Real English series: have got and have for possession

In this week's instalment of our Real English series we have a very interesting clip to illustrate the idea of possession in the present tense.

A number of people are asked about the items they have just bought at a supermarket.

There are two possible questions:
1) have: What do you have in your bag?
2) have got: What have you got in your bag?

In the first question, have functions as any other ordinary verb. It takes auxiliaries do/does to make the questions in the present simple. We studied this structure in the introduction to the present simple last week.

What do you have in your bag? I have tomatoes.
What does she have in her bag?
She has tomatoes. (we use has with the third person singular, he/she/it only in the present).

The second question has the same meaning as the first, but the structure is special. There is no other verb like this in English. Have got doesn't need an auxiliary verb. For the questions and negatives have functions as an auxiliary.

What have you got in your bag?
I have got tomatoes or I've got tomatoes.

What has she got in her bag?
She has got tomatoes or She's got tomatoes.



You can watch the same clip with subtitles on the Real English site here.
You can watch an interactive activity on the Real English site here.
You can watch a longer version of the same clip, with more demanding vocabulary, on the Real English site here.

Have got and have

The French teacher Mrs Haquet from Frenchfrog's Little English Pond has created this interactive book that can help us study and learn the differences between have got / have in the present.

Mrs Haquet's book starts by going over the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of both have got and have, through the help of both the written and aural mode. Then she suggests some practical exercises for the students to put her explanations into practice.

The second part of the book has to do with vocabulary: Students get acquainted with vocabulary which has to do with the family and pets, which includes some practise for students to memorise it.

This vocabulary is finally used as a springboard to have additional practise with have got/have.

May has a big family

Have you got a big family? Have you got brothers? Have you got sisters?

Meet May's family and learn to talk about your family. Revise the verb 'have got' to talk about families and revise some basic family vocabulary with Ozmo and May.