarified that I meant here in the Midwest of the US. Although, if someone from the UK said it, there would be no such judgment call on them.

You're lucky if you've never met a snob.

I've met far too many of them in my lifetime.

Chalk

CalifJim · Answer

chalkbrdn the Midwest of the US, if someone said, "We haven't any time to go to the store," it would sound pretentious or like they were using that way of saying it to show their superiority (i.e., a snob).

Yes, but let's put this in perspective. In the Midwest you'll be considered a snob by some people if you use any word of more than two syllables. Midwesterners can be amazingly insecure, which makes them unusually likely to believe people are putting them down when no offense is intended.

CJ

(Former Midwesterner)

Chalkbrd · Answer

i is sorry, i muists bee a dumm hick, cuz i caint use wordz moren too sylble.

The Midwestern accent is considered the main accent of the US media, and many see it as the standard pronunciation for American English. There are many erudite people in the Midwest so saying that we are "offended" when someone uses a word of more than two syllables is definitely snobbish (as well as being fallacious).

Chalk

CalifJim · Answer

chalkbrdThere are many erudite people in the Midwest

Are they the ones who say "We haven't any time ..." to show their superiority?

chalkbrdsaying that we are "offended" when someone uses a word of more than two syllables is definitely snobbish

I don't see what could be snobbish about making a simple observation. I know real people in the Midwest (some from my own family) who do sometimes bitterly resent (i.e., find offensive) anyone who uses "big words", most likely out of embarrassment for not having had a very good education themselves.

I just find it interesting that so many people attribute snobbishness to people with a better education when the so-called 'snobs' do not look down on the less educated in any way at all. The 'snobs' are just speaking in a way that is normal for them, totally unaware of the resentment they are creating. In short, it seems to me that calling someone a snob is usually a sign of feeling inferior, and has less to do with the snob than with the person who calls people snobs.This phenomenon isn't restricted to the Midwest, by the way, as you have probably noticed yourself. It just so happens that the discussion started with a focus on the Midwest.

This is getting too far off-topic, so I'd better just shut up now and get back to answering some grammar questions!

CJ

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